Feng shui

    Feng shui (fengshui), pronounced in English as [fʊŋ'ʃweɪ] ("fung shway") or [fɛŋ'ʃuːi] ("feng shoo-ee"), is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment. The literal translation is "wind-water".

    Feng shui involves the use of geographical, psychological, philosophical, mathematical, aesthetic and astrological concepts in relation to space and energy flow.^[1] It is not simply a decorating style, but a discipline with guidelines compatible with many different techniques of architectural planning.

    The source of the term is purportedly the Burial Book written by Guo Pu (郭璞) in the Jin Dynasty (晉朝). Qi (氣), the energy of the universe, is carried in the wind and retained within water. Both elements were used as a way of directing Qi, thus giving feng shui its name. Wind is said to carry energy, or Qi, and therefore represents the principle of change and transformation in nature. Water is said to hold energy and therefore represents the principle of stability. Wind is also representative of action, fervor and enthusiasm, whereas water is representative of internal strength, meditative qualities, and psychological power. By relating the holding and dispersing qualities of water and wind in nature to those in human behavior, feng shui also seeks to improve the human condition through the manipulation of physical space in a way that will impact on its corresponding qualities in humans.

    An individual is usually not described as having bad or incorrect feng shui, but since the practice is linked to Qi, a person's energy can either deplete or add to the energy of his or her surroundings. The space can also affect the individual, especially in matters of luck, health, and prosperity. Feng shui is not only a practice that is related to physical space, but also to the inhabitants of the space itself, as both are interconnected.

History

    It is generally believed that Qin fire had all feng shui books burned. The most authoritative work is "Qing Nang Jing" given by Huang Shi Gong to Zhang Liang during the late Qin Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Yang Yun Song and his disciples wrote several books that are considered the most authoritative work by all feng shui schools.

    These books were written in cryptic language and knowledge primarily passed down through the oral tradition, but it was also believed to be intuitive and derivable from common sense and our feeling of what is natural. Eitel traces the origins of feng shui as a distinct belief system to Chu Hsi's writings and commentaries from the Song dynasty (1126-1278). Chu Hsi's thought greatly influenced Confucianism and became the foundation of feng shui. But, more broadly speaking, feng shui's roots go back to the origins of Chinese philosophy.

    In the 19th century, the Chinese government regularly published almanacs containing all the charts, diagrams and numerical data used in feng shui practice.

    Early English-speaking settlers in China in the mid-19th century reportedly ran into difficulties sparked by feng shui. Much like modern landowners having problems with building codes, these settlers had trouble in construction and renovation because their proposals did not conform to feng shui principles. Further, when unwanted foreigners tried to purchase land, they would be directed to spots with topographies known to cause very bad feng shui.

    Early Western commentators on feng shui were often skeptical and derogatory. Edwin Dukes wrote in 1885, "If any one wishes to see to what a howling wilderness of erratic dogmatism the human mind can arrive, when speculation usurps the place of science, and theories are reverenced equally with facts, let him endeavour to fathom even the elementary principles of that abyss of insane vagaries, the science of Feng-Shui."

    Others noted that, while naive as a science, it is more accurate than some Western mythologies.

    Some scholars have noted that the general guidelines of feng shui have been followed across times and cultures, using different languages and with different justifications.