TL;DR: Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh are two traditional phong thủy (Vietnamese geomancy) works attributed to Dương Quân Tùng, discussing how to recognise a true long mạch and avoid mistaking a branch long for a true long. Hám Long Kinh leans toward classifying the nine star configurations, while Nghi Long Kinh leans toward resolving doubtful situations that are easily confused when seeking long mạch. The summary note in the Tứ khố toàn thư records that in the Song dynasty the two books did not yet bear his name. The two books should be read only as material on ancient conceptions of geography, not as a guide guaranteeing wealth or health.
What are Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh?
Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh are two ancient feng shui works traditionally attributed to Dương Quân Tùng, whom practitioners describe as an earth-pattern master of the late Tang dynasty. Hám Long Kinh (撼龍經) discusses how to recognize and classify dragon veins by mountain forms, while Nghi Long Kinh (疑龍經) discusses the doubtful and easily confused points when seeking dragons, helping students distinguish true dragons from branch dragons, and true burial sites from false ones[1].
Both works belong to the form-and-landform school of earth patterns. The Siku quanshu catalogue abstract, reproduced at the head of the Chinese Wikisource text, summarizes them as follows: Hám Long Kinh speaks solely of the veins and forms of mountains and divides them into nine stars; the first chapter of Nghi Long Kinh explains how to find branches within the trunk, taking the enclosing pass and the water mouth as the main thing; the middle chapter discusses following the dragon to where it ends and reading front and back, the facing and the welcoming hills; the last chapter discusses the forms of the site, with the appended Ten Questions on Doubting the Dragon[1].
Who was Dương Quân Tùng and why are these two classics important?
Dương Quân Tùng has no biography in the official histories. The Siku quanshu abstract notes that only the Song bibliography of Chen Zhensun records his name, while the bibliographic treatise of the Song History merely calls him Dương Cứu Bần (Yang the Reliever of the Poor)[1]. Practitioners relate that his given name was Ích, that he came from Đậu Châu, served in the imperial observatory in charge of earth patterns, fled with secret books from the palace during the Huang Chao rebellion in the Quảng Minh era, and afterwards moved about Kiền Châu; the abstract calls this baseless talk (無稽之談). The abstract adds that the Song bibliography lists a Nghi Long Kinh in one scroll and a Biện Long Kinh in one scroll, both without an author, so in the Song these texts were not yet attributed to Dương Quân Tùng, and it is not known on what basis the present edition is so attributed[1].
Tradition also attributes to Dương Quân Tùng the short verse text Thanh Nang Áo Ngữ (青囊奧語), which opens by assigning the stars Cự Môn, Phá Quân, Vũ Khúc and Tham Lang to groups of the twenty-four mountains and refers to huyền không and the five phases[2]; it is a text on lý khí. Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh, by contrast, discuss how to look at mountains, water, and dragon veins on the ground[1].
How does Hám Long Kinh teach the recognition of dragon veins?
Hám Long Kinh teaches the dragon seeker to look at mountain forms to classify dragon veins by nine stars: the nine stars are Tham Lang, Cự Môn, Lộc Tồn, Văn Khúc, Liêm Trinh, Vũ Khúc, Phá Quân, Tả Phụ, and Hữu Bật[1]. The text says that people speak of three auspicious stars among the nine, Tham Lang, Cự Môn and Vũ Khúc, followed by Phụ and Bật, while Lộc, Văn, Liêm and Phá form the remaining group (貪巨武星並輔弼，祿文廉破地中行。九星人言有三吉，三吉之余有輔弼)[1].
In its chapters the book describes the form of each star: Tham Lang "đốn khởi duẩn sinh phong" (頓起筍生峰), rising abruptly like a bamboo shoot; Cự Môn "bất tiêm bất viên kỳ thể phương" (不尖不圓其體方), neither pointed nor round, with a square body; Vũ Khúc like an overturned bell or cauldron (覆鐘釜)[1]. The song at the end of the book, in the Wikisource text, describes seven stars again together with prognostications: "Tham Lang nhất mộc thế tiêm cường" (貪狼一木勢尖強), Tham Lang belongs to wood, its form pointed and strong, rich in literary talent; Cự Môn belongs to earth, "đoan chính tú lệ như nga mi" (端正秀麗如蛾眉), upright and graceful like a moth eyebrow, producing loyal and upright men; Vũ Khúc belongs to metal, "trác khuê lập hốt cao thiên tầm" (卓圭立笏高千尋), like a jade tablet and court tablet standing a thousand fathoms high, governing military authority and rich in strategy[1].
The remaining four stars are described in that song in harsh terms. Lộc Tồn belongs to earth, "xú ác băng khi bất miên mị" (醜惡崩欹不綿媚), ugly, collapsed and tilted, without soft grace. Văn Khúc belongs to water, "sinh chi sinh túc như diên du" (生枝生足如蜒蚰), sprouting branches and feet like a slug; the song says such land governs wandering, "men not loyal, women not virtuous" (男不忠兮女不賢). Liêm Trinh is "độc hỏa đại hung tai" (獨火大凶災), the lone fire of great calamity, tall, pointed and ugly. Phá Quân belongs to metal, "chiêu hung ác" (招凶惡), with jutting peaks and ridges of jumbled rock[1]. In the main chapters the book describes Lộc Tồn as like a set-down drum (如頓鼓), Văn Khúc as moving like a snake (蛇行), and Phá Quân as like a running flag, high in front and low behind (如走旗), and it does not treat the inauspicious stars as worthless: "people only say Tham Lang is good and do not know that Liêm Trinh is the ancestor" (世人只道貪狼好，不識廉貞是祖宗)[1].
| Star | Phase in the closing song | Form according to the book | Prognostication in the song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tham Lang | Wood | Rising abruptly like a bamboo shoot; pointed and strong | Literary talent, examination success |
| Cự Môn | Earth | Neither pointed nor round, square body; upright like a moth eyebrow | Loyalty, wealth |
| Lộc Tồn | Earth | Like a set-down drum with feet like gourds below; ugly, collapsed and tilted | Illness, descendants leaving for other regions |
| Văn Khúc | Water | Moving like a snake; sprouting branches and feet like a slug | Wandering, men not loyal, women not virtuous |
| Liêm Trinh | Fire | Tall and massive, craggy rock on the summit; tall, pointed and ugly | Disaster, ruin |
| Vũ Khúc | Metal | Like an overturned bell or cauldron; like a jade tablet standing tall | Military authority, strategy |
| Phá Quân | Metal | Like a running flag, high in front and low behind; ridges of jumbled rock | Fierceness, descendants wasting away |
| Tả Phụ | (none assigned) | Like a headcloth, high in front and low behind; usually arises beside Vũ Khúc | Accompanying auspicious star |
| Hữu Bật | (none assigned) | Originally without form, called the hidden star; a concealed vein following the dragon body | Accompanying auspicious star |
The table above summarizes how Hám Long Kinh describes each star, based on the original text[1].
Which situations does Nghi Long Kinh resolve?
Nghi Long Kinh focuses on the points where dragon seekers most easily go wrong. At the beginning of the first chapter, the work says: "Nghi long hà xứ tối nan nghi, tầm đắc tinh phong khước thị chi", meaning the hardest doubt in seeking dragons is when one finds a beautiful peak that is actually only a branch dragon, not a true dragon[1].
The first chapter returns to this point further on: one finds a star peak that turns out to be a branch, within the branch the veins run in disorder and there is no proper site, and on reaching the true dragon one doubts again that it is the one, only because one does not recognize the guards on both sides (尋得星峰卻是枝。枝中亂來無正穴，真龍到處又疑非。只緣不識兩邊護)[1]. The text also says that while the trunk dragon is still travelling without rest the branch has already dropped early, so a site sought there is not to be found (就中尋穴穴卻無，幹去未休枝早落)[1].
An important passage in Nghi Long Kinh says: "Chính long thân thượng bất sinh phong, hữu phong giai thị chi diệp tống", meaning that no peaks arise on the body of the main dragon, and where there are peaks they are all branches and leaves escorting it. The next line tells one who has seen such a trunk dragon to seek at the place where the trunk dragon ends (的向幹龍窮處覓)[1].
Why are these two classics usually read together?
Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh complement each other. Hám Long Kinh provides a system for classifying forms, while Nghi Long Kinh provides a method of checking and questioning what looks beautiful. Reading Hám Long Kinh alone easily leads to mechanical application by mountain shape, while reading Nghi Long Kinh alone easily lacks a basis for classification.
What should one keep in mind when reading these two classics?
Hám Long Kinh and Nghi Long Kinh are ancient texts with condensed language and many metaphors. Readers should not mechanically apply their descriptions of forms to today's terrain, because landscapes have changed greatly and ancient rules do not account for modern factors such as transport and urbanization.
These two books are the interpretation of a divinatory tradition, not scientific fact. Read them to understand ancient concepts of geography and feng shui, not as guidance guaranteeing wealth or health.
