Feng Shui Facts

Basic Principles of Feng Shui

Feng Shui Facts form part of the common Mysterious Culture of China or Shenmiwenhua. As Feng Shui practitioners, we are ultimately concerned with an individual’s fate. At various points in time, we focus on the individual and the intersection of two worlds, Kan and Yu. Kan is the Chinese name for the unseen, invisible, vibrational world we call heaven.

Yu is the name for the visible, physical world we call Earth. Another meaning for these characters is “covered” and “support,” loosely translated as “under the canopy of heaven.” Historically, Feng Shui has also been referred to as “Hum Yue;” Hum means heavenly path (invisible energies), and Yuemeansg earthly path (visible energies). The study of Feng Shui can include:

Chinese mythology

Ancient classics, e.g. the Nei Ching (China’s oldest medical text) and the I Ching

Yin & Yang and the five elements

Astrology

Wushu (Chinese martial arts) & Qigong (breathing exercises)

Qimengdunjia; is a form of divination by numbers using part of the Eight Trigrams and part of the Ten Heavenly Stems.

Xiangmian; face reading (Physiognomy)

Cesi; fortune-telling by analyzing the parts of a Chinese character

Zhang; divination using the Eight Trigrams

Zinke; divination by tossing coins

Xiangming; fortune-telling by analyzing someone’s time of birth and palmistry

Feng Shui study began as a way of locating auspicious burial grounds and was first discussed by Guo Pu (276-324 AD.) during the Jin Dynasty. In Guo Pu’s

Feng Shui Facts

Book of Burial

In Feng Shui, riding the Sheng Qi translates as wind and water. The Chinese believe that securing desirable burial sites allows the dead to rest in peace, ensures a favorable reincarnation, and secures the happiness and prosperity of future generations. Since the selection of a burial site in China is a very serious business, the privileged and ruling class chose burial sites well before their death (Kai Sheng Mu).

Potential sites were often evaluated for years, using a technique called ‘Golden Well,” in which a tooth or piece of bone is placed at the prospective site and monitored for the degree of decay.

First and foremost, an ideal location preserves the body. Additional considerations for burial grounds and tombs include soil quality, topography, and the opportunity for the deceased to continue to display his socio-economic status.

Classic Form School Feng Shui describes the ideal site in terms of four magical, mythical creatures and their corresponding qualities and energies; the Black Turtle, Red Bird (or Phoenix.) Azure Dragon, and White Tiger. Sites for residences, temples, public buildings, and cities were all analyzed using this model, varying only in their respective size and energy requirements. It is important to note that what would be an appropriate site for a temple would not be appropriate for a residence.

Ideally, a site was protected in the North by mountains visually similar to a turtle. To the South, the Red Bird corresponded to open land, sunshine, and finding water. The White Tiger mountains on the West were low and smooth. They resemble the smooth round back, tail, head, paws, arms, feet, and legs of a tiger.

The Azure Dragon mountains to the East were sharply jagged with peaks.  They resemble a dragon’s pointed back and spine, its scaly triangular, and its long pointed claws.

Mythological Figures

The illustration of the four mythological figures, (included here and on the cover of this issue) was created by the author. It uses representations taken from the tiles at Wei Yang Palace, in the City of Han, in the province of Xi’an. Located in the classic Chinese formation, the Phoenix, representing the South, is at the top. The other creatures are in their respective cardinal positions.

Currently, Chinese Feng Shul is concerned with two types of residence. Yin Zhai, the residence for the dead (burial grounds), and Yang Zhai, the residence for the living. Feng Shui became differentiated between Yin Zhai and Yang Zhai during the Five Dynasties period (907-960 AD.) In the following sections, we will discuss the Yin and Yang forms of Feng Shui.