Feng Shui

All the tea in China

Tea was the most important export that was weighed in the traditional Chinese unit ofmeasurement called a 'catty'. It is known colloquially as the Chinese pound and is about 1.1pounds. In China it is known as the jin斤 the word catty probably came from the Malay word. The modern weight is aligned to the metric system as exactly 500grams. The container for tea, a 'caddy', is believed to have been named after the measure.

Feng Shui is a Chinese tradition going back thousands of years. It is closely associated with theDaoist tradition as it is concerned with living in harmony with nature. It comprises several concepts including:yin and yang,qi and thefive elements. Feng Shui consultants are still used in China and around the world to advise on correct positioning and alignment of new buildings as well as the internal layout ofhouses and gardens. Traditionally it has its highest importance for determining the most auspicious site for burials; this was because the spirits of the dead are considered particularly sensitive to placement. If the ancestors prosper in a ‘good’ site then their descendents will prosper too. In determining directions the intricate and complex罗盘 Luó pǎn compass➚ is used. The landscape is considered to be full of hidden good and bad flows of 'qi' and the compass together with the geomancer's skill would be able to determine the most auspicious locations.

As Feng Shui is literally translated as ‘wind风fēng and water水shuǐ’ its elemental origins are evident. A steady breeze has always been seen as favorable and capable of keeping evil away. The principle is sound enough: position everything so as to give maximum harmony. A house should be oriented to catch the sun and avoid cold winds. However, in its more ludicrous pronouncements, it advocates such things as the importance of keeping a toilet seat down so fortune is not flushed away. It is the mixture of common sense and the absurd that has made Feng Shui asource of ridicule➚ at times.

Numerical order

The number 1 to 10 have long been studied for their mathematical relationship with the five elements, yin-yang and feng shui. We have a separate section looking at theLuo shu magic square and the He tu diagram that investigates these important properties.

Symbols and Motifs

The influence of Feng Shui

The theory goes back at least 2,000 years to theHan dynasty,Emperor Wudi amongst others held great belief in the system; for example he timed the most propitious day to launch military campaigns based on Feng Shui. Each dynasty had an element associated with it, and the current 'element' determined the color of court uniforms and even the key note of courtmusic. The sequence of elements associated with dynasties followed the destruction cycle so that the Zhou dynasty (fire) was naturally succeeded by the Qin dynasty (water). This is why an understanding of Feng Shui is needed to understand the details of Chinese history. For example the reason theYellow Turban rebels in the Han dynasty chose yellow was that the destruction cycle of elements meant yellow should be able to conquer the ruling Han dynastic color ofred. In the Forbidden City all the roofs areyellow except for the library which has ablack roof because black is the color for water and so should help to protect the books.Imperial officials used to change the color of their clothes on the change ofseason to match the cycle of elements, its influence was all pervasive. Another example concerns the association of autumn with death, and so executions only took place in autumn.

The shape of the forms of the landscape are important in Feng Shui. If the form of a dragon is identified in the shape of hills it is very bad practice to construct anything that appears to cut off a limb of the dragon.

In the late Qing dynasty when Europeans began to settle and build factories, churches andrailways the rules of Feng Shui proved an obstacle to development. The construction of anything linear such as railway lines is considered dangerous Feng Shui as theQi follows the line with a violent and destructive a force. Coal mines were also seen as damaging as well as disturbing the Earthdragons, in 1882 coal mining was suspended in Hebei after widespread local protests. Imperial pronouncements were insufficient to dislodge age-old faith in the correct siting for new buildings, route of raliways and laying of telegraph cables. Even today objections to building developments are often couched in terms of disturbance to Feng Shui resulting in suitable monetary compensation.

Somerset Maugham in his book ‘On a Chinese Screen’ gives a good description of the traditional use of Feng Shui in the 1930s.:
“You will find the same delight in the ornate in the poorest villages where the severity of a door is mitigated by a charming piece of carving, and where the trellis of the windows forms a complicated and graceful pattern. You can seldom cross a bridge, in however unfrequented a district, without seeing in it the hand of an artist. The stones are so laid as to make an intricate decoration, and it seems as though these singular people judged with a careful eye whether a flat bridge or an arched one would fit in best with the surrounding scene. The balustrade is ornamented with lions or with dragons. I remember a bridge that must have been placed just where it was for the pure delight of its beauty rather than for any useful purpose, since, though broad enough for a carriage and pair to pass over it, it served only to connect a narrow path that led from one ragged village to another. The nearest town was thirty miles away. The broad river, narrowing at this point, flowed between two green hills, and nut trees grew on the bank. The bridge had no balustrade. It was constructed of immense slabs of granite and rested on five piers; the middle pier consisted of a huge and fantastic dragon with a long and scaly tail. On the sides of the outer slabs, running the whole length of the bridge, was cut in very low relief a pattern of an unimaginable lightness, delicacy and grace. ”

Taiwan is where Feng Shui still has a strong influence, it was even a big issue in the2004 Presidential election➚. A consultant advises on all sorts of things such as why an excess of road traffic accidents take place. It also has remained strong in Hong Kong where the advice of a practitioner will be sought on all construction projects. In Mainland China the effect of suppression of all superstitions during the period 1949 to 1985 is still felt, there is far less importance given to Feng Shui concerns. In recent years it has seen a revival and anyone rich enough may seek a practitioner's advice for house and grave placement.

Wood木mù

Green
Spring
East
noteE (mi)➚
Lesser Yang
Fish
Wind
Anger
Chicken
8 (5+3)
☳震 zhèn
sour
liver
Xia dynasty
Jupiter
created by Water
consumed by Fire
ally Metal
enemy Water

Fire火huǒ

Red
Early Summer
South
noteG (so)➚
Yang
Birds
Hot
Joy
Sheep or Goat
7 (5+2)
☲离 lí
bitter
heart
Zhou dynasty
Mars
created by Wood
consumed by Earth
ally Earth
enemy Metal

Earth土tǔ

Yellow and Brown
Late Summer
Center
noteC (do)➚
Balance
Humans
Thunder
Desire
Cow or Ox
5
☷坤 kūn
sweet
stomach
Han dynasty
Saturn
created by Fire
destroyed by Metal
ally Water
enemy Wood

Metal金jīn

White and Gold
Autumn
West
noteD (re)➚
Lesser Yin
Mammals
Cold
Sorrow
Horse
9 (5+4)
☰乾 qián
pungent
lungs
Shang dynasty
Venus
produced by Earth
consumed by Water
ally Wood
enemy Fire

Water水shuǐ

Black andDark Blue
Winter
North
noteA (la)➚
Yin
Invertebrates
Rain
Fear
Pig
6 (5+1)
☵坎 kǎn
salty
spleen and kidneys
Qin dynasty
Mercury
collected by Metal
consumed by Wood
ally Fire
enemy Earth

Using Feng Shui

Life then is a matter of taking account of these essential properties to live in harmony with the world. The placement of a house in the landscape will ideally be facing south in front of a bend in a river with a hill behind it. TheForbidden City is the supreme example of this. The location chosen lacked a 'hill' to the north, so this was built artificially and stands as Jingshan 'Coal' hill to this day. The 'Golden River Stream' was channeled to run in a loop south of the main complex of buildings. The ideal sunny location for a house coincides with most people's idea of a nice place to live it is not surprising that Feng Shui has many followers including Donald Trump and more recently the cricketerGeoff Boycott➚ revealed himself to be a believer. Practitioners take into account the wider context of the environment, a holistic approach, not objects studied in isolation. Some years ago Feng Shui became a fad in both America and Europe. To make more appealing for a western audience the ancient system lost the spiritual side (demons and graves) and concentrated on the more materialistic claims (good fortune and health).

There are two main schools of Feng Shui: the ‘Forms Shool’ that puts the position in landscape as the key factor and the ‘Orientation School’ that use an accurate compass on its own to determine properties of places. Modern schools also include the Bagua school that uses theeight Yi Jing trigrams as the main inspiration; theFlying Star school that takes thestars surrounding the Great Bear constellation as their starting point and the Black Hat sect founded byLin Yun➚ in the US.

Feng Shui practitioners are particularly concerned to produce a smooth and curved motion ofQi as any sharp, straight tower or path or road can generate apoisonous arrow➚ of too vigorous a flow of Qi. Obstacles that block the flow of Qi should also be avoided. Practitioners can then advise on how to mitigate the effects, often by diverting the direct flow: plants, wind chimes andmirrors can be used to calm the flow.

Feng Shui compass

Here is an example of a simple Luo Pan (罗盘 Luó pán) compass with only a few concentric dials.

Twenty four Mountain Directions (二十四山 èr shí sì shān)

Feng shui places great importance on compass directions, and to achieve greater accuracy 24 rather than 4 compass points are used. There are eight main divisions (bagua) associated with each trigram and these are further divided into three mountain zones. The mountain directions are made up of the 12earthly branches; 8 of the 10heavenly stems and 4 of the8 trigrams (representing their positions on the taiji figure). The twenty four directions form the most important ring of symbols on a罗盘 Luó pǎn (or Lopan) Feng Shui compass which divides the circle into equal 15° segments.

Character	Type	Yin or yang	Direction
丙 bǐng	stem	yang
午 wǔ	branch	yin
丁 dīng	stem	yin
未 wèi	branch	yin
坤 kūn☷	trigram	yang
申 shēn	branch	yang
庚 gēng	stem	yang
酉 yǒu	branch	yin
辛 xīn	stem	yin
戌 xū	branch	yin
乾 qián☰	trigram	yang
亥 hài	branch	yang

Character	Mountain	Yin or yang	Direction
壬 rén	stem	yang
子 zǐ	branch	yin
癸 guǐ	stem	yin
丑 chǒu	branch	yin
艮 gèn☶	trigram	yang
寅 yín	branch	yang
甲 jiǎ	stem	yang
卯 mǎo	branch	yin
乙 yǐ	stem	yin
辰 chén	branch	yin
巽 xùn☴	trigram	yang
巳 sì	branch	yang

Many compasses, particularly those for sea navigation divide each of the 24 mansions of 15° into three giving a total of 72 named directions giving a much finer compass resolution. These are all named after the two mansions they fall between. So丙 bǐng and午 wǔ for example are given the two intermediaries:午丙 wǔ bǐng 170° and丙午 bǐng wǔ 175°.