The
Scientific Background of Feng Shui
Today,
most researchers and adepts of traditional Feng Shui know
its definition and goals are compatible with those of
modern science, which is a process of learning and discovery
through systematic study of principles that govern observable
phenomena. This modern concept is part and parcel of Daoism,
which George Lewith characterizes as a philosophy that
exalts "the art of detailed and accurate observations."
Premodern
China gave the world several of the mathematical and
scientific concepts we take for granted today, and mathematics
and experiment have always been the backbone of Kan
Yu.
The
magnetic compass was invented in China for use by Kan
Yu practitioners. It was adapted from the "south pointing
spoon," the Si Nan. Joseph Needham, author of Science
and Civilization in China, observes that the Luo
Pan is "the most ancient of all pointer-readings, and
. . . the first step on the road to all dials and self-registering
meters." The Luo Pan is a complex instrument, developed
over centuries to enable practitioners to make precise
calculations of time and space in their subtle science.
Because
of variations over time in the earth's magnetic fields
(knowledge that is also employed by archaeologists using
palaeomagnetism), three systems of compass use were
superimposed one upon another over the span of half
a millennium and established the compass that Feng Shui
practitioners use today.
The
original magnetic needle compass used for navigation
was constructed in the seventh or eighth century with
the needle floating in water. The true terrestrial north-south
meridian was first set down by Chhiu Yun Han (c. 713
- 741) and known as the Cheng Chen. This was
used until roughly 880, when readings were so far off
the mark that immediate correction was required. In
the eight or ninth century it was further refined with
the discovery of magnetic declination. Yang Yun Sang
added specialized compass points to compensate for the
variation. The Feng Chen or "seam needle" fixed
the Cheng Chen's variations. The compass was again adjusted
in the 1100s when Lai Wen-Chun came up with the Chung
Chen (the central needle). Chinese used compasses
for centuries prior to even the most rudimentary use
on European ships. As late as the seventeeth century,
all Western compasses still pointed south just like
the ancient south-pointing spoons they were built to
imitate.
During
the Cultural Revolution, the old ways came under scrutiny
once more. While its sister-science, traditional medicine
received official sanction from the government, Feng
Shui did not. It's not clear whether Chairman Mao's
knowledge of Feng Shui played any part in its fall from
favor (he came from a long line of practitioners, it
is said), but it was not selected for further study
and subsequently outlawed. Today, what little Feng Shui
survives in China is under strict control of the Communist
government.
Training
Generally,
the aspirant young Fang Shi began a long career by being
apprenticed to a master. Fang Shi were not all men, either:
there were notable women such as Hsu Teng -- who was said
to have "transformed" herself into a man -- and Keng Xien-sheng
who lived during the Song Dynasty. As seen from several
histories, arcane knowledge was often a family affair,
passed down like a family heirloom from generation to
generation.
Studies
found in the histories include Charts and Tallies
(Du-Zhan), which includes Lo RIver Script (Luo
shu) and the Yellow River Chart (Ho tu);
Calendrical Computation (Li-shu), Celestial Offices
and Celestial Rulers (T'ien-kuan and Ch'i-cheng),
Computational Arts (Suan-shu), Evading Stems
(Tun-chia), Graph Dividing (Che-tzu), Heavenly
Patterns (T'ien-wen), Medicine (I-chih),
Meteorognostics (Chan-hou), Orphans and Voids
(Ku-hus), Primal Pneuma (Yuan-ch'i), Prognostication
(Chan), Six Day Seven Division (Liu-jen ch'i-fen),
Spirit Way (Shen-Tao), Wind Angles (Feng-chiao),
and Yin and Yang (Yin-yang). Many of these are
part of Yuan Xue and Kan Yu as practiced today, as the
study has changed little from the schooling of the ancients'.
In
traditional Feng Shui theory, life is thought to work
in a specific order of descending influence:
- Destiny
(karma) -- what we call personality traits or the
"self-fulfilling prophecy"
- Fate,
luck, fortune -- what you make of your life ("luck"
being merely what you recognize as an opportunity)
- Feng
Shui
- Charity,
good causes (pro bono work)
- Devoted
study, hard work, knowledge
Feng
Shui, third on the list, is not expected to override
a person's inherent personality or what they choose
to make of themselves. Personal responsibility is paramount
-- no one can blame everything on "bad Feng Shui," and
sloppy or otherwise inaccurate Feng Shui readings portend
trouble for the reader, who is held personally responsible
for their prognostications and whatever happens to the
occupants of the buildings they analyze.
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