Feng shui – New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia

Feng Shui Luopan Compass

In ancient times as well as today, Feng Shui, () pronounced in English as [f'we] ("fung shway"), was known as "Kan-Yu" which means 'The Law of Heaven and Earth. [1] Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony between human beings and the environment. Feng shui literally translates as "wind-water." This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zhangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu ( ) of the Jin Dynasty(; 265420) [2]

The qi () that rides the wind stops at the boundary of water.[3]

Feng shui considers factors such as space, weather, astronomy, and geomagnetism in determining the most auspicious location for a building or an activity. Its guidelines are compatible with many techniques of agricultural planning, as well as architecture and furniture arrangement. Proponents claim that feng shui has an effect on health, wealth, and personal relationships.

Feng shui is often identified as a form of geomancy, or divination by geographic features, but it is mainly concerned with understanding the relationships between nature and human beings, in order to create harmony. Early feng shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe [4] Chinese often used the celestial pole, determined by the pole stars, to locate 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[5], 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 ( ).

The earliest evidence for feng shui to date is provided by the Yanshao ( ; 5000 3000 B.C.E.) and Hongshan (; 4700 to 2900 B.C.E.) cultures. Professor David Pankenier and his associates reviewed astronomical data for the time of the Banpo () dwellings (4000 B.C.E.) to show that the asterism (a pattern of stars observed from earth) called Yingshi (Lay out the Hall, in the Warring States period and early Han era) corresponded to the sun's location at this time. Centuries before, the asterism Yingshi was known as Ding and was used to indicate the appropriate time to build a capital city, according to the Shijing. Apparently an astronomical alignment ensured that Banpo village homes were sited so that they received the maximum heat from the sun (solar gain).[6]

A grave at Puyang (radiocarbon dated 5,000 BP) that contains mosaics of the Dragon and Tiger constellations and Beidou( )(Dipper) is similarly oriented along a north-south axis.[7] The presence of both round and square shapes in the Puyang tomb, and at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers, suggests that the gaitian cosmography (heaven-round, earth-square) was present in Chinese culture long before it appeared in the Zhou Bu Suan Jing.[8]

Cosmography that bears a striking resemblance to modern feng shui compasses (and computations) was found on a jade unearthed at Hanshan (c. 3000 B.C.E.). The design is linked by the contemporary Chinese historian, Li Xueqin, to the liuren astrolabe, zhinan zhen, and Luopan. [9]

All capital cities of China followed rules of Feng Shui for their design and layout. These rules were codified during the Zhou era (1122 26 B.C.E.) in the "Kaogong ji" (Manual of Crafts). Rules for builders were codified in the "Lu ban jing" (Carpenter's Manual). Graves and tombs also followed rules of feng shui. From the earliest records, it seems that the rules for the structures of the graves and dwellings were the same.

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Feng shui - New World Encyclopedia