When it comes to Feng Shui, do you think of the Feng Shui in “The Lost Tomb Notes”? The mantra is: “Seek the dragon, divide the gold, look at the winding mountain, one winding is one pass, if the pass has eight dangers, it does not come out of the Yin and Yang Bagua shape.” Isn’t it mysterious? In fact, Feng Shui is all around us, not mysterious, not superstitious, and very scientific. If used well, it can really change one’s fortune!
1. Ancients believed that Feng Shui refers to the role of wind and water. They believed that the environment must have vitality. The term Feng Shui first appeared in the “Book of Burial,” which mentioned that wind can disperse Qi, and water can gather Qi. Therefore, Feng Shui is about whether the wind and water of a place can gather Qi. If they cannot gather Qi, it is not a good place.
2. Modern scholars believe that it is an integrated science involving geophysical, geological, environmental landscape, natural ecological architecture, and celestial movement orientation studies. It involves the manifestation of Qi and magnetic fields, and emphasizes the unity of heaven and man, following the natural way. From a modern scientific perspective, it is the high degree of harmony between humans and the natural environment.
3. Taoist Feng Shui has a long history and is a product of the combination of Taoist culture and traditional Chinese Feng Shui. It is not just a simple environmental layout technique but also a profound philosophy of life and cosmology. The core of Taoist Feng Shui lies in “following the natural way,” emphasizing that people should comply with natural laws and coexist harmoniously with heaven and earth.
4. The philosophical foundation of Taoist Feng Shui is based on Taoist cosmology, which believes that all things in the universe are born from the “Tao,” which is formless, invisible, and omnipresent. In Feng Shui, “Qi” is an important medium connecting people with nature. It flows between heaven and earth, affecting people’s health, wealth, and destiny. The goal of Taoist Feng Shui is to adjust and optimize the “Qi” in the environment to make it flow smoothly, thus achieving harmony between humans and nature.
5. In practical applications, Taoist Feng Shui involves considerations of terrain, architecture, and interior layout. It emphasizes the concept of “unity of heaven and man,” advocating that natural environmental factors such as mountains, water flow, and wind direction should be considered in architectural design and urban planning to achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Taoist Feng Shui also involves the selection of colors, directions, and times, all to promote the flow and gathering of “Qi,” enhancing the positive energy of living or working environments.
6. The impact of the environment on emotions: Feng Shui believes that the Qi field and layout of the environment can affect people’s emotions and psychological states. For example, a spacious, bright, clean, and comfortable home environment can make people feel happy and relaxed, while a dark, damp, and messy environment is easy to make people feel tired and uneasy.
7. The impact of spatial layout on thinking: An important principle in Feng Shui is “Qi flow.” A reasonable spatial layout can promote the flow of Qi, thereby improving the clarity and agility of thinking. For example, using appropriate furniture placement and decorative arrangements in the workplace can improve work efficiency and creativity.
8. Confidence and happiness: Feng Shui also focuses on the Qi and energy of individuals. It believes that a confident and positive person will emit a positive Qi, thus having better luck and happiness.
9. Psychological suggestion: A part of the Feng Shui system is related to psychological suggestion. Feng Shui adjusts environmental layouts and item placements to affect people’s psychology and behavior, achieving a harmonious and balanced state between people and the environment.
10. Yin and Yang balance: Feng Shui also emphasizes the “balance of Yin and Yang.” This is an ancient Chinese philosophical thought that believes everything has two sides of Yin and Yang, and only when they are balanced can harmony be achieved. In Feng Shui, this balance is not only reflected in physical space but also in mental states.
11. Expectation effect: Many principles in Feng Shui also reflect the “expectation effect” in psychology. When people believe that a certain action will bring a certain result, this belief often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
12. Spatial perception: Feng Shui also involves the psychological theory of “spatial perception.” The human visual system organizes and categorizes the surrounding space, forming our intuitive feelings about the environment we are in. Good Feng Shui layout can provide clear visual clues, helping people find their place in space, and enhancing their sense of direction and security.
13. Environmental psychology and Feng Shui: Environmental psychology is the discipline that studies how people’s psychology and behavior are influenced by the environment, while Feng Shui is a traditional Chinese knowledge that emphasizes the harmonious relationship between people and nature. Both explore the relationship between people and the environment.
14. The most famous Feng Shui layout is the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation headquarters building: The HSBC headquarters building is located at the “treasure trove” position in Hong Kong, which is considered the “Pegasus jumping to the sea point.” The building’s design cleverly uses Feng Shui principles, such as completely opening the ground floor to let the evil energy pass through the bottom without impacting the building. At the same time, it guides the flow of people and a small amount of evil energy into the room through escalators, and sets up a huge electronic display as a screen opposite the escalators to block too much evil energy and disperse the Qi throughout the lobby. In addition, the building’s base uses glass surfaces to absorb some of the evil energy into the building, and introduces wealth into the building through the atrium’s Qi gathering method.
In modern society, the application of Taoist Feng Shui has gone beyond the traditional fields of architecture and interior design, and its concepts have also been applied to personal life, business management, and even urban planning.
