The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China From the Bottom Up by Liao Yiwu

feng shui in this area. About twelve years ago, I worked for the folk art agency here. My director, Peng, and I used to visit villages along the You River to collect folk music and arts. One day, Director Peng came here to seek advice from you because his deceased father had appeared in his dreams many times. When he and I showed up at your house, you asked Director Peng to prepare a bowl of clear water and hold the bowl in front of you. I was puzzled by the ceremony and asked: What can you see in the water? Your answer contained two words: The soul. After examining the water for a couple of minutes, you urged Director Peng to bury his father's ashes to appease the old man's soul. But Director Peng said: I have already buried my father's ashes. Upon hearing that, you tapped a burning incense stick on the side of the bowl three times and asked: How come your father's ghost is still angry? Director Peng was so scared that his face turned ashen white. He immediately knelt in front of you and said: You are right, Master! I lied. It turned out his father's ashes were still stored inside an urn at his house and he hadn't had the opportunity to bury it yet. Do you remember that?
    HUANG: I know Director Peng, but I don't remember the ceremony. I don't do that anymore. I have given up my practice.
    LIAO: How come?
    HUANG: It's a long story. During the past decade, feng shui consulting and fortune-telling have become quite popular in this area. People consult feng shui masters before the construction of houses for both the living and the dead. My specialty is to advise people with choosing burial sites. One year, I was so busy. I offered consultation to at least fifty families.
    LIAO: Why, was there a high death rate that year?
    HUANG: No, no. The advice was for the living. In this area, people spend money choosing spots with good feng shui for big and lavish tombs while they are still alive. Tombs with the right feng shui can bring good luck for your descendants.
    I have worked hard for the folks here all my life and accumulated a little fortune from my business. I've just turned ninety. It's time for me to take care of myself. So, two years ago, I left the business to my nine-year-old apprentice, who is a feng shui prodigy. One day, after my retirement, the former chief of our township asked me for help. So I walked around and picked a piece of land for him. Upon my recommendation, he hired a contingent of stonemasons, bricklayers, plasterers, and tillers, who worked nonstop for three months and converted the spot into a private cemetery. The township chief then moved all of his ancestors' tombs from seven kilometers away to the new spot. He also ordered the craftsmen to build a grave for himself, which was more spacious than his house. After the project was completed, the chief hosted a huge banquet, with twenty tables full of guests. I was invited but didn't go. I got my butt out of there as soon as I could. If a person becomes too greedy, he starts to carry bad energy. I was too afraid he could pass the bad energy on to me.
    LIAO: The spot you picked for him was supposed to be auspicious. Why did you try to run away?
    HUANG: People of different status are provided with different feng shui specs and with different levels of design. A good feng shui design requires the complete harmony of yin and yang elements. It should be neither inadequate nor excessive. The chief of the township broke all the rules of moderation. He heaped on himself the luxuries normally accorded to a provincial governor. You probably have heard about it. Inside his tomb, there was a long list of modern luxuries: a stone replica of a luxury car, a stone bed carved in the shape of a dragon boat, a room set aside for a nightclub with karaoke equipment. He even built a nice carved stone chair, specifically reserved for his meeting with the president of a multinational corporation in the world of the dead. He also specifically requested the company of “young