Feng Shui (風水) — Wind and Water
Feng Shui, literally "Wind and Water," is the Chinese art and science of spatial arrangement, energy flow, and environmental harmonization. In the Five Arts framework, Feng Shui falls under Physiognomy (相 Xiang) — the study of forms and their energetic qualities. The tradition holds that the quality of Qi (氣) in a person's environment directly affects their health, wealth, relationships, and destiny.
The Four Schools of Classical Feng Shui
- Form School (巒頭法 Luan Tou Fa): Analyzes the physical landscape — mountains, water courses, land formations, and building shapes. The Dragon (龍), Tiger (虎), Phoenix (朱雀), and Tortoise (玄武) formation surrounding a site determines its Qi quality. This is the foundational layer — all compass methods require a sound Form foundation.
- San He (三合): A compass school using the 24 Mountains, Water Dragon theory, and the Three Harmony combination of earthly branches. Key texts: Qing Nang Jing (青囊經), Tian Yu Jing (天玉經).
- Xuan Kong Flying Stars (玄空飛星): A time-space system correlating building period, sitting/facing direction, and annual stars to reveal the chart of a property. The dominant school in contemporary professional practice.
- Ba Zhai (八宅法): Eight Mansions — a person-based system that divides a property into eight sectors relative to the front door and assigns auspicious/inauspicious zones based on the occupant's personal trigram (Gua number).
Luopan (羅盤) — The Feng Shui Compass
The Luopan is the primary measurement and reference tool of the Feng Shui practitioner. It consists of a magnetic compass needle (天池) surrounded by concentric rings containing:
- 24 Mountains (二十四山) — the primary directional divisions at 15° each
- 8 Trigrams — Early Heaven (先天八卦) and Later Heaven (後天八卦) arrangements
- Flying Stars Period rings — for current Period 9 (2024–2043) and historical periods
- 64 Hexagrams ring (5.625° per hexagram) for advanced Da Gua work
- 28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿)
- 72 Dragons / 60 Dragons for grave site precision work