Dragon Vein (龙脉)

The ridge or landform that carries qi across a landscape. A dragon vein is a continuous landform — a ridge, a range, a raised line of ground — along which qi is said to travel. Reading the veins is the core of the form school's work on landscape.

It belongs to the classical vocabulary of the tradition. The ridge or landform that carries qi across a landscape. The dragon is the tradition's most elaborate metaphor and also its most consistent: across the sources, the same physical features — a continuous ridge with water nearby and shelter from wind — are what the metaphor points to.

The classical texts describe the dragon as active or dormant, and the practice consists of following it to the point where it settles. The vocabulary is entirely metaphorical, but the underlying observations are about ridgelines, shelter from wind and the availability of water. It is grouped under Earth (土) in the five-element system.