By David Koh and Joe Choo | Jul 09, 2009
I Ching And Tun Abdul Razak
Properties from a feng shui perspective: Part 97
In our previous article, we examined Parliament House from a feng shui perspective and introduced the concept of the I Ching invented over 3,000 years ago. You are probably as amazed as we are over how such a sophisticated system could be created by so "primitive" a people.
Back in those days, language was probably rudimentary, which could explain the use of trigrams and hexagrams to convey messages. If you look closely, the dashes and long lines resemble binary code and indeed, they do operate as such!
Therefore, in the absence of written language, science - or more precisely mathematics - can still work. Perhaps, this formula has some extra-terrestrial origin: could it be the work of God, some alien life forms or perhaps time-travellers from the distant future?
Who knows? As far as legend goes, the original I Ching was formulated by Fu Xi. Centuries later, King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty further expanded upon it, by cryptically rearranging the sequence of the 64 numbers.
He used a formula that no one fully understands to this very day - obviously, King Wen left no records of his methodology. Yet, this sequence has proven to be accurate: it is used in the feng shui compass and in many other formulas, including the one we are using for Parliament House.
How did he figure it out with no apparent guide? Extra-terrestrials or time-travellers again? Perhaps King Wen was secretly one! Again, who knows? The origins of the I Ching are indeed shrouded in mystery.
A Little Nostradamus?
In the last article, we covered the first nine years of Parliament House, noting how ancient text somehow seemed to concur with actual events. A little too "Nostradamus", perhaps?
With the benefit of hindsight, it is certainly easy to pick out the relevant facts or events that corroborate with our observations, you might say. We could be over-looking details that contradict what we say. Indeed, dear readers, you may be right.
Our job is not to convince you that the principles of I Ching, from which came feng shui, work. We merely point out some interesting facts and leave it for you to decide. Bear in mind that the general perception was that Malaya after Independence, and subsequently Malaysia, was a period of great peace and happiness.
Judging from museum displays and our sanitised history textbooks, one can be forgiven for believing so. Yet upon closer scrutiny, things were not as hunky-dory as widely believed. There was opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines. The communists were still at war against the government.
Let us continue and see how far or accurate the calculations proved to be. Period 1 ended in 1969 with Parliament suspended after the May 13 riots, and the country was run by Majlis Gerakan Nasional (Mageran), headed by the late Tun Abdul Razak.
Observers and historians noted that in many former British colonies, democracies quickly turned into dictatorships when the leaders seized power and refused to relinquish it. Malaysia could have gone the same way and yet, against all odds, it did not. Perhaps the hexagrams can shed some light on this.
Period 2: 1969 to 1978
This period lasted nine years. It is represented by Hexagram 38 or "K'uei" (Opposition). The top three lines indicate the external "Li, the Clinging" and its element is Flame (Fire). The bottom three lines represent the inner "Tui, the joyous" which is a Lake or Metal.
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Hexagram 38 or "K'uei" (Opposition).
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Basically, the fire burns upward while the lake seeps downward. So indirectly, they are in contrast with each other. "Li" represents second daughter while "Tui" is the youngest daughter. Although they live in the same house, they belong to different men: their wills are not the same, and they go in opposite directions.
The Judgement: Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.
When people live in opposition and estrangement, they cannot do great things together as their viewpoints diverge too widely. They cannot force their will on each other, as that will increase existing opposition. Changes should be done in small gradual steps. Success can still be attained because opposition here does not mean they cannot come to an agreement.
The overarching story for this period is one of struggling against opposition, where misunderstandings will happen and mistakes can be made. The advice given is to be patient, endure difficult times and people, and to refrain from using any forceful means to push things through.
During this time, there will be a person or party who will appear from among the antagonists to become an ally. By seeking out and working with such a partner, the opposition can be overcome and the objectives achieved.
I-Ching hexagrams are represented by unbroken and broken lines. An unbroken line is referred to as "nine", meaning it will take nine years to consume or manifest itself; a broken line is "six", likewise taking six years to consume.
Counting bottom-up, each of the six lines in the hexagram tells a story. On its own, the message sounds cryptic and indeed it should be, so that it can be interpreted for an endless variety of situations.
"Nine at the beginning means: remorse disappears. If you lose your horse, do not run after it; it will come back of its own accord. When you see evil people, guard yourself against mistakes."
Even with opposition, mistakes can be avoided (no regrets). One must not try to bring about unity by force as it would backfire. If a team-mate is estranged due to a misunderstanding, he will return on his own if no one chases after him; if evil outsiders try to force their way in, following a misunderstanding, they cannot be repelled by force. They will eventually withdraw on their own.
"Nine in the second place means: one meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame."
Continue Your Reading: I Ching And Tun Abdul Razak: Part B »
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