Guo Pu, the originator of ancient geomantic omen, defined geomantic omen in his Funeral Scripture (also known as Funeral Book): "People who are buried with their qi are scattered by the wind, and the boundary water stops, so they are called geomantic omen."
The house we live in is also best to sit facing south, and so is the cemetery. Sitting in the south is not only for lighting, but also for sheltering from the wind (northwest wind is dominant). "Pingyang is not afraid of the wind, but there is a difference between Yin and Yang. Warm wind, the warm wind from east to south is called yang wind, which does not hurt; The cold wind from west to north is called negative wind, and it should be stopped with recent examples, otherwise the wind will blow cold bones and make people feel helpless. " .
Except sitting in a house facing south, almost all the tombs of ancient emperors face south. The mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, which can create feudal monarchy, sits west and faces east. Why? There have been different views on this point. There are three main opinions:
First, in the Qin and Han dynasties, sitting in the west and sitting in the east was a kind of respect. Sima Qian described the seating of the Hongmen Banquet in Historical Records of Xiang Yu. "Wang Xiang, Xiang Bo is sitting in the east, and Yafu is sitting in the south. Pei Gong sits in the north and Zhang Liangxi sits. " There is a similar record in the official ceremony of historians, The Book of Rites, that "recognize the owner's things (facing east) and take worshippers as guests."
The ancients believed that "the west is the land of the elderly, and the position of the venerable is not as good as the young, and the west respects the elders." There are hundreds of disrespectful and humble. " In other words, from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Qin Dynasty, the West was a highly respected position.
The second is to publicize Qin Shihuang's greatest achievement and unify the six eastern countries. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin was the weakest. After the efforts of generations of Qin kings, Qin Shihuang finally wiped out the six eastern countries. According to Qin Shihuang's idea, sit west to east and swallow mountains and rivers. Therefore, it will be laid out in a way of sitting west to east to declare its great achievements.
The ancients firmly believed that the soul could not die after death, and their graves sat facing west and looked down on the world. As Zhu, a political commentator in the Western Han Dynasty, commented: "The power of the Emperor of Qin conquered the world and annexed the Warring States. The sea family, it runs in the family. "
Third, Qin Shihuang's personal ideal is to pray for immortality. Ancient emperors longed for immortality, and Qin Shihuang not only did that, but also sent Xu Fu to the sea to seek immortality medicine, which is the best proof.
In fact, most of the tombs that have been excavated and buried with the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum face west and east. This kind of burial became more and more obvious in the early Qin Dynasty. Expressed the desire of Qin people to compete for the world from the East.
References:
Biography of the First Emperor, History as a Mirror