Yuguan zhaoshen ju 玉管照神局

Yuguan zhaoshen ju 玉管照神局 is a book on prognostication by physiognomy and other means attributed to Song Qiqiu 宋齊邱 (887-959), courtesy name Chaohui 超回, alternative name Zisong 子嵩, from Luling 廬陵 (today's Ji’an 吉安, Jiangxi), who lived in the Southern Tang empire 南唐 (937-975). He was an administrative assistant officer with palace duty (dianzhijun panguan 殿直軍判官), right ministerial director (yousi yuanwailang 右司員外郎) and joint manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery (tongping zhangshi 同平章事). His career was crowned with the investiture as Duke of Chu 楚國公. Later on, Song was charged with a crime and dismissed, whereupon he hanged himself. The book is likely compiled by retainers of Song, even if Song himself might have been interested in prognostication.

The book of 3 juan survived in the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) encyclopaedia Yongle dadian 永樂大典, from where it was extracted and is integrated into the imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書. It consists of an assemblage of writings of various literary genres on Daoist masters and their teachings concerning prognostication, such as the rhapsodies Lü Dongbin fu 呂洞賓賦, Qianjin fu 千金賦, the treatise Shenhou Yang Xiansheng shenbu lun 神垕楊先生神部論, Xiyue Xiansheng jie xiangfa 西岳先生截相法, charts and descriptions of diagrams like Xingfen shixiang tu 形分十相圖, Zhangfa bing zhangwen tu 掌法并掌紋圖, and of explanations on the interpretation of various parts of the body, like bones, appearance, physiognomy, etc., with relevance to personal fate.

The book explores a person's physical form and spirit (shen 神, essence). It examines the five facial features as well as the body shape, analyses complexion, and takes into account the four seasons. The book asserts that observing the spirit (zhao shen 照神) was foundational to the art of physiognomy. One could determine fortune and misfortune by observing shades of various colours. It was possible to discern nobility and humility by considering the Five Agents metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Therefore, the head is considered primary, while the eyes hold authority. The head was the main place where the Five Agents were active (yi tou wei zhu 以頭為主), while the eyes had a responding authority (yi yan wei quan 以眼為權). The book also provides a detailed study of palmistry (zhangfa 掌法), including seventy-two illustrations of various palm lines. For each line pattern, it first explains the primary meaning and then elaborates with a four-line poem.

The Yuguan zhaoshen ju is one of the earlier writings in physiognomy and has been widely circulated. It served as a reference for practitioners across generations and preserves abundant material on physiognomy, making it a valuable resource for studying the development of this art in China.

It is included in the series Siku quanshu and Shiwanjuanlou congshu 十萬卷樓叢書.