Which mountains, and what a xiu peak looks like
On the 24 mountain ring, Hai sits at 330 degrees, Zhen or Mao at 90, and Geng at 255. These are the three auspicious. Gen at 45, Xun at 135, You at 270, Bing at 165, Xin at 285 and Ding at 195 are the six elegant. Four of the nine, Hai, Gen, Xun and You, are also the seats of the four noble stars.
A xiu peak, an elegant peak, is easy to recognise. It stands upright and whole. Its outline is clean, with no broken top, no scar, no sharp spur pointing at the site. It is well shaped, like a bell, a brush tip or a round seal. A ragged, leaning or quarried hill on an elegant bearing is not an elegant peak.
What this means on the ground
Stand at the site and set the luopan level. Sight each peak in turn and read the mountain it sits on. Then look at the peak itself: is it upright, whole and clean? A peak that is both well shaped and on one of the nine bearings counts. Do the same for the water. Note where the stream or road first comes into view and which mountain it sits on.
For a grave, a xiu peak on the left or right guarding side, or as the facing peak, is what you look for. For a house or a shop, a neat hill, a tidy tower or a roof line on one of these bearings does the same work. The Tianxing school then reads the star on that bearing to confirm what the hill already shows.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is to count the bearing and forget the shape. A hill on Xin that is broken, leaning or scarred by a quarry is not a xiu peak, whatever the ring says. The second mistake is to apply these nine mountains to the facing of a door or a stone. They are a test for hills and water, not a rule for setting the facing.
The third is to measure from a map or a satellite view. The mountain a peak sits on depends on where you stand, and a few metres at the site can move a near peak from Bing to Wu. The fourth is to treat the list as a guarantee. Nine good bearings do not make a site; the dragon and the water still decide.
Questions people ask
What are the three auspicious and six elegant mountains?
They are nine bearings on the 24 mountain luopan. The three auspicious are Hai, Zhen (Mao) and Geng. The six elegant are Gen, Xun, You, Bing, Xin and Ding. A clean, upright peak or incoming water on one of them is read as favourable for a site.
Which direction should the mountains be around a grave?
Behind, you want a firm support. Left and right, guarding hills that close in. In front, a low facing peak with a clear view beyond. If those hills also sit on one of the nine bearings and are well shaped, so much the better, but the arrangement comes first.
Is a xiu peak the same as a noble star?
Not quite. Four mountains, Hai, Gen, Xun and You, appear on both lists. But the noble stars are read on the Tianxing ring and concern the incoming range as much as the peaks. The six elegant test the hills and water seen from the site.
To have the hills and water around your plot read in person, book a site reading or join the field course with Master Zhang.