Physiognomy is a discipline.
Broadly speaking, it encompasses reading the heavens, the earth, people, and things. Nothing is beyond its scope.
More specifically, it includes such esoteric arts as the Four Pillars of Destiny, the Six Lines and Eight Trigrams, Qimen Dunjia, and yin-yang feng shui.
Master just one of these arts, and you can call yourself a physiognomist.
Physiognomists are divided into three schools and five branches. They have their own order of seniority, and physiognomy has nine ranks, each opening up a whole new world.
When poverty left him struggling to get by, half of a damaged manuscript set him on the path of physiognomy. From then on, he roamed the world.
When down on his luck, he had sold fortunes at street stalls and been hauled into the police station, enduring the scornful looks of ordinary people. When fortune smiled on him, merchants and nobles came calling, and the bitter wives of wealthy families knocked on his door in the dead of night...
Through all the ups and downs, it was only when he looked back that he understood: what can never be fully read is the human world.
