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==Modern developments==
==Modern developments==
One of the grievances mentioned at the start of the anti-Western [[Boxer Rebellion]], was that Westerner developers were violating the basic principles of feng shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout [[China]]. After [[Richard Nixon]] journeyed to the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1972, feng shui became marketable in the [[United States]].
One of the grievances mentioned at the start of the anti-Western [[Boxer Rebellion]], was that Westerner developers were violating the basic principles of feng shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout [[China]]. After [[Richard Nixon]] journeyed to the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1972, feng shui became marketable in the [[United States]].I doubt it.


It has since been reinvented by New Age [[entrepreneur]]s for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life.<ref>H. L. Goodall, Jr. Writing the American Ineffable, or the Mystery and Practice of Feng Shui in Everyday Life. ''Qualitative Inquiry,'' 7:1, 3–20 (2001).</ref> The following list does not exhaust the modern varieties.
It has since been reinvented by New Age con artists for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life.No it doesnt<ref>H. L. Goodall, Jr. Writing the American Ineffable, or the Mystery and Practice of Feng Shui in Everyday Life. ''Qualitative Inquiry,'' 7:1, 3–20 (2001).</ref> The following list does not exhaust the modern varieties.


'''Black Sect'''—also called '''[[Black Sect Tantric Buddhism|BTB]] Feng Shui'''—does not match documentary or archaeological evidence, or what is known of the history of [[Tantra]] in [[China]].<ref>Chou Yi-liang. Tantrism in China. ''Harvard J. of Asiatic Studies,'' 8:3/4 (Mar., 1945), 241–332.</ref> It relies on "transcendental" methods, the concept of clutter as metaphor for life circumstances, and the use of [[Affirmations (New Age)|affirmations]] or ''intentions'' to achieve results. The BTB [[Ba gua]] was developed by Lin Yun. Each of the eight sectors that were once aligned to compass points now represents a particular area of one's life.
'''Black Sect'''—also called '''[[Black Sect Tantric Buddhism|BTB]] Feng Shui'''—does not match documentary or archaeological evidence, or what is known of the history of [[Tantra]] in [[China]].<ref>Chou Yi-liang. Tantrism in China. ''Harvard J. of Asiatic Studies,'' 8:3/4 (Mar., 1945), 241–332.</ref> It relies on "transcendental" methods, the concept of clutter as metaphor for life circumstances, and the use of [[Affirmations (New Age)|affirmations]] or ''intentions'' to achieve results. The BTB [[Ba gua]] was developed by Lin Yun. Each of the eight sectors that were once aligned to compass points now represents a particular area of one's life.


In contemporary [[China]], practitioners of the divination systems of [[Qi Men Dun Jia]] and [[Da Liu Ren]] adopt these modes of divination for highly detailed and analytic problem-solving in Feng Shui.{{citation needed|date=August 2009}}
In contemporary [[China]], practitioners of the divination systems of [[Qi Men Dun Jia]] and [[Da Liu Ren]] adopt these modes of divination for highly detailed and analytic problem-solving.{{citation needed|date=August 2009}}


====Feng shui today====
====Feng shui today====
Today, feng shui is practiced by con artists.
Today, feng shui is practiced not only by the Chinese, but also by Westerners. However, with the passage of time and feng shui's popularization in the West, much of the knowledge behind it has been lost in translation, not paid proper attention to, frowned upon, or scorned.


Robert T. Carroll sums up what feng shui has become in some cases:
Robert T. Carroll sums up what feng shui has become in some cases:
<blockquote>"... feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating in the Western world and alleged masters of feng shui now hire themselves out for hefty sums to tell people such as Donald Trump which way his doors and other things should hang. Feng shui has also become another New Age "energy" scam with arrays of metaphysical products ... offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximize your potential, and guarantee fulfillment of some fortune cookie philosophy."<ref name="The Skeptic's Dictionary">Robert T. Carroll, [http://www.skepdic.com/fengshui.html ''"feng shui - The Skeptic’s Dictionary"'']</ref></blockquote> Others have noted how, when feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them.<ref name="Fabulous Feng Shui">Elizabeth Hilts, [http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1189&src= ''"Fabulous Feng Shui: It's Certainly Popular, But is it Eco-Friendly?"'']</ref> Still others are simply skeptical.
<blockquote>"... feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating in the Western world and alleged con artists of feng shui now hire themselves out for hefty sums to tell people such as Donald Trump which way his doors and other things should hang. Feng shui has also become another New Age "energy" scam (yes scam) with arrays of metaphysical products ... offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximize your potential, and guarantee fulfillment of some fortune cookie philosophy."<ref name="The Skeptic's Dictionary">Robert T. Carroll, [http://www.skepdic.com/fengshui.html ''"feng shui - The Skeptic’s Dictionary"'']</ref></blockquote> Others have noted how, when feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them.<ref name="Fabulous Feng Shui">Elizabeth Hilts, [http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1189&src= ''"Fabulous Feng Shui: It's Certainly Popular, But is it Eco-Friendly?"'']</ref> Still others are simply skeptical.Its not real.


Nevertheless, even modern feng shui is not always looked at as a superstitious scam. Many people{{Who|date=February 2009}} believe it is important and very helpful in living a prosperous and healthy life either avoiding or blocking negative energies that might otherwise have bad effects. Many of the higher-level forms of feng shui are not so easily practiced without either connections, or a certain amount of wealth because the hiring of an expert, the great altering of architecture or design, and the moving from place to place that is sometimes necessary requires a lot of money. Because of this, some people of the lower classes lose faith in feng shui, saying that it is only a game for the wealthy.<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''1">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 42</ref> Others, however, practice less expensive forms of Feng Shui, including hanging special (but cheap) mirrors, forks, or woks in doorways to deflect negative energy.<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''2">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 46</ref>
Nevertheless, even modern feng shui is not always looked at as a superstitious scam. Many people{{Who|date=February 2009}} believe it is important and very helpful in living a prosperous and healthy life either avoiding or blocking negative energies that might otherwise have bad effects. Many of the higher-level forms of feng shui are not so easily practiced without either connections, or a certain amount of wealth because the hiring of an expert, the great altering of architecture or design, and the moving from place to place that is sometimes necessary requires a lot of money. Ya lets con the rich people. Because of this, some people of the lower classes see through the con feng shui.<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''1">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 42</ref> Others, poor suckers, however, practice less expensive forms of Feng Shui, including hanging special (but cheap) mirrors, forks, or woks in doorways to deflect negative energy.And it does nothing.<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''2">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 46</ref>


Even today feng shui is so important to some people{{Who|date=February 2009}} that they use it for healing purposes, separate from western medical practice, in addition to using it to guide their businesses and create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes.<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''3">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 48</ref> In 2005, even Disney acknowledged feng shui as an important part of Chinese culture by shifting the main gate to Hong Kong Disneyland by twelve degrees in their building plans, among many other actions suggested by the master planner of architecture and design at Walt Disney Imagineering, Wing Chao, in an effort to incorporate local culture into the theme park.<ref name="Feng Shui Kingdom">Laura M. Holson, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E6D81531F936A15757C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 ''"The Feng Shui Kingdom"'']</ref>
Even today feng shui is so important to some people{{Who|date=February 2009}} that they use it for healing purposes,Ya right. separate from western medical practice, in addition to using it to guide their businesses and create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes.Its not real<ref name="''Journal of Popular Culture''3">Emmons, C. F. "Hong Kong's Feng Shui: Popular Magic in a Modern Urban Setting." ''Journal of Popular Culture'', Volume 26, Issue 1, Summer 1992, p. 48</ref> In 2005, even Disney acknowledged feng shui as a con. <ref name="Feng Shui Kingdom">Laura M. Holson, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E6D81531F936A15757C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 ''"The Feng Shui Kingdom"'']</ref>


The practice of Feng Shui is diverse and multi-faceted. There are many different schools and perspectives. [http://www.ifsguild.org/ The International Feng Shui Guild] (IFSG) is a non-profit professional organization that presents the full diversity of Feng Shui.
The practice of Feng Shui is diverse and multi-faceted. And complete bunk. There are many different schools and perspectives. All untrue. [http://www.ifsguild.org/ The International Feng Shui Guild] (IFSG) is a non-profit professional organization that presents the full diversity of Feng Shui.


At [[Singapore polytechnic|Singapore Polytechnic]] and other institutions like the [http://www.nycollege.edu/ New York College of Health Professions], many students (including engineers and interior designers) take courses on feng shui every year and go on to become feng shui (or [[geomancy]]) consultants.<ref name="AsiaOne">AsiaOne, [http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090206-119946.html ''"Feng Shui course gains popularity"'']</ref>
At [[Singapore polytechnic|Singapore Polytechnic]] and other institutions like the [http://www.nycollege.edu/ New York College of Health Professions], many students (including engineers and interior designers) take courses on feng shui every year and go on to become feng shui (or [[geomancy]]) con artists.<ref name="AsiaOne">AsiaOne, [http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090206-119946.html ''"Feng Shui course gains popularity"'']</ref>


===Criticism===
===Criticism===
===Historical criticism===
===Historical criticism===
[[Matteo Ricci]] (1552–1610), one of the founding fathers of [[Jesuit China missions]], may have been the first European to write about feng shui practices. His account in ''[[De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas]]...'' tells about feng shui masters (''geologi'', in Latin) studying prospective construction sites or grave sites "with reference to the head and the tail and the feet of the particular dragons which are supposed to dwell beneath that spot". As a Catholic missionary, Ricci strongly criticized the "recondite science" of geomancy along with [[astrology]] as yet another ''superstitio absurdissima'' of the heathens: "What could be more absurd than their imagining that the safety of a family, honors, and their entire existence must depend upon such trifles as a door being opened from one side or another, as rain falling into a courtyard from the right or from the left, a window opened here or there, or one roof being higher than another?"<ref>"China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Matteo Ricci", Random House, New York, 1953. Book One, Chapter 9, pp. 84-85. This text appears in pp. 103-104 of Book One of the original Latin text by Ricci and [[Nicolas Trigault]] , [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=iLsWAAAAQAAJ&lr=&pg=RA1-PA3#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu'']</ref>
[[Matteo Ricci]] (1552–1610), one of the founding fathers of [[Jesuit China missions]], may have been the first European to write about feng shui practices. His account in ''[[De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas]]...'' tells about feng shui masters (''geologi'', in Latin) studying prospective construction sites or grave sites "with reference to the head and the tail and the feet of the particular dragons which are supposed to dwell beneath that spot". As a Catholic missionary, Ricci strongly criticized the "recondite science" of geomancy along with [[astrology]] as yet another ''superstitio absurdissima'' of the heathens: "What could be more absurd than their imagining that the safety of a family, honors, and their entire existence must depend upon such trifles as a door being opened from one side or another, as rain falling into a courtyard from the right or from the left, a window opened here or there, or one roof being higher than another?"<ref>"China in the Sixteenth Century: Its not real The Journals of Matteo Ricci", Random House, New York, 1953. Book One, Chapter 9, pp. 84-85. This text appears in pp. 103-104 of Book One of the original Latin text by Ricci and [[Nicolas Trigault]] , [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=iLsWAAAAQAAJ&lr=&pg=RA1-PA3#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu'']</ref>


Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.<ref>Andrew L. March. 'An Appreciation of Chinese Geomancy' in ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 2. (February 1968), pp. 253-267.</ref>
Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.Because its not real.<ref>Andrew L. March. 'An Appreciation of Chinese Geomancy' in ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 2. (February 1968), pp. 253-267.</ref>


In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about ''fung-shuy''."<ref>Jeffrey W. Cody. Striking a Harmonious Chord: Foreign Missionaries and Chinese-style Buildings, 1911-1949. ''Architronic''. 5:3 (ISSN 1066-6516)</ref>
In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about ''fung-shuy''."See told ya its not real.<ref>Jeffrey W. Cody. Striking a Harmonious Chord: Foreign Missionaries and Chinese-style Buildings, 1911-1949. ''Architronic''. 5:3 (ISSN 1066-6516)</ref>
[[Image:Sycee-Incense.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Sycee]]-shaped [[incense]] used in feng shui]]
[[Image:Sycee-Incense.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Sycee]]-shaped [[incense]] used in feng shui]]
Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui.<ref>Mah, Y.-B. Living in Harmony with One's Environment: A Christian Response to Feng Shui. ''Asia J. of Theology.'' 2004, 18; Part 2, pp 340-361.</ref>
Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui.<ref>Mah, Y.-B. Living in Harmony with One's Environment: A Christian Response to Feng Shui. ''Asia J. of Theology.'' 2004, 18; Part 2, pp 340-361.</ref>
Line 164: Line 164:


Feng shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket."<ref>Jane Mulcock. Creativity and Politics in the Cultural Supermarket: synthesizing indigenous identities for the r-evolution of spirit. ''Continuum''. 15:2. July 2001, 169-185.</ref> Mark Johnson<ref>"Reality Testing in Feng Shui." ''Qi'' Journal. Spring 1997</ref> made a telling point:
Feng shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket."<ref>Jane Mulcock. Creativity and Politics in the Cultural Supermarket: synthesizing indigenous identities for the r-evolution of spirit. ''Continuum''. 15:2. July 2001, 169-185.</ref> Mark Johnson<ref>"Reality Testing in Feng Shui." ''Qi'' Journal. Spring 1997</ref> made a telling point:
<blockquote>This present state of affairs is ludicrous and confusing. Do we really believe that mirrors and flutes are going to change people's tendencies in any lasting and meaningful way? ... There is a lot of investigation that needs to be done or we will all go down the tubes because of our inability to match our exaggerated claims with lasting changes.</blockquote>
<blockquote>This present state of affairs is ludicrous and confusing. Do we really believe that mirrors and flutes are going to change people's tendencies in any lasting and meaningful way? ... There is a lot of investigation that needs to be done or we will all go down the tubes because of our inability to match our exaggerated claims with lasting changes. BOTTOM LINE PEOPLE IS FENG SHUI IS NOT REAL.</blockquote>


==Current developments==
==Current developments==

Revision as of 08:13, 19 January 2011

For other uses, see Feng shui (disambiguation).

Template:Contains Chinese text

Feng shui
A Luopan, Feng shui compass.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese風水
Simplified Chinese风水
Literal meaningwind-water
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinfēngshuǐ
Bopomofoㄈㄥ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
Wu
Romanizationfon平 sy上
Gan
RomanizationFung1 sui3
Hakka
Romanizationfung24 sui31
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingfung1 seoi2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJhong-suí
Vietnamese name
Vietnamesephong thủy
Thai name
Thai[ฮวงจุ้ย (Huang Jui)] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Korean name
Hangul풍수
Hanja風水
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationpungsu
McCune–Reischauerp'ungsu
Japanese name
Kanji風水
Hiraganaふうすい
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburnfūsui
Kunrei-shikihûsui
Filipino name
TagalogPungsóy, Punsóy

Feng shui (/ˌfʌŋˈʃweɪ/ ⓘ fung-SHWAY,[1] formerly /ˈfʌŋʃuː.i/ FUNG-shoo-ee;[2] Chinese: 風水, pronounced [fə́ŋʂwèi]) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi.[3] The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu (simplified Chinese: 堪舆; traditional Chinese: 堪輿; pinyin: kānyú; literally: Tao of heaven and earth).[4]

The term feng shui literally translates as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty:[5]

Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.[5]

Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass. Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s, but has since seen an increase in popularity, particularly in the United States.

History

Origins

Currently Yangshao and Hongshan cultures provide the earliest evidence for the practice of feng shui. Until the invention of the magnetic compass, feng shui apparently relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe.[6]

In 4000 BC, the doors of Banpo dwellings were aligned to the asterism Yingshi just after the winter solstice—this sited the homes for solar gain.[7] During the Zhou era, Yingshi was known as Ding and used to indicate the appropriate time to build a capital city, according to the Shijing. The late Yangshao site at Dadiwan (c. 3500-3000 BC) includes a palace-like building (F901) at the center. The building faces south and borders a large plaza. It is on a north-south axis with another building that apparently housed communal activities. The complex may have been used by regional communities.[8]

A grave at Puyang (c. 4000 BC) that contains mosaics—actually a Chinese star map of the Dragon and Tiger asterisms and Beidou (the Big Dipper, Ladle or Bushel) -- is oriented along a north-south axis.[9] The presence of both round and square shapes in the Puyang tomb, at Hongshan ceremonial centers and the late Longshan settlement at Lutaigang,[10] suggests that gaitian cosmography (heaven-round, earth-square) was present in Chinese society long before it appeared in the Zhou Bi Suan Jing.[11]

Cosmography that bears a striking resemblance to modern feng shui devices and formulas was found on a jade unearthed at Hanshan and dated around 3000 BC. The design is linked by archaeologist Li Xueqin to the liuren astrolabe, zhinan zhen, and Luopan.[12]

Beginning with palatial structures at Erlitou,[13] all capital cities of China followed rules of feng shui for their design and layout. These rules were codified during the Zhou era in the Kaogong ji (simplified Chinese: 考工记; traditional Chinese: 考工記; "Manual of Crafts"). Rules for builders were codified in the carpenter's manual Lu ban jing (simplified Chinese: 鲁班经; traditional Chinese: 魯班經; "Lu ban's manuscript"). Graves and tombs also followed rules of feng shui, from Puyang to Mawangdui and beyond. From the earliest records, it seems that the rules for the structures of the graves and dwellings were the same.

Early instruments and techniques

A feng shui spiral at LA Chinatown's Metro station.

The history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years[14] before the invention of the magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese astronomy.[15] Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China,[16] while others were added later (most notably the Han dynasty, the Tang, the Song, and the Ming).[17]

The astronomical history of feng shui is evident in the development of instruments and techniques. According to the Zhouli the original feng shui instrument may have been a gnomon. Chinese used circumpolar stars to determine the north-south axis of settlements. This technique explains why Shang palaces at Xiaotun lie 10° east of due north. In some cases, as Paul Wheatley observed,[18] they bisected the angle between the directions of the rising and setting sun to find north. This technique provided the more precise alignments of the Shang walls at Yanshi and Zhengzhou. Rituals for using a feng shui instrument required a diviner to examine current sky phenomena to set the device and adjust their position in relation to the device.[19]

The oldest examples of instruments used for feng shui are liuren astrolabes, also known as shi. These consist of a lacquered, two-sided board with astronomical sightlines. The earliest examples of liuren astrolabes have been unearthed from tombs that date between 278 BC and 209 BC. Along with divination for Da Liu Ren[20] the boards were commonly used to chart the motion of Taiyi through the nine palaces.[21] The markings on a liuren/shi and the first magnetic compasses are virtually identical.[22]

The magnetic compass was invented for feng shui[23] and has been in use since its invention. Traditional feng shui instrumentation consists of the Luopan or the earlier south-pointing spoon (指南針 zhinan zhen)—though a conventional compass could suffice if one understood the differences. A feng shui ruler (a later invention) may also be employed.

Foundation theories

The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time.[24][25]

Qi (ch'i)

Qi (roughly pronounced as the sound 'chee' in English) is a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in feng shui.[26] In feng shui as in Chinese martial arts, it refers to 'energy', in the sense of 'life force' or élan vital. A traditional explanation of qi as it relates to feng shui would include the orientation of a structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment including the local microclimates, the slope of the land, vegetation, and soil quality.[citation needed]

The Book of Burial says that burial takes advantage of "vital qi." Wu Yuanyin[27] (Qing dynasty) said that vital qi was "congealed qi," which is the state of qi that engenders life. The goal of feng shui is to take advantage of vital qi by appropriate siting of graves and structures.[25]

One use for a Luopan is to detect the flow of qi.[28] Magnetic compasses reflect local geomagnetism which includes geomagnetically induced currents caused by space weather. [29] Professor Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solar radiation.[30] As space weather changes over time,[31] and the quality of qi rises and falls over time,[25] feng shui with a compass might be considered a form of divination that assesses the quality of the local environment—including the effects of space weather.

Polarity

Polarity is expressed in feng shui as Yin and Yang Theory. Polarity expressed through yin and yang is similar to a magnetic dipole.[citation needed] That is, it is of two parts: one creating an exertion and one receiving the exertion. Yang acting and yin receiving could be considered an early understanding of chirality[citation needed]. The development of Yin Yang Theory and its corollary, Five Phase Theory (Five Element Theory), have also been linked with astronomical observations of sunspots.[32]

The Five Elements or Forces (wu xing) — which, according to the Chinese, are metal, earth, fire, water, and wood — are first mentioned in Chinese literature in a chapter of the classic Book of History. They play a very important part in Chinese thought: ‘elements’ meaning generally not so much the actual substances as the forces essential to human, life.[33] Earth is a buffer, or an equilibrium achieved when the polarities cancel each other.[citation needed] While the goal of Chinese medicine is to balance yin and yang in the body, the goal of feng shui has been described as aligning a city, site, building, or object with yin-yang force fields.[34]

Bagua (eight trigrams)

Two diagrams known as bagua (or pa kua) loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing (or I Ching). The Lo (River) Chart (Luoshu, or Later Heaven Sequence) was developed first.[35] The Luoshu and the River Chart (Hetu, or Early Heaven Sequence) are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BC, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao.[36] The Turtle Calendar of Yao (found in the Yaodian section of the Shangshu or Book of Documents) dates to 2300 BC, plus or minus 250 years.[37]

In Yaodian, the cardinal directions are determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals:[37]

East
The Green Dragon (Spring equinox)—Niao (Bird), α Hydrae
South
The Red Phoenix (Summer solstice)—Huo (Fire), α Scorpionis
West
The White Tiger (Autumn equinox)—Xu (Emptiness, Void), α Aquarii, β Aquarii
North
The Dark Turtle (Winter solstice)—Mao (Hair), η Tauri (the Pleiades)

The diagrams are also linked with the sifang (four directions) method of divination used during the Shang dynasty.[38] The sifang is much older, however. It was used at Niuheliang, and figured large in Hongshan culture's astronomy. And it is this area of China that is linked to Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, who allegedly invented the south-pointing spoon.[39]

A building in Hong Kong with a hollow middle hole, maximizing on fengshui benefits

Schools

A school or stream is a set of techniques or methods. The term should not be confused with an actual school—there are many masters who run schools.

Some claim[40] that authentic masters impart their genuine knowledge only to selected students, such as relatives.

Techniques

Archaeological discoveries from Neolithic China and the literature of ancient China together give us an idea of the origins of feng shui techniques. In premodern China, Yin feng shui (for tombs) had as much importance as Yang feng shui (for homes).[24] For both types one had to determine direction by observing the skies (what Wang Wei called the Ancestral Hall Method; later identified by Ding Juipu as Liqi pai, which westerners mistakenly label "compass school"),[25] and to determine the Yin and Yang of the land (what Wang Wei called the Kiangxi method and Ding Juipu called Xingshi pai, which westerners mistakenly label "form school").[25]

Feng shui is typically associated with the following techniques. This is not a complete list; it is merely a list of the most common techniques.[41][42]

Xingshi Pai ("Forms" Methods)

  • Luan Dou Pai, 峦头派, Pinyin: luán tóu pài, (environmental analysis without using a compass)
  • Xing Xiang Pai, 形象派 or 形像派, Pinyin: xíng xiàng pài, (Imaging forms)
  • Xingfa Pai, 形法派, Pinyin: xíng fǎ pài

Liqi Pai ("Compass" Methods)

San Yuan Method, 三元派 (Pinyin: sān yuán pài)

San He Method, 三合派 (environmental analysis using a compass)

Others

Modern developments

One of the grievances mentioned at the start of the anti-Western Boxer Rebellion, was that Westerner developers were violating the basic principles of feng shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout China. After Richard Nixon journeyed to the People's Republic of China in 1972, feng shui became marketable in the United States.I doubt it.

It has since been reinvented by New Age con artists for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life.No it doesnt[43] The following list does not exhaust the modern varieties.

Black Sect—also called BTB Feng Shui—does not match documentary or archaeological evidence, or what is known of the history of Tantra in China.[44] It relies on "transcendental" methods, the concept of clutter as metaphor for life circumstances, and the use of affirmations or intentions to achieve results. The BTB Ba gua was developed by Lin Yun. Each of the eight sectors that were once aligned to compass points now represents a particular area of one's life.

In contemporary China, practitioners of the divination systems of Qi Men Dun Jia and Da Liu Ren adopt these modes of divination for highly detailed and analytic problem-solving.[citation needed]

Feng shui today

Today, feng shui is practiced by con artists.

Robert T. Carroll sums up what feng shui has become in some cases:

"... feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating in the Western world and alleged con artists of feng shui now hire themselves out for hefty sums to tell people such as Donald Trump which way his doors and other things should hang. Feng shui has also become another New Age "energy" scam (yes scam) with arrays of metaphysical products ... offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximize your potential, and guarantee fulfillment of some fortune cookie philosophy."[45]

Others have noted how, when feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them.[46] Still others are simply skeptical.Its not real.

Nevertheless, even modern feng shui is not always looked at as a superstitious scam. Many people[who?] believe it is important and very helpful in living a prosperous and healthy life either avoiding or blocking negative energies that might otherwise have bad effects. Many of the higher-level forms of feng shui are not so easily practiced without either connections, or a certain amount of wealth because the hiring of an expert, the great altering of architecture or design, and the moving from place to place that is sometimes necessary requires a lot of money. Ya lets con the rich people. Because of this, some people of the lower classes see through the con feng shui.[47] Others, poor suckers, however, practice less expensive forms of Feng Shui, including hanging special (but cheap) mirrors, forks, or woks in doorways to deflect negative energy.And it does nothing.[48]

Even today feng shui is so important to some people[who?] that they use it for healing purposes,Ya right. separate from western medical practice, in addition to using it to guide their businesses and create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes.Its not real[49] In 2005, even Disney acknowledged feng shui as a con. [50]

The practice of Feng Shui is diverse and multi-faceted. And complete bunk. There are many different schools and perspectives. All untrue. The International Feng Shui Guild (IFSG) is a non-profit professional organization that presents the full diversity of Feng Shui.

At Singapore Polytechnic and other institutions like the New York College of Health Professions, many students (including engineers and interior designers) take courses on feng shui every year and go on to become feng shui (or geomancy) con artists.[51]

Criticism

Historical criticism

Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), one of the founding fathers of Jesuit China missions, may have been the first European to write about feng shui practices. His account in De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas... tells about feng shui masters (geologi, in Latin) studying prospective construction sites or grave sites "with reference to the head and the tail and the feet of the particular dragons which are supposed to dwell beneath that spot". As a Catholic missionary, Ricci strongly criticized the "recondite science" of geomancy along with astrology as yet another superstitio absurdissima of the heathens: "What could be more absurd than their imagining that the safety of a family, honors, and their entire existence must depend upon such trifles as a door being opened from one side or another, as rain falling into a courtyard from the right or from the left, a window opened here or there, or one roof being higher than another?"[52]

Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.Because its not real.[53]

In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about fung-shuy."See told ya its not real.[54]

Sycee-shaped incense used in feng shui

Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui.[55]

It is entirely inconsistent with Christianity to believe that harmony and balance result from the manipulation and channeling of nonphysical forces or energies, or that such can be done by means of the proper placement of physical objects. Such techniques, in fact, belong to the world of sorcery.[56]

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, feng shui has been officially deemed as a "feudalistic superstitious practice" and a "social evil" according to the state's ideology and discouraged or even banned outright at times.[57][58]

Persecution was the most severe during the Cultural Revolution, when feng shui was classified as a custom under the so-called Four Olds to be wiped out. Feng shui practitioners were beaten and abused by Red Guards and their works burned. After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the official attitude became more tolerant but restrictions on feng shui practice are still in place in today's China. It is illegal in the PRC today to register feng shui consultation as a business and similarly advertising feng shui practice is banned, and there have been frequent crackdowns on feng shui practitioners on the grounds of "promoting feudalistic superstitions" such as one in Qingdao in early 2006 when the city's business and industrial administration office shut down an art gallery converted into a feng shui practice.[59] Some communist officials who had consulted feng shui were sacked and were to be expelled from the Communist Party.[60]

Partly because of the Cultural Revolution, in today's mainland China less than one-third of the population believe in feng shui, and the proportion of believers among young urban Chinese is said to be much lower.[61] Learning feng shui is still somewhat considered taboo in today's China.[62] Nevertheless, it is reported that feng shui has gained adherents among Communist Party officials according to a BBC Chinese news commentary in 2006,[63] and since the beginning of Chinese economic reforms the number of feng shui practitioners are increasing. A number of Chinese academics permitted to research on the subject of feng shui are anthropologists or architects by profession, studying the history of feng shui or historical feng shui theories behind the design of heritage buildings, such as Cao Dafeng, the Vice-President of Fudan University,[64] and Liu Shenghuan of Tongji University.

Feng shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket."[65] Mark Johnson[66] made a telling point:

This present state of affairs is ludicrous and confusing. Do we really believe that mirrors and flutes are going to change people's tendencies in any lasting and meaningful way? ... There is a lot of investigation that needs to be done or we will all go down the tubes because of our inability to match our exaggerated claims with lasting changes. BOTTOM LINE PEOPLE IS FENG SHUI IS NOT REAL.

Current developments

A modern "feng shui fountain" at Taipei 101, Taiwan

A growing body of research exists on the traditional forms of feng shui used and taught in Asia.

Landscape ecologists find traditional feng shui an interesting study.[67] In many cases, the only remaining patches of old forest in Asia are "feng shui woods,"[68] often associated with cultural heritage, historical continuity, and the preservation of species.[69] Some researchers interpret the presence of these woods as indicators that the "healthy homes,"[70] sustainability[71] and environmental components of ancient feng shui should not be easily dismissed.[72][73]

Environmental scientists and landscape architects have researched traditional feng shui and its methodologies.[74][75][76]

Architects study feng shui as an ancient and uniquely Asian architectural tradition.[77][78][79][80]

Geographers have analyzed the techniques and methods to help locate historical sites in Victoria, Canada,[81] and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, concluding that ancient Native Americans considered astronomy and landscape features.[82]

See also

References

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  49. ^ "China in the Sixteenth Century: Its not real The Journals of Matteo Ricci", Random House, New York, 1953. Book One, Chapter 9, pp. 84-85. This text appears in pp. 103-104 of Book One of the original Latin text by Ricci and Nicolas Trigault , De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu
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Further reading

  • Ole Bruun. "Fengshui and the Chinese Perception of Nature," in Asian Perceptions of Nature: A Critical Approach, eds. Ole Bruun and Arne Kalland (Surrey: Curzon, 1995) 173-88
  • Ole Bruun. Fengshui in China: Geomantic Divination between State Orthodoxy and Popular Religion. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003.
  • Ole Bruun. An Introduction to Feng Shui. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  • Yoon, Hong-key. Culture of Fengshui in Korea: An Exploration of East Asian Geomancy, Lexington Books, 2006.
  • "Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published ahead of print August 25, 2008, doi:10.1073/pnas.0803650105
  • Xie, Shan Shan' Chinese Geographic Feng Shui Theories and Practices National Multi-Attribute Institute Publishing, Oct. 2008, ISBN 978-159261-0048

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