On December 26, when a century-old house in Youmin Community, Maxiang Town, Xiang'an District, Xiamen City was being renovated, the owner of the old house accidentally dug out a gossip-shaped mechanism from the hall. There are also two brick deeds written with calligraphy on them. This strange incident immediately caused a stir among Xiang'an people's circle of friends.
The circular Bagua array hidden in the back hall of the ancient house is about 3 meters in diameter. It is inlaid in the center of the hall. There are Tai Chi graphics in the middle, and there are two dots on the two levels. A bronze piece. The eight directions of the Bagua array are also inlaid with floor tiles, representing the hexagrams of the Bagua.
Two brick deeds were dug out next to the Bagua array, with dense calligraphy written on them. On a brick deed with a Eight Diagrams pattern on it, there are words written on it, "Live in a blessed land and grow rich, and your descendants will be blessed for generations to come." Lin Zili said that they haven't had time to study the meaning of it now, but the general idea is that this is a geomantic treasure land, which entrusts the good wishes of the ancestors to benefit future generations.
“The Bagua Array mechanism was unearthed in the ancient house, and even the eighty-year-old elderly people in the community don’t know what happened. We have been walking around the ancient house all year round, and we haven’t found anything different.” Lin Zili said that during Typhoon Meranti last year, the main house and auxiliary rooms of the ancient house collapsed, so the family discussed renovating the old house and decorating it in the same style as before. Yesterday afternoon, they discovered this mechanism while digging the floor tiles in the hall. Everyone was surprised.
According to Lin Zili, this ancient house on Daliu Road was built during the Qing Dynasty by Lin Fangde, a business scholar known as "Lin Baiwan" in Maxiang. Lin Zili is a descendant of Lin Fangde. The Qing Dynasty Jiaqing edition of "Tong'an County Chronicle" records: Lin Fangde became rich in business, was eager for justice, and was willing to do good deeds. He even donated a hundred gold to build the Wen Gong Academy behind the Brahma Temple in Tong'an; he advocated the reform of Lin Xiyuan Shifang, a "famous official in Neo-Confucianism"; he spent five Hundreds of gold were spent to build the Tongli Temple in Maxiang to worship Zhu Xi. In addition, Lin Fangde donated generously to control floods in the East and West streams of Tong'an and built the "Tanggong Embankment" for the people, Confucius Temple and Chiwang Temple in Maxiang, Yuyingtang, Chaoyuan Temple, Dongyue Temple, Zhunti Pavilion, etc. in Tong'an County. They all contributed money and effort. Lin Fangde was also very considerate of the poor people. For ten years, he provided free coffins and took care of funeral arrangements for many poor families who could not afford funerals. He was praised as the "Ten Years of Coffin Giving" that will be remembered forever.
This ancient house has a history of hundreds of years. Although it is slightly dilapidated, it is not difficult to see its extraordinary grandeur from the beams, brackets and carved stone carvings in the hall. Lin Lishui, a descendant of Lin Fangde, said: "Lin Fangde had six boys and two girls. He built an ancient house for each son in Ma Xiang." Now there are four houses in Ma Xiang, Hou Lin Xiang, Dagong Lane, Liulu Lane, Maxiang Street, and Sanxiang Street still preserve these six ancient houses with an "eleven-step-out" structure. This ancient house where the Bagua Array mechanism was excavated is one of them.
According to Su Wentian, an expert on Xiang'an literature and history, it is common to find brick deeds in ancient houses, but the mechanism for digging out the Bagua array has never been seen before. Brick deeds are usually buried underground and contain the orientation and structure of the house. Lin Fangde was a well-known wealthy businessman in Ma Xiang during the Qing Dynasty. It is not surprising to find a mystery in the ancient house he built.
Mr. Yan Lishui, an expert on literature and history in Tong'an, said that generally there are Bagua patterns on the walls and lintels of ancient houses, which are mainly used to ward off and suppress evil. However, he is the first to dig out Bagua-shaped traps underground. I heard about it once.
Lin Zili said that no matter what mysteries are hidden underground, he will continue to reinstall the floor tiles according to the original decoration plan. He will not dig deep into them and will protect his ancestors. The legacy that remains.