He Tu and Luo Shu

Shuang Yan Guan Zhu

This section gives a new explanation on the mystery of He Tu and Luo Shu. Both are considered to
be the gift from god. The book of changes, fengshui techniques and Eight Trigram are thought to
have their origin from He Tu and Luo Shu.

We use the Cartesian coordinate to represent the three dimensional space. The Luo Shu (Tortoise)
can be represented by the X-Y plane. The He Tu (Dragon Horse) can be presented by X-Z sagittal
plane. In yoga, the seven chakras, and each chakra can be presented by Z-Y cross section plane.
All three related to the human body. (Figure 1)

   The number in He Tu and Luo Shu represent the energy points (Qi) in the body. These energy
points correlate with certain plexuses in the nervous system. They also correlate with certain parts of
the body. He Tu and Luo Shu also directly relate to the Eight Trigrams of I-Ching. This chapter also
points out that the location of the medium nerve and its related chakra depend on the method used
by the practitioner.

The Mystery of He Tu and Luo Shu

The book of changes, "He Tu becomes the picture, and Luo Shu becomes the book, the Saint learns
from them."
 【Hetu 】 

One and six are clannish brothers

Two and seven are ruddies
Three and eight are companions
Four and nine are friends
Five and ten live in the center

【Luoshu】 
The beginning is nine and the one
Left is three and right is seven
Two and four represent the shoulder
Six and eight represent the foot
Five live in the center 

According to legend, "He Tu" was first appeared at the time of Fu Xi (prehistoric), at that time, a
legendary animal with a head of a dragon and a body of a horse surfaced from Yellow River. At
its body, they were marks with numerical numbers. It was thought by some as a miniature
stricture of the universe.

The "Luo Shu" traced back to the time of Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty (72,000 B.C.).  There
was a tortoise with a dragon head swam to the bank of the river. The creature carried
a numerical pattern on its back. Emperor Yu was inspire and methods of preventing the floods
were developed. Some thought also the Luo Shu is a reduced representation of the earth.
 Horse Diagram (He T)u

 Taotoise Book Diagram (Luo Shu) 

The evolution of the He Tu and Luo Shu were unclear. However, the appearance the two as
diagrams probably first started around the Song Dynasty.

   Normally, Chinese ancient classics are full of code words (argot) or metaphor and simile. In
Taoism, especially, words like dragon, tiger, lead and mercury were used to denote certain
phenomena appeared during meditation. If Dragon-Horse Diagram (He Tu) and Tortoise Book
Diagram (Luo Shu) represents the human body, what would be the explanation? We can use the
Cartesian coordinate to explain them. The Tortoise Book Diagram can be explained by the X-Y
plane and it is similar to the X-Y frontal plain of the human body. As for the Dragon Horse Diagram, it
can be denoted by the X-Z plane. It corresponds to the X-Z sagittal plane of the body. It is not hard
to understand how the ancient people used the Horse and the Tortoise to represent the frontal and
the sagittal plane.
In yoga, each of the seven chaka has a definite number, e.g. the sacral chakra (first chakra) only has
four leaves. The chakra can be represented by the Y-Z plane and it is equivalent to the horizontal
plane of the human body. 

In Taoism, the practice of Qi can be roughly divided into microcosmic and macrocosmic circulation.
The macrocosmic circulation implies union of body with nature. In order to achieve this union, the
governor vessel and the frontanelle have to be opened to allow the passage of Qi. In Taoism, the
real position of the governor vessel is inside the spinal cord and the spine. This can be also
represented by the Dragon Horse Diagram (He Tu) and can be expresses also by the X-Y plane or
the sagittal plane of the body. The Tortoise Book Diagram can be drawn as the X-Y plane or the
frontal plane of the body.

From the above discussion, we feel that the origin of He Tu and Luo Shu are the result of Qi
distribution during the practice of meditation. It is evident from scientific studies or meditation,
several forces exist in nature. Those affect human body the most are the gravitational and
electromagnetic forces. The gravitational force possesses time element whereas the
electromagnetic force has a special relationship. In crude way, Qi is the bio-electromagnetic force.
Nature possesses electromagnetic force, and human body similarly has bio-electromagnetic force.
Both can directly and indirectly affect each other. Both can merge or repel each other. Resonance
also plays an important role between them.  Their interaction is called in the past as "union of nature
and man."