Feng shui seems to be a New Age fad, but it was the cornerstone of the development of Chinese science, medicine and architecture, writes Lorraine Pace
Brandishing mirrors and wind-chimes, plants and decorative items, the Chinese practice of feng shui promises health, wealth and happiness.
But much of the information on feng shui borders on the ludicrous, is sometimes downright conflicting, and has made for many a scam. So it comes as little surprise that feng shui, the practice of living harmoniously with the energy of the surrounding environment, is accused of being mere snake-oil and superstition.
Feng shui (pronounced fang shway and widely translated as wind and water) is, however, the world’s oldest earth science and part of a wider scientific and philosophical system developed by the Taoists, devotees of an ancient Eastern religious movement. Based on logic, common sense and a view of the world as a holistic living system, it first developed the science of orientating buildings and cities, and everything within them.
One of the duties of ancient feng shui practitioners was to ascertain consistent, standardised measurements. This was of vital importance to the security of the empire as monthly rice rations were measured out to the populace. A discrepancy in rations could lead to a revolt.
Feng shui made substantial contributions to early Chinese civilisation and science, producing hypotheses about nature using detailed and accurate observations. Grand masters disseminated information on the yin-yang theory of opposite but complementary energies in balance, each containing the seed of the other.
It is also synonymous with the early investigation of magnetism, with evidence suggesting that the magnetic compass was invented in China for use by feng shui practitioners. The meridians, or circles of longitude, were established, although initially rather inaccurately, and the magnetic pull of the planets was recognised.
In ancient times feng shui comprised three disciplines – the divination and invocation of spirits, pharmaceutical and hygienic medicine, and astrology and calendrics. The pharmaceutical and medical studies of feng shui have evolved into what is now Chinese medicine.
Feng shui, however, has been less fortunate in gaining recognition as a science in modern times. During the cultural revolution, Chairman Mao – a descendant of a long line of practitioners – banned the discipline, and what remains of feng shui in China is under strict communist government control. It enjoys enormous support in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. When a new skyscraper goes up in Taiwan, a feng shui practitioner is routinely consulted and Taipei’s huge Chiang Kai-Shek memorial is laid out on its principles, as are Beijing’s imperial and forbidden cities.
Following Chinese migration, Feng Shui has acquired a strong following in the West. Richard Branson based the date of Virgin Airlines inaugural Hong Kong flight on feng shui advice. Donald Trump has used it in construction, less from his own beliefs, than to satisfy future tenants.
So what is all the fuss about?
Feng shui is about the energy dynamics between a space, its occupants, the environment and how the energy changes with time.
Positive energy, sheng-chi, and negative energy, shar-chi, can be produced by your environment, energy that subtly affects your well-being and consequently your whole life.
Geomancer Leon Hyman, a metallurgist who has worked for the Atomic Energy Board, locates underground leylines, or lines of magnetism, and uses a pendulum to distinguish between positive and negative magnetic fields. He then maps the energies, and the direction in which they move.
“There is no one instrument to locate a leyline, but there is technical equipment, such as microwave-emission detectors and geiger-counters, to back findings.”
While there has been almost no work done in South Africa on leylines, findings in Europe show that many ancient sites, such Stonehenge and Chartres Cathedral, are aligned in accordance with leylines. The perimeter of Egypt’s great pyramid is encompassed by a mass of leylines, but none run within the structure.
“In Germany a huge amount of research has been done into the hazard of building over the earth’s energy lines. It’s taught at the Max Planck Institute, and it’s part of the German lifestyle to check buildings as a matter of course. Houses built over negative energy lines are called cancer homes. German education authorities are very careful about the positioning of classrooms as energy fields affect children’s learning abilities,” says Hyman.
Using the principles of feng shui on a building or house goes further than locating energy fields and aligns the spaces and directions of the building with compass points. Practitioners use a device called a bau gua to divide the space into nine areas, the centre representing the relationship of the building to the earth and the other eight sectors representing an aspect of the inhabitants’ life.
For example, the north-east section represents knowledge, while the east represents health and well being and the south-east wealth and money. There are recommended colours, objects and shapes for each sector to keep positive energy flowing.
A home, says feng shui practitioner Helga Fhrer, reflects a person’s life. If there is a corner missing one will “really battle with the issue that corner represents”. However, she says that a missing corner can be filled out as simply as placing a wooden bench in the garden where the corner would have been.
Environmental design consultant Ian du Toit recently designed the first commercial building in South Africa according to feng shui principles.
When the South African arm of $5-billion-a- year software company Computer Associates couldn’t find a suitable building, it turned to Du Toit. Originally the architect was going to bulldoze the site to make way for the building. Du Toit surveyed the area, found that it was comparatively flat , looked at the neighbouring features, which included indigenous trees, then created the footprint of the building. The 100-year-old trees and boulders that now give the site its character were incorporated into the octagonal design of the building.
In designing the office block, Du Toit used the Bau Gua device to locate aspirations within the building. The work areas are located in optimal positions: the 24-hour helpline is in the mentors area, customer education is located in the knowledge area and the financial director in the wealth sector. The exterior has dark brickwork at the bottom, and the contrast with the lighter brick at the top gives the illusion the building has grown from the earth.
One wonders how any work is done in such a relaxed environment, but it is. Computer Associates financial director Jeremy Smith comments: “It hasn’t brought me any money, but so far, so good. About a quarter of our space is dedicated to our customers and they really like the building.”
It takes years of study to master feng shui and what most practitioners bemoan is the lack of controls or standards in the field.
Johannesburg-based architect Maja Grujic comments: “Feng shui isn’t mentioned in formal studies of architecture at universities and much of the knowledge that does exist is superficial. Much has been lost or changed in the translation but the process of reading a building or environment is actually very rigid – there are formulas which are applied. It’s what you decide to do with that reading that counts.”
ENDS