With its origins in China, and developing over 2,000 years as a system
on how to survive, excel and live in harmony with nature, the Chinese
has practiced Feng Shui for thousands of years.
It started during the
Han Dynasty (206BC – 220AD) as a form of Chinese philosophy on the relationship
between humans and their environment, and about how everything is connected
and affects our well-being. Based on the Laws of Nature, its theories
offer us a way of understanding why certain things occur and how to
create a comfortable environment that lets us live and work efficiently
and progressively.
The word ‘Feng Shui’ derived during the reign of Jin Dynasty (265 – 420AD) when Guo Pu, the author of the book Zhang Jing (Study of Burial Ground)
first used it. In the book he says, “The travel of Qi is conducted by
air and water. When the air is dispersed, the Qi too is dispersed; when
the water is stagnant, the Qi too is stagnant.”
Feng Shui is based on Taoist philosophies of nature; these
include the Yin-Yang Theory, Five-Elements Theory and The Trigrams based
on Yi Jing. Feng Shui literally means (the flow of) ‘wind’ and ‘water.’
It takes into account many different elements affecting your
environment. Good Feng Shui is where the balance of Yin and Yang
achieves harmony and the Chinese believe that everything has Qi or
cosmic energy and all that has Qi has Yin and Yang qualities.
Qi is
divided into three categories: The Tian Qi (Heaven’s Qi), Di Qi (Earth’s Qi) and Ren Qi (Human’s Qi).
Yin and Yang are both opposites and complimentary. When we practice
good Feng Shui, we attract and cultivate positive energy called ‘Sheng
Qi’ and dispel or eliminate negative Qi called ‘Sha Qi.’
Today, Feng Shui is a multidisciplinary study encompassing
architecture, urban planning, geography, astrology, electromagnetism,
landscaping, environmental psychology and many others. In the wake of
these realities, it is gaining more and more popularity in the West.
Like most martial arts disciplines, Feng Shui consists of various
systems, some good, some not-so-good and some a mixture of both. It is
only through years of studies and practical experiences that one can be
accredited a Feng Shui master. Even then, there are very few genuine
Feng Shui experts around. Traditionally, Feng Shui was passed down from
one master to another and never through a classroom setting.
Feng Shui can be classified into the Theory School, which has three
different aspects: The San He, The San Yuan and The Nine Star and The
Form School with its emphasis on the study of landscaping. The Theory
School was practiced more in the North and Central China while The Form
School in the South. After the Ming Dynasty they were merged as one to
give a wholesome picture and study of Feng Shui, which was until then
sort of incomplete.
Reproduced with the kind permission of Master Dennis Lai of Classic Feng Shui Mastery.
