China should be the country with the largest number of non-believers in the world. If you look around us carefully, you will find that most people do not have a clear belief. Although we often talk about going to worship a certain god, more often than not, it is just a joke. Even if we really go to worship, it is just a blind worship to Buddha, Guanyin, God, and Mary.
It can only be said that in the minds of most Chinese people, praying to God and worshiping Buddha is just a temporary excuse, and they also have to worry about whether Buddha will kick them. But it is not realistic to say that all Chinese people only believe in science and do not believe in such illusory theories of gods and ghosts.
Most Chinese people do not believe in religion, but there is one thing that almost every Chinese will abide by, even those who do not believe in it, and that is what we often call "Feng Shui" .
I believe many people have experienced this. China’s various rules and taboos, whether you believe it or not, have become a tradition. Even if you are not a person who believes in ghosts and gods, They will comply consciously or unconsciously. The people who value this "feng shui" most in China are Hong Kong businessmen.
Getting acquainted with "Feng Shui"
Today we will talk about my country's famous "Feng Shui Master" Cai Boli.
Cai Boli was born into a family of astronomy and calendaring. His grandfather was a very famous astronomical and calendaring expert. Originally, Cai Boli was supposed to be the heir to this craft in his family, but like most young people of that era, when he was young, Cai Boli completely dismissed the idea of ??Feng Shui and thought it was just a kind of feudalism. superstitious.
Cai Boli really began to learn the calculation of astronomical calendars when the Anti-Japanese War broke out in China. At that time, the situation was chaotic, and Cai Boli had no way to go to school normally, so he could only stay at home with nothing to do. His father saw that he was doing nothing all day long and couldn't find any goals, so he suggested that he learn calendar calculation. This was considered an ancestral craft in their family, and it was hard to be lost in his generation.
Cai Boli reluctantly began to learn this craft. If you don't learn, you don't know. After studying in depth, Cai Boli discovered that this "feng shui calculation" is really a profound knowledge. The more Cai Boli learned, the more he became obsessed with "Feng Shui Kanyu" and the more magical it became.
It was precisely because of this interest that Cai Boli continued to improve in Feng Shui calculations, and finally made great achievements. Gradually, Cai Boli's reputation has grown. Many famous Hong Kong rich people will specially invite Cai Boli to help them calculate their fortunes. Even the location of many important buildings in Hong Kong are specially invited to make decisions.
2 million "choose a day"
As for the wealthy Hong Kong businessmen who came to Cai Boli for help, the most famous one is probably Li Ka-shing.
Li Ka-shing and Cai Boli became acquainted because of Li Ka-shing’s wife, Zhuang Mingyue, who had died of illness. Zhuang Mingyue's grave was damaged a few days ago, and Li Ka-shing came to Cai Boli specifically to rebuild his late wife's grave. He hoped that Mr. Cai could help him "choose a day," that is, choose a good day to start repairing the tomb.
But no one expected that just by choosing a date, the old man would ask for 2 million. Even Li Ka-shing, the world's leading tycoon, was surprised when he heard the ridiculously high asking price.
After Cai Boli saw Li Ka-shing's expression, he just said, "Your late wife died miserably" and said no more. However, after hearing this, Li Ka-shing was stunned for a moment, and then I don’t know what I thought of, so I paid the money readily.
For this matter, Mr. Cai dragged his old body and worked hard with his daughter for a long time. Not only did he take all the birthdays and horoscopes of the Li family and count them, but he also took the birth dates of his friends who were close to him and looked at them. After calculating them carefully, he finally Set the day.
After this incident, the relationship between Li Ka-shing and Mr. Cai Boli began to get closer. From then on, Li Ka-shing always liked to come to Cai Boli for help, even in selecting the site for Li Ka-shing’s new building. The location is all based on Mr. Cai Boli's suggestions.
Compiler of "Tongsheng"
Cai Boli's greatest achievement is not helping these celebrities calculate good fortune and avoid disaster, but that he publishes a book every year. Many people may be confused, a book written by a Feng Shui expert? Or does one come out every year? What kind of book is this?
Some people may have guessed, yes, this book is what we know as the Imperial Calendar, and it is also what is commonly called Tong Sheng in Cantonese-speaking areas.
Writing an almanac is not an easy task, especially when the Imperial Calendar is more than just a calendar. The imperial calendar not only contains the Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar that we are familiar with, as well as various solar terms, but also the branches, constellations, nine stars, fleeting years, Tai Sui, good and bad luck, and so on.
These all have their own set of calculation processes, and they have a lot of impact. There is no room for mistakes in the writing process.
Each calendar takes Mr. Cai Boli almost a whole year. After finishing this calculation, he must immediately start calculating the next one. There is almost no rest time in between.
The annual circulation of Tong Sheng compiled by Mr. Lao in Hong Kong has exceeded 1 million. In 2013, Tong Sheng compiled by Cai Boli was officially listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the Guangdong Provincial Government.
The old man is also a famous philanthropist. Cai Boli did not keep the 2 million he got from Li Ka-shing for his own use, but used the money as a private company he took the lead to create. The original funding of the charity "Hong Kong Shun Lung Yan Chak Foundation". Later, many Hong Kong rich people donated money and deposited it in the foundation.
The money is mainly used to help poor patients and support poor students to go to school. As of the end of 2008, only one year after its establishment, it had donated 3.43 million yuan.
After the old man handed over the compilation of the calendar to his eldest daughter Cai Xinghua in his later years, he began to concentrate on studying the ancient astronomical instrument, the "armillary sphere". After the success of the study, he built his first The successfully cast armillary sphere was presented to Lin Chaoying, Director of the Observatory.
Summary
Mr. Cai passed away on July 26, 2018, at the age of 96. Countless Hong Kong tycoons and prominent figures in politics attended the funeral of the old man. The flower card of his close friend Li Ka-shing was placed in the center of his tombstone. His passing means that another legendary master has left us.
However, fortunately, my husband’s eldest daughter has inherited his mantle, allowing Feng Shui Kanyu, the most magical technology in China, to continue to be preserved. In the future, this craft will continue to be passed down in the hands of generations of young people.