When we look at ancient Chinese Feng Shui from a modern scientific perspective, you may be surprised to find that although this ancient theory is cast in a layer of mysterious superstition, it embodies our country's thousands of years of knowledge. The essence of ancient philosophy, visual aesthetics, geophysics, hydrogeology, ecological architecture, meteorology and climatology, environmental landscape, psychology and human life informatics are the treasures of our country’s traditional architectural culture, and they are also important in modern architecture. It has extremely important reference value in the field.
1. What is the vent?
The so-called "qi mouth" refers to the mouth where the air enters. It originally refers to the opening or depression in the mountains in front of the village or house, where the fresh air comes from. Therefore, the door should face it directly to attract auspiciousness. Later, the "air port" was extended to the residential door, which is the so-called "the door leading in and out is the air port".
With the densification of residences, apartments, and large doors and windows, the sitting direction and door (air opening) of the residence are not as important as those of ancient residences. Therefore, the "air opening" can be extended to Doors, windows, and openings or recesses in adjacent buildings are where fresh air often comes from.
This "air vent" is best located in the east, southeast and south of the house to allow the gentle breeze to blow in. This is exactly the "purple air" (according to the auspicious air) that the ancients longed for. Come east".
The apartments that many people in the south now live in are Xunzhai (southeast to northwest). The main entrance of the apartment is in the north (kan) position, and the main entrance of the house is in the east (zhen) position or west (dui) position. . According to ancient Feng Shui theory, the main door and main entrance are air vents. However, now they are actually just entrance and exit passages. The large window in the southeast has become the main air vent. This situation is very common.
The most taboo in Feng Shui is "dead air", "evil air", "dispersed air" and "discouraged air".
The air outlet will cause "dispersion" and "deflation". Ancient Chinese Feng Shui believes that "qi will be dispersed if it rides on the wind" and "it attracts wind and causes trouble", so it requires "hiding the wind and gathering the qi". Hiding the wind means sheltering from the wind. The outlet of the wind is the source of "bringing wind and causing trouble". Why? This is because the wind speed is too high, the aura changes too much, and it is difficult for people to adapt. It is difficult to establish a balance between the human body field and the environment, and people will feel uncomfortable and even suffer from gas damage and fall ill.
If there is no wind, it will cause "dead air" and "evil air". The human body and family life emit a large amount of waste gas every day. If ventilation is poor and it is difficult to exchange indoor and outdoor air, the waste gas will remain indoors, causing self-pollution.
To sum up, Feng Shui follows the principle of the beauty of neutrality in the Book of Changes and opposes two extremes - too much wind or no wind. It emphasizes hiding wind and gathering Qi in order to gain vitality, that is, requiring air. Unobstructed to ensure a certain degree of freshness in the air.
The most ideal residential environment is one with gentle wind blowing gently, giving people a refreshing feeling.
2. What is Shuikou?
The so-called water mouth refers to the entrance and exit of water flow. On the one hand, the ancients realized that water flow will affect Qi: "The Yang of Qi moves from the wind, and the Yin of Qi moves from the water." "Follow the Qi of Yin and Yang to respect people's residences." On the other hand, they also believed that water controls wealth. , so we pay special attention to Shuikou and regard it as a protector and lifeline.
The sign of a proper water mouth is: the gate of heaven is open and the landlord’s house is closed. "Wherever water comes from, it is called the Heavenly Gate. If the water comes but does not see its source, it is called the Heavenly Gate. It is said that the Heavenly Gate is open. Wherever the water goes, it is called the household in the land. If there is no water, it is said that the household is closed. When water is removed, it is the main source of wealth. If the door is opened, wealth will come. If the household is closed, wealth will be used. Continuously." (Volume 7 of "Enter the Mountain Eye Picture") Tianmen Hu defines the entire village area and symbolizes the gateway and soul of the village.
There is water in front of the door, which is called water gathering in front of the hall. It is also called water in front of the bright hall. Traditionally, it is believed to be blessed, and water has become a symbol of blessing.
In order to make up for the lack of natural water given by nature, modern architecture uses artificial methods to dig pools or fountains. Li Ka-shing's Oriental Plaza on Chang'an Street in Beijing has a huge fountain, which is used to pray for blessings. The rising fountain symbolizes the hope of prosperity.
The water outlet later specifically refers to the water outlet. The water outlet is usually located at the lowest point of a village. Requiring the water flow to moderate is equivalent to "closing households". The spirit of the Shuikou Pass Bureau is in charge of the key points of a township. It is all due to this that you are tightly closed, your energy is doubled, and you are rich and powerful.
Water is the source of life for us humans, and some people think that water is a source of wealth. Traditional Feng Shui believes that if the door is opened in an auspicious position and there is water in front of the house, it will naturally generate wealth and bring financial resources to the owner; but if the door is opened in an unfavorable position, then the water source will bring disaster to the owner.
3. What is water holding?
The so-called baobian means holding water, which refers to the inner bend of the river (now called the convex bank), which is suitable for building housing; Concave bank), generally not suitable for residential construction.
There is a village somewhere in Guangdong, leaning against a mountain to the north. There is a river in the middle that meanders from east to west with a relatively large curvature. The north bank of the river is the right bank and inner bend of the river (the so-called "Inner position"), the residents here are prosperous; on the south bank of the river, on the left bank and outer bend of the river, the population is decreasing day by day, so that the houses are uninhabited and desolate.
The above-mentioned convex bank is suitable for building houses but concave bank is not suitable for building houses. This is based on the natural environment under the conditions of low productivity in ancient times. Because the concave bank is eroded by water impact, the river bank is relatively steep and prone to collapse, and the river bed is relatively deep, making life inconvenient. On the convex bank, due to continuous siltation, the land is more fertile and the underground water source is abundant, which is conducive to people's life.
If the concave bank is reinforced, it can be used as a dock and a city, which is beyond the reach of the convex bank. For example, Shaoguan City is built on two concave banks of the Dian River and the Wu River. It can be seen that we must dialectically look at the concave and convex banks of the river.
Why do the ancients think that the right bank of the river is suitable for building houses, but the left bank of the river is not suitable for building houses? This is because the river is affected by the inertia of the earth's rotation from west to east. In the northern hemisphere, there is a force deflecting to the right. The qi "stops when bounded by water." The qi bounded by the river water is squeezed by the force to the right, causing the right bank of the river to The gas on the left bank is concentrated and dense, and the atmospheric nutrients are relatively rich, so it is auspicious; on the contrary, the gas on the left bank is sparse, so it is relatively unlucky.
The right bank of the river is auspicious, and the left bank is unlucky. This is not absolute, but should be viewed dialectically, because whether it is auspicious or not is also related to factors such as topography, whether the land is fertile, and whether transportation is convenient. Therefore, it must be measured comprehensively.
During the quiet wind interval between mountain breeze and valley breeze, it is most unfavorable for the diffusion of pollutants. A large amount of pollutants remain in the valley, causing air pollution.
4. How to avoid air pollution. Because the air in valleys and basins is not smooth, they are susceptible to air pollution. During the day, the hillsides are heated by sunlight, and the temperature is higher than that of the valleys, forming a temperature inversion. Valley wind blows upward from the valleys. At night, the hillsides dissipate heat quickly, and the temperature drops even lower than in the valleys. Cold air flows downhill, causing mountain winds to blow from the hillsides to the valleys.
This is like the advance and retreat of tides. There is an intermittent period between the two tide periods. During the quiet wind interval when the mountain breeze and the valley breeze change, it is most unfavorable for the diffusion of pollutants. A large amount of pollutants are retained in the valley. Cause air pollution. Therefore, it is not advisable to build a house in a valley, but on a hillside, preferably a sunny hillside.
Residences built in valleys or basins are difficult to become a lively place because the surrounding areas are high, water and air are blocked, and air cannot flow naturally.
In addition, people in this kind of environment will inevitably feel imprisoned and emotionally depressed, which will affect human health.
5. How about a house close to the roadside?
If the residence is too close to the railway or highway, dust pollution, noise pollution, and exhaust pollution from trains and cars will occur. In addition, the constant flow of vehicles also affects the instability of environmental sound, making it difficult for the human body to adapt and prone to poor physical strength, lack of energy, and even illness.
Moreover, residences that are too close to railways and highways are prone to traffic accidents, and children and the elderly have to be cautious and frightened when entering and exiting.
What’s more, railways and highways need to be expanded and rerouted from time to time, and houses are sometimes threatened with demolition.