Feng Shui is part of what is commonly called the 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 meaning heavenly path (invisible energies) and Yue meaning earthly path (visible energies). The study of Feng Shui can include:

• Chinese mythology
• Religious sects and secret societies
• Ancient classics, e.g. the Nei Ching (China's oldest medical text) and the I Ching
• Secret records and forbidden books
• Fortune tellers, diviners, shaman and sorcerers
• Miracles
• Yin & Yang and the five elements
• Divine guidance (interaction of Heaven and Humanity)
• Astrology
• Wushu (Chinese martial arts) & Qigong (breathing exercises)
• Qimengdunjia; a form or 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 component parts of a Chinese character
• Zhangua; divination by means of the Eight Trigrams
• Zhanke; divination by tossing coins
• Xiangming; fortune telling by analyzing someone's time of birth and palmistry

Feng Shui study began 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 Book of Burial we find "The buried person rides the Sheng Qi (life energy). Qi that rides the wind disperse, move it so it can be still. Therefore it is called Feng Shui." Feng Shui, riding the Sheng Qi, literally 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 selection of a burial site in China is 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 ground 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 on 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, resembling 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 resembling a dragon's pointed back and spine, its scaly triangular and its long pointed claws. The illustration of the four mythological figures, (included here and on the cover of this issue) was created by the author using representations taken from the eaves 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 South, is at the top, with the other creatures in their respective cardinal positions.

Currently, Chinese Feng Shui is concerned with two types of residence: Yin Zhai, residence for the dead (burial grounds) and Yang Zhai, 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, the Yin and Yang forms of Feng Shui will be discussed.


YIN ZHAI
The Zeng Hou Yi Tomb

In the Fall of 1977, a Chinese army unit building barracks in the city of Sui Zhou, Ru Bei province, discovered the tomb of the Marquis of Zeng. The tomb is located on a small hill named Dong Tuan Po.

This enormous tomb contained an incredible number of artifacts, making this one of the most important archaeological finds in contemporary China. The 15,000 historical relics unearthed included numerous bronze ritual vessels, utensils, and weapons. Also found were lacquer wares, gold and jade articles, bamboo slips (used as writing tablets during this period) findings for carts and horses, and musical instruments. Many of the bronze items are inscribed "Zeng Hou Yi Zuo Si," meaning "made for the use of the Marqnis Yi of Zeng." One of the most remarkable objects is a magnificent 65 piece Bian Zhong, a well-preserved artifact of ancient chime bells unrivaled in its beauty and intricacy. It stands as a testament to the achievements in this period of Chinese science, technology and art.

Zeng Hou Yi Tomb is constructed of rocks, charcoal, timber and tile, has a polygon entrance, and a depth of 13 meters. The East/West and North/South dimensions measure 21 and 16.5 meters respectively, and the tomb covers a total area of 220 square meters. 60,000 kilos of charcoal filled the spaces above, around and beneath the tomb, demonstrating the extent to which the ancient Chinese would go to preserve a body. Layered on top of the charcoal was black and white mud followed by rock tiles. At the entrance, Wi Hua mud was laid on top.

Four rooms divided the tomb into East, Middle, West, and North sections. The outer coffin was made of 171 large rectangular wood posts equaling 378 cubic meters. The master's coffin, along with eight other human coffins, were buried in the East room, along with a coffin for the owner's pet dog. The beautiful Zeng Hou Yi Bian Zhong (set of ancient chime bells) was in the middle room, along with other musical instruments and bronze items. Thirteen additional coffins were found in the West room. The North room contained weapons, materials for the carts and horses, and bamboo slips.


YANG ZHAI
The Jiang Ying Hotel, Wuhan Province, People's Republic of China

(Ed. note: This section is based on a lecture given by Dr. Wang Yu Te during the China Tour on the Feng Shui of Jiang Ying Hotel in which he examines Yang Zhai, Feng Shui for the living, using our hotel as an example)

The choice of a name is the first item to be examined and considered in a Feng Shui analysis. A name must be auspicious, as it affects the fate and fortune of the person or place being analyzed. For example, the name Jiang Ying Hotel, means "the eagle by the side of the river," an eagle about to take flight. The name is not perfect, due in part to the disproportionate number of strokes in the two characters comprising the hotel's name (6 for the first character, 24 for the second.) Changing the second character to Ying (hero) which has 8 strokes, provides a similar sound as eagle and also gives a more proportionate ratio of 6 to 8 strokes, as compared to the present 6 to 24 ratio. A name should also include the five elements -- wood and water in this case because of the hotel and river nearby. Since water produces wood and wood produces fire, it is important to have the character containing the radical for water first, followed by the character constraining the radical for wood. After examining the name, attention is focused on the site, examining the flow of Chi. Commercial Feng Shui Chi analysis differs from residential analysis in that the Chi path must be stronger for commercial buildings then for residences. Jiang Ying hotel is situated on a strong Chi path, resulting in good fortune. Next one looks at the direction the hotel is facing. Both Wuhan and the hotel face Southeast. Since the front door of the hotel faces directly Southeast, the inner door was adjusted slightly to avoid being straight across from the outer door, allowing Chi to meander, change direction and congregate in the hotel.

External shape and internal design equally affect the future prosperity of a building and a business. The form of the hotel resembles an eagle about to take off, with wings open and chest out. In the main foyer the five round pillars relate to the transformation of the five elements in nature. The overall design, however, is not pleasing. If the ceiling was constructed in an octagonal shape to represent the eight trigrams, the symbolism would follow the proper sequence. The form would be perfected, and no longer experienced as incomplete.

A lake is situated to the Northwest of the hotel. Although a better lake position would be in the Southeast with mountains in the Northwest, of greater concern is the polluted water of the lake, which will adversely affect the future of the hotel.

Currently most hotels in China pay attention to Feng Shui. Two other hotels illustrate the psychological impact of Feng Shui on the Chinese people. One of these appears as a tombstone when viewed from the Yellow Crane Pavilion, a nearby historical site. Many visiting Chinese, as well as residents of Wuhan, will not use this hotel as they think it is inauspicious. Another hotel that currently has a profitable business was not originally profitable. The hotel location, near a grave site, demanded the services of a Feng Shui expert. He suggested using red or pink to bring good luck to the building, and the construction of a wall containing nine dragons between the hotel and the graveyard.


Note:

This article originally appeared in Feng Shui/The Journal, Fall 1996, and continued in the next issue.

Also of Interest:

• More articles at the Feng Shui Directory.