Home China Culture Chinese Feng Shui Feng Shui Foundation Theories

Feng Shui Foundation Theories

The goal of feng shui is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time. Some areas are not suitable for human settlement and should be left in their natural state. Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added in later times (most notably the Han dynasty, the Tang, and the Ming). Today, to determine a perfect spot, local manifestations of qi must be assessed for quality. Quality is determined by observations and by using a compass (Luopan). Qi (ch'i) Qi is a difficult word to translate and is usually left untranslated. Literally the word means steam over uncooked rice.In feng shui, "Qi" means "flow of energy". Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solar radiation. A Luopan is used to determine the qi of an area. Compasses reflect local geomagnetism which includes geomagnetically induced currents caused by space weather. It could be said that feng shui assesses the quality of the local environment and the effects of space weather -- that is, feng shui is qimancy, or qi divination. Beliefs from the Axial Age, feng shui among them, hold that the heavens influence life on Earth. This seems preposterous to many people, yet space weather exists and can have profound effects on technology (GPS, power grids, pipelines, communication and navigation systems, surveys), and the internal orienting faculties of birds and other creatures. Atmospheric scientists have suggested that space weather creates fluctuations in market prices. Polarity Polarity is expressed in feng shui as yin and yang. The polarity within feng shui is buildings of the living (yang) and buildings of the dead (yin). Bagua (eight symbols) Two diagrams known as bagua (or pa kua) loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing or I Ching. The Lo (River) Chart (Luoshu, or Later Heaven Sequence) and the River Chart (Hetu, or Early Heaven Sequence) are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao. The Turtle Calendar of Yao (found in the Yaodian section of the Shangshu or 'Book of Documents') dates to 2300 BCE, plus or minus 250 years. It seems clear from many sources that time, in the form of astronomy and calendars, is at the heart of feng shui. In Yaodian, the cardinal directions are determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals. East: the Bluegreen Dragon (Spring equinox) --- Niao (Bird), α Hydrae South: the Red Bird (Summer solstice) --- Huo (Fire), α Scorpionis West: the White Tiger (Autumn equinox) --- Xu (Emptiness, Void), α, β Aquarii North: the Dark (Mysterious) Turtle (Winter solstice) --- Mao (Hair), η Tauri (the Pleiades) The bagua diagrams are also linked with the sifang (four directions) method of divination used during the Shang dynasty.[23] The sifang is much older, however. It was used at Niuheliang, and figured large in Hongshan culture's astronomy. And it is this area of China that is linked to Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, who allegedly invented the south-pointing spoon. Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments Write comment Show/Hide comment form Name Email Website Title Comment Write the displayed characters Add Comment Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.

 

< Prev		Next >