Feng shui (the art of positioning) and Chinese astrology (the science of auspicious scheduling) have always captured western imagination, but in the process, these classical disciplines have been diluted by popular culture, sometimes beyond recognition. Now, an accomplished scholar of Chinese language, literature, and philosophy restores them in this remarkable volume, the first and only authentic translation of the original Chinese treatise on the Art of Scheduling and Positioning. Intellectually accurate and true to the original work, yet written to be accessible to the general reader as well as the specialist, the "Imperial Guide": reveals the organic connection between feng shui and astrology - a link overlooked by most other books on these two arts and illuminates the most complex aspects of feng shui and astrology theory in accessible language and lucid imagery. This guide introduces the essential concepts of Chinese cosmology: yin and yang, the five processes, the ten heavenly stems, the twelve earthly branches, the twenty-four seasonal nodes, and the sixty-four hexagrams and explains how these symbols relate to the whole of traditional Chinese thought - and what they mean for the modern world.

Author Biography

Thomas Aylward has a B.A. and M.A. in Chinese language and culture and has studied Chinese in mainland China and Taiwan. He specialises in researching and translating classical Chinese texts on Chinese astrology, feng shui, Taoism, and Buddhism. He lives in Hanoi.