Feng Shui is a practical philosophy and art that has existed for a few thousand years, long before Chinese developed their alphabet and decided to spread their civilization. The followers and believers of this philosophy learned to follow the fundamental principles of Feng Shui, which are the Yin and Yang – the positive and negative energy. Chinese people practiced this art of living and behaving, passing their experience and knowledge to the next generations. According to the Feng Shui philosophy its base can be found at the Taoist concept; this belief is based on the energy that flows around us and is mostly known as Chi.
The concept of Taoism regarding energy refers to the way the energy moves and flows. If it doesn’t flow in a natural way then everything around is in complete disarray and disharmony. People who follow the Feng Shui beliefs can manipulate and arrange their energy and their ambience in such a way so as to achieve better flow of energy, thus health and prosperity.
The origins of Feng Shui are found back in history, almost 11th century BC. Wen Wang who was the king of the Zhou, was imprisoned due to reasons of treason. He was, though, very much worried about the conditions in his country, therefore he studied the I Ching, which was the base of the Taoist philosophy, and he tried to interpret the basic rules, adjusting them to the current reality of China. Based on the notes of his descendants he managed to predict many of the events to come, among which was the dominance of Zhou. The book that contains these notes is one of the most important books in China and is called ‘the Book of Change’. There are though many controversial issues about this book, as many historians suggest that the book was actually written before Wang and that he just added to it.
The practice of Feng Shi started officially during the 3rd century BC and was referred to as Kanyu. This is the art of understanding the cosmological changes and managing the environment this way so as to benefit from the metaphysical and natural changes that occur around you. According to the first practitioners of Feng Shui, people are supposed to understand the way cosmology works and its influence on earth. In order to do so, people should have basic knowledge of astronomy, astrology and physics and understand the forces of nature. People who want to practice it should also understand how the magnetic fields work.
Once Feng Shui and Chi became popular in China, during the West Han Dynasty, architects and officials started applying it in the city buildings and main constructions. The Taoist principles became very unpopular though during the Communist Era in China.
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