While speaking about using your inspiration when employing man-made techniques, Professor told the following story. He told this story again and again, and I think it is important to get it on paper. So, here, after many years, is a story I heard many times. It reminds us of why we study and do the work we do.

A very successful and prosperous entrepreneur in Hong Kong built a beautiful house there. There was a wall surrounding the house, and the original tiles on top of the wall were green. There was also a green flagpole at the front door. His business was great, and his career was thriving. He was offered a high position in Beijing.

While in Beijing, he visited the Imperial Palace. He noticed that the roof tiles were yellow. He was impressed by the regal and noble look. He was inspired by the color, and decided to change his green tile to yellow tile. He also noticed that the flagpole at the Palace was red, and changed the color of his flagpole to red. The gentleman had no Black Sect Feng Shui knowledge, and neither did his Feng Shui consultant. The change went uncontested, and life changed dramatically.

The businessman’s career declined. He lost a lot of money, and his health suffered. Lawsuits began to dominate his life. There were many adversities, and he was finally forced to file for bankruptcy. His health suffered more and more, and, upon his death, his friends could not understand his premature demise. Yet, as practitioners of Black Sect Feng Shui, we can understand. It was reasonable for a very smart businessman to want to emulate the feeling of the Imperial Palace. By adding the color yellow to his home, he was adding nobility, regality and respectability. By adding red, he was adding justice and the ability to ward off evil. These are good principles. However, his knowledge was not complete. He did not have the following information:

• The wall around his house resembled two dragons. The front door was the pearl. To have two dragons “playing” with a pearl is very auspicious, and brought him very good fortune. The flagpole was symbolic of the whiskers of the dragon, making it seem even more alive. As an animal from the water (in Chinese cosmology), a living dragon is green. The original green tiles were symbolic of a living and vital dragon. This brought the gentleman great success.
• When the yellow tiles were added, the “dragons” turned yellow and the symbolism changed. A live shrimp is greenish. When cooked, it turns red. If it simply dies, it turns yellow. So, the new yellow tiles created two dead dragons. The new red flagpole (the original green whiskers) was symbolically “cooked”—more symbolism of a dead dragon.
• According to Chinese folklore, is it any wonder there was a dead businessman?

Download a PDF copy of The Dragon that Changed Color.