Feng shui

For other uses, see Feng shui (disambiguation).

A Feng Shui diagram of a parcel of land, in this case explaining how "Yin Water" and "Yin Fire" relate to it -- with an auspicious circle.[1]
Feng shui
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese風水
Simplified Chinese风水
Literal meaning"wind-water"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinfēngshuǐ
Bopomofoㄈㄥ   ㄕㄨㄟˇ
Wade–Gilesfêng1-shui3
Tongyong Pinyinfongshuěi
Yale Romanizationfēngshwěi
IPA[fə́ŋ.ʂwèɪ]
Wu
Romanizationfon平 sy上
Gan
RomanizationFung1 sui3
Hakka
Romanizationfung24 sui31
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationfùngséui or fūngséui
Jyutpingfung1seoi2
IPA[fʊŋ˥˧.sɵɥ˧˥] or [fʊŋ˥.sɵɥ˧˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJhong-suí
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUChŭng-cūi
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetphong thủy
Chữ Hán風水
Thai name
Thaiฮวงจุ้ย (Huang chui)
Korean name
Hangul풍수
Hanja風水
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationpungsu
McCune–Reischauerp'ungsu
Japanese name
Kanji風水
Hiraganaふうすい
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburnfūsui
Kunrei-shikihûsui
Khmer name
Khmerហុងស៊ុយ (hŏng sŭy)
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Chinese folk religion
Stylisation of the 禄 lù or 子 zi grapheme, respectively meaning "prosperity", "furthering", "welfare" and "son", "offspring". 字 zì, meaning "word" and "symbol", is a cognate of 子 zi and represents a "son" enshrined under a "roof". The symbol is ultimately a representation of the north celestial pole (Běijí 北极) and its spinning constellations, and as such it is equivalent to the Eurasian symbol of the swastika, 卍 wàn.
Concepts
Theory

Model humanity:

Practices
Institutions and temples
Festivals
Internal traditions
Major cultural forms

Main philosophical traditions:

Ritual traditions:

Devotional traditions:

Zhenkong, "Void of Truth".
Zhenkong, "Void of Truth".

Salvation churches and sects:

Confucian churches and sects:

Related religions

Feng shui (/ˈfʌŋˌʃuːi/ [2] or /ˌfʌŋˈʃweɪ/[3]), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in Ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term feng shui means, literally, "wind-water" (i.e., fluid). From ancient times, landscapes and bodies of water were thought to direct the flow of the universal Qi – "cosmic current" or energy – through places and structures. More broadly, feng shui includes astronomical, astrological, architectural, cosmological, geographical, and topographical dimensions.[4][5]

Historically, as well as in many parts of the contemporary Chinese world, feng shui was used to choose the orientation of buildings, dwellings, and spiritually significant structures such as tombs. One scholar writes that in contemporary Western societies, however, "feng shui tends to be reduced to interior design for health and wealth. It has become increasingly visible through 'feng shui consultants' and corporate architects who charge large sums of money for their analysis, advice and design."[5]

Feng shui has been identified as both non-scientific and pseudoscientific by scientists and philosophers,[6] and it has been described as a paradigmatic example of pseudoscience.[7] It exhibits a number of classic pseudoscientific aspects, such as making claims about the functioning of the world that are not amenable to testing with the scientific method.[8]

  1. ^ Bennett 1978.
  2. ^ "feng shui". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1095858841. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2nd ed.). Longman. p. 288. ISBN 0-582-36467-1.
  4. ^ Bruun, Ole (2011). Fengshui in China : Geomantic Divination between State, Orthodoxy and Popular Religion (2nd ed.). NIAS Press. ISBN 978-87-91114-79-3.
  5. ^ a b Komjathy (2012), p. 395.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fernandez-Beanato pp. 1333–1351 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCain Kampourakis 2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Matthews 2018.