Being
a Chinese, I personally know a lot of age-old traditions and superstitions
deeply imbedded in our culture. For example, girls who whistle in kitchens
would marry old men. Clipping your fingernails at night would be a personal
invitation to a spirit to ‘watch over’ you while you sleep. Wear a green
hat in public and everyone would quietly snicker that you have been cuckolded,
even if Calvin Klein dictates that green hats are all the rage of the
season.
By all means,
the Chinese almanac, popularly known as the ‘Tong Shu’ is not mere superstition.
It has been used for centuries as a guide to everyday life and important
events. In the Chinese calendar, there are certain days which are good
for specific activities and vice versa. How else would you know whether
it is a good day to get married, start your new business, renovate your
home or move to another house? Most Chinese would not commence on anything
so important without first consulting the Tong Shu.
Which is
why we at Feng Shui Times were very happy to receive a complimentary copy
of Joey Yap’s Tong Shu Diary 2003. Bound in synthetic leather cover, the
Tong Shu Diary is about 12” by 8” and includes the following :
- Calendars
for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004
- A 2003 and 2004 Year Planner
- Convenient, easy-to-use travel plan for frequent travelers
- Annual and Monthly Flying Star Charts for the year 2003
- Forecast for Flying Stars in 2003
- 8 Mansions Gua Numbers and Year Pillars
- 8 Mansions Gua Directions chart (East/West group)
- The 24 Mountain Rings & 24 Mountains Table
- Reference table (5 Elements, 10 Heavenly Stems, 12 Earthly Branches)
- International Direct Calling Guide
- Auspicious
hour forecast
- Suitable and unsuitable activities
- Daily Four Pillars
- Daily Flying Star chart
- Horoscope forecast
- AM/PM notes & Important Activities
Roll your cursor over the image for descriptions
If you intend
to give the Tong Shu Diary 2003 as a gift to business associates or friends,
there is a ‘With Compliments’ page where you can just fill in the receiver’s
name at the top, and your name at the bottom.
The Tong
Shu Diary 2003 looks very elegant and professional. The wealth of information
contained within the diary should go well with BaZi (Four Pillars) and
Feng Shui enthusiasts. If you have no clue of what either means, you can
just use it as a daily guide to your everyday life. And perhaps this diary
could be the start of your interest in either BaZi or Feng Shui!
As an ending
note, here’s a quote from Joey Yap in his foreword :
“
We are all subject to the cyclical forces of nature, but by being able
to select the good times in which to perform important activities, chances
are that things will go smoothly or we may benefit from the ‘extra edge’
since the ‘timing’ is correct. This extra edge may not seem like much,
but it may sometimes make all the difference between success and failure.”
Joey
Yap is the Co-founder and CEO of the Yap Cheng Hai
Feng Shui Center of Excellence and Yap Global Consulting.
Besides advisory and counseling work to students and clients, Joey
Yap continues to work with Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai, a living legend
in the practice of Feng Shui, leading an international group of highly
qualified practitioners and Masters in teaching Classical Feng Shui
and BaZi around the world.
The
Tong Shu Diary 2003 is written by Joey Yap and published
by Yap Global Consulting. The official distributor of the diary
is Dragon
Gate Palace. It retails at US$38 and
is now available at Dragon-Gate.com .
