神相全編
Complete Compendium of Spirit Physiognomy
袁忠徹 (Yuan Zhongche, compiler) · Ming (明朝, compilation)
One of the most comprehensive classical Chinese physiognomy manuals, systematically documenting the reading of facial features, palm lines, body markings, and other physical characteristics to assess character, fortune, and destiny.
About This Text
The Shenxiang Quanbian (神相全編) is a Ming dynasty compilation of Chinese physiognomy (相術) that integrates multiple philosophical systems including the Five Elements (五行), Eight Trigrams (八卦), Twelve Palaces (十二宮), and Five Officers (五官). It covers face mapping, individual feature reading (eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, ears), mole interpretation, qi-color diagnosis, holistic body-type classification, palm reading, foot reading, and cranial bone analysis. The text draws on earlier works attributed to figures such as Chen Tuan (陳摶) and Ma Yi (麻衣道者).
Text source: Ming dynasty woodblock print, scanned pages (573 pages) · All 12 chapters complete with bilingual text (Chinese + English translations).