Feng Shui is an old Chinese system of aesthetics using the laws of Heaven and Earth to improve life with positive force called qi (pronounced chee). It is said to have originated from China itself hundreds of years ago before the invention of the magnetic compass. During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, it was suppressed in China only to gain increasing popularity since then. The goal of Feng Shui is to situate an environment created by humans on certain spots with good qi, or align a city, site, building or object with force fields called yin-yang. It also aims to take advantage of vital qi through appropriate location of certain structures. Feng Shui advocates say that qi is traditionally related to Feng Shui in terms of the orientation of a particular structure, its age and interaction with the surroundings that include local microclimate, vegetation, soil fertility and slope of the land.
Feng Shui is now practiced not only by Chinese but Westerners as well. Much of the knowledge about it, however, has been lost with the passage of time, or has not been properly applied. This improper application is exemplified by the planting by some people of “lucky bamboos” in an ecosystem that is not fit for them, or which cannot handle them. While some people, especially the poor, claim that Feng Shui is only for the wealthy, others practice it in less expensive forms like hanging special but cheap mirrors, forks or cooking utensil woks on doorways for the purpose of deflecting or deviating negative energy. Many people use it for healing purposes different from the medical practices in the west. They believe that it is important and helpful in living a healthy and prosperous life by avoiding negative energies that are said to have bad effects.
One of the known believers and users of Feng Shui is the Disney Company which, acknowledging it as an important part of Chinese culture, changed the main gate of the Hong Kong Disneyland by 12 degrees in their building plans in 2005. The change was suggested by Wing Chao, master planner of Disney’s architecture and design. It was done in order to incorporate Feng Shui as part of Chinese culture into the theme park at the former British colony. Real estate mogul American Donald Trump, following his business losses in Asia, also hired a Feng Shui expert to analyze the “auspiciousness” of his high-rise Trump Towers in Las Vegas and Florida in the U.S.
Feng Shui is now used for houses, offices and buildings. A good Feng Shui house is required to have good Feng Shui and good qi, anchored on its main energy centers as bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Without good Feng Shui in these energy points, a house can never have good Feng Shui. In order to have a good Feng Shui house, it must always be nourished by fresh, clean and free-flowing energy. The main door of the house is also important in Feng Shui because it is through it that the house absorbs nourishment of energy. A good Feng Shui practice requires that the main or front door opens inwards to invite or attract the good Feng Shui energy instead of pushing it away if the door opens outwards. In the event, however, that the outward-opening door cannot be changed, one should create a strong Feng Shui energy in the main door by knowing how to guide good energy into the whole house.
