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History of Feng Shui

Before the 20th century, very few written, authoritative Chinese texts describing feng shui existed. Knowledge primarily passed down through the oral tradition, but it was also believed to be intuitive and derivable from common sense and our feeling of what is natural. Eitel traces the origins of feng shui as a distinct belief system to Chu Hsi's writings and commentaries from the Song dynasty(1126-1278). Chu Hsi's thought greatly influenced Confucianism and became the foundation of feng shui. But, more broadly speaking, feng shui's roots go back to the origins of Chinese philosophy.

In the 19th century, the Chinese government regularly published almanacs containing all the charts, diagrams, and numerical data used in feng shui practice. At the same time, disputes over the proper application of feng shui were resolved in official courts of law. When rebellious groups arose, an initial governmental response was often to desecrate the graves of the rebels' ancestors (see Use in burials, below).

Early English-speaking settlers in China in the mid-19th century reportedly ran into difficulties sparked by feng shui. Much like modern landowners having problems with building codes, these settlers had trouble in construction and renovation because their proposals did not conform to feng shui principles. Further, when unwanted foreigners tried to purchase land, they would be directed to spots with topographies causing very bad feng shui. This happened, for instance, to the English consul who, when demanding land, was ceded the island of Sha-meen on a mud flat on the Canton river. The houses were overrun by termites.

Early Western commentators on feng shui were often skeptical and derogatory.A typical one in 1885 wrote "if any one wishes to see to what a howling wilderness of erratic dogmatism the human mind can arrive, when speculation usurps the place of science, and theories are reverenced equally with facts, let him endeavour to fathom even the elementary principles of that abyss of insane vagaries, the science of Feng-Shui." Others noted that, while naive as a science, it is more accurate than some Western mythologies.

Some scholars have noted that the general guidelines of feng shui have been followed across times and cultures using different language and with different justifications.

Qi (or Chi)

Underlying the practical guidelines of feng shui is a general theory of Nature. Nature is generally held to be a discrete organism that breathes qi (a kind of life force or spiritual energy). The details about the metaphysics of what Nature is, what qi is and does, and what breath consists in vary and conflict. It is not generally understood as physical, but it is neither meant to be metaphorical nor fictionalistic (the latter being the view that even though an entity is fictional, it is useful to talk as if it really exists).

The goal of feng shui guidelines is to orient dwellings, possessions, land and landscaping, etc., so as to be attuned with the flow of qi.

Guidelines

Very generally, some common rules are:

• When sitting at a desk or lying in bed, the entrance door should be in a clear line of sight, and you should have a view of as much of the room as possible.

• Straight lines and sharp corners are to be avoided, and especially should not point where people tend to sit, stand, or sleep.

• AVOID CLUTTER.

• Roads to and from ancient towns were often curved and windy, an attempt to disorient and keep away evil spirits, who were believed to travel in straight lines.

Use in burials

The effect of proper feng shui on the living is thought to carry over to the afterlife. In traditional feng shui belief, the feng shui of cemeteries affects the state of the dead spirits and, indirectly, their living descendants. Spirits of the buried were believed to remain at their gravesites or by the homes of their kin, and just as bad feng shui harms relaxation and ease of mind among the living, the spirits of people buried with bad feng shui will be anxious and restless, and therefore more likely to trouble the living. This reasoning led to careful feng shui planning of cemeteries. Conversely, desecrating the feng shui of the grave of an enemy's ancestor was thought to be a powerful weapon.

The straight lines and sharp corners should not point at a gravesite or at the cemetery generally, a smooth or gradual landscape is preferable to rocky or otherwise sharp terrain. Waterways should be visible from the gravesite, but not loose rocks or boulders, which can be hidden by trees or bamboo.