Feng Shui (Geomancy)

Feng shui

lit. “Wind and Water”) is often referred to as “Chinese geomancy,” or the art or science of divining by landforms. On the most basic level, feng shui is concerned with the ways in which wind and water flow through landscapes. By extension, it is concerned with the smooth flow of qi (ch'i), or energy, through places and structures, with qi having similar movement patterns as wind and water. Considered comprehensively, feng shui includes astronomical, astrological, cosmological, geographical, and topographical dimensions. It places primary emphasis on the energetic qualities of place, which are then correlated to human constitutions and architectural design, including actual site organization and interior design. In this way, feng shui may be seen as expressing a more bioregional or ecological perspective.

Like qigong (Ch'i-kung), Taiji quan (T'ai-chi ch'üan), and traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui is most often misidentified with Daoism. While Daoists have used feng shui, especially in choosing specific sacred sites as well as in temple compound and monastery design, feng shui is neither inherently nor originally Daoist. It is best characterized as a part of traditional Chinese culture. In contemporary Western societies, feng shui tends to be reduced to interior design for health and wealth. It has become increasingly visible through “feng shui consultants” and corporate architects, who charge large sums of money for their analysis, advice, and design. Traditionally speaking, feng shui has been employed to analyze the qualities of specific sites and to design appropriate buildings. It may also be used to “correct” problems in previously constructed structures.

Feng shui is sometimes divided into feng shui for the dead and feng shui for the living, although from a traditional Chinese perspective the two are not as separate as one may assume. Feng shui for the dead involves selection of appropriate burial sites (full-body interment) and the actual placement of the coffin. In addition to providing support for a happy afterlife for one's deceased relatives (ancestors), this form of feng shui also analyzes the way in which such placement will influence surviving descendants. There are many stories about family arguments over interment matters, with different [Page 396]feng shui consultants providing different advice for specific relatives. This type of feng shui is less common, though it continues to be practiced in rural China and Taiwan.

Feng shui for the living is the more common form of feng shui practice. It parallels the above principles. This type of feng shui focuses on the contours and qualities of specific places, including landforms and compass orientations. It then considers how to place human structures within that landscape. This includes the actual design of the buildings, although the range of those choices was much smaller in a traditional context. The possibilities increase dramatically with the emergence of modern and postmodern architecture. In this respect, feng shui includes external and internal morphology, the materials used, furniture placement, and color choices.

With respect to specific principles and applications, feng shui identifies the “ideal site” as south facing (greatest yang). If the site does not actually face south, feng shui systems, nonetheless, discuss it in terms of “ritual south”—that is, as though it faces south. Feng shui also employs Chinese correlative cosmology or systematic correspondence, which centers on yin and yang and the five phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). The five phases have various associations, including Wood/east/azure dragon, Fire/south/vermilion bird, Metal/west/white tiger, and Water/north/mysterious warrior (snake-turtle). If the site is taken as oriented along a north–south axis, feng shui identifies the features in front as the vermilion bird (south), on the right as the white tiger (west), on the left as the azure dragon (east), and in the back as the mysterious warrior (north). This is basically the shape of a horseshoe. Ideally, there should be balance and beneficial influences from each of these. An example might be the following: a large rock formation in the rear (north), a strand of willow trees in the distance in the front (south), and rolling hills that surround the site (west and east). This ideal topography ensures that qi will pool in the center of the site and support the dwelling places and inhabitants. Although this is the ideal feng shui form, each place has its own unique characteristics, and each site is evaluated on its own terms.

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