It seems the new designing catchphrase is "feng shui." Little strings of coins, bamboo plants, and bells all come with notes claiming they will bring 'good feng shui' to your home. So, what is good feng shui? For that matter, what is feng shui?
This Taoist practice dates back nearly 3,000 years. Basically, feng and shui mean wind and water, two things that in China are thought to bring good fortune. In English, anything that brings good fortune has started to be called 'good feng shui' and anything that discourages good fortune, 'bad feng shui;' which must sound very strange to any Chinese speakers who hear it. Some Taoist practitioners in China 3,000 years ago started creating some ideas about how to design a home, or a pick a grave site, or build a government building in ways that all the things that would bring good fortune would be included.
Originally, this theory had nothing to do with the inside of a building and everything to do with what direction the exterior door faced, whether there was a river, or a mountain, or geographic point of interest in the area, and the architecture of the building. (Relatively) recently, a new school of thought developed in feng shui, called the black hat school. The black hat school of feng shui takes the philosophy and world view of classic feng shui, and moves it inside the house.
Traditionally, having a stand of bamboo near your property was said to encourage prosperity. So, the black hat school, when things like having a small bamboo tree in the house became possible, determined that having bamboo in a room would bring prosperity to that part of the house (which is why bamboo is good feng shui in an office). Other concepts in black hat feng shui are that a person sitting at a desk should not have their back to the room, and that furniture in a room should not be pushed right up against the walls.
Feng shui, it must be remembered, is intrinsically tied to Taoist thought and the Chinese world view. Understanding all of the ideas of feng shui takes time and study, and only the black hat school is widely taught or practiced outside of China. However, taking the time to learn about feng shui and its teaching can have a strong positive effect on your home and life. A basic feng shui course can provide a wealth of foundational theory. These theories can be applied the principles of one's own life.
This Taoist practice dates back nearly 3,000 years. Basically, feng and shui mean wind and water, two things that in China are thought to bring good fortune. In English, anything that brings good fortune has started to be called 'good feng shui' and anything that discourages good fortune, 'bad feng shui;' which must sound very strange to any Chinese speakers who hear it. Some Taoist practitioners in China 3,000 years ago started creating some ideas about how to design a home, or a pick a grave site, or build a government building in ways that all the things that would bring good fortune would be included.
Originally, this theory had nothing to do with the inside of a building and everything to do with what direction the exterior door faced, whether there was a river, or a mountain, or geographic point of interest in the area, and the architecture of the building. (Relatively) recently, a new school of thought developed in feng shui, called the black hat school. The black hat school of feng shui takes the philosophy and world view of classic feng shui, and moves it inside the house.
Traditionally, having a stand of bamboo near your property was said to encourage prosperity. So, the black hat school, when things like having a small bamboo tree in the house became possible, determined that having bamboo in a room would bring prosperity to that part of the house (which is why bamboo is good feng shui in an office). Other concepts in black hat feng shui are that a person sitting at a desk should not have their back to the room, and that furniture in a room should not be pushed right up against the walls.
Feng shui, it must be remembered, is intrinsically tied to Taoist thought and the Chinese world view. Understanding all of the ideas of feng shui takes time and study, and only the black hat school is widely taught or practiced outside of China. However, taking the time to learn about feng shui and its teaching can have a strong positive effect on your home and life. A basic feng shui course can provide a wealth of foundational theory. These theories can be applied the principles of one's own life.
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If you're interested in taking a basic feng shui course, make sure you enroll in a thorough and well-respected feng shui school.
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