Just like Hong Kong's Feng Shui programs always use such an exemption clause: "Feng Shui numerology is metaphysics, not metaphysics, and it is only for the audience's reference". Some opinions put forward in this article cannot be officially confirmed or falsified. Here, please also allow reporters to apply the exemption clause of this "cottage": "For reference only".
Between geomantic omen and science, it is only a matter of opinion for the time being.
"Living" culture
The formation of geomantic omen in China has a long history, which can be traced back to ancient times.
As early as the primitive society, although there was no geomantic omen, due to the survival challenges brought by the harsh natural environment and the value of the farming and animal husbandry society, people at that time had to "choose a place to live" and choose a place that was "near the water and rising in the sun" and suitable for human reproduction. This is an adaptive choice.
After entering civilized society, geomantic omen began to appear in written records. For example, there are many records about Buzhai in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. From a large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, The Book of Songs and Shangshu unearthed in later generations, it can be seen that in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China people divided the land areas into different landforms such as mountains, harbors, hills, plains, tombs and hills, and divided the water areas into rivers, springs, rivers, streams, marshes, rivers and torrents. At that time, they made a very detailed classification of the earth's differences, and this is the future. "
Later, with the development and prevalence of Zhouyi and the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, an academic thought dominated by "looking up to the sky and leaning down to geography" began to be established. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he not only inherited the previous concept of "soil suitability" but also became more specific, and at the same time began to have the concept of "qi". From the Book of Jin, we know that "at the beginning of the emperor, the gas watcher said,' Jinling has the gas of the emperor for 500 years', so the emperor traveled eastward to suppress it, changed its land to Moling, and cut the northern mountain to the extreme." At that time, there was a saying that "it is irritating", which shows that there are professional workers in the Feng Shui industry.
During the Western Han Dynasty, physiognomy became more popular, and the name "Kanyu" began to appear. According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records", when the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty got together, someone asked if he could get married, but Kanyujia saidno. At this time, Kanyujia was proficient in astronomy and geography, and physiognomy was also called "form method". There are also some geomantic works in Han Dynasty, such as "The Golden Chamber of Kanyu", "Terrain of Palace House", "Migration Law" and "Art of Painting Academy", which indicate that geomantic omen has been preliminarily summarized in theory.
In Song Dynasty, Chen Tuan, Shao Yong, Zhu, Cai and other famous Yi-ology scholars explained and appraised Feng Shui, and published some Feng Shui works one after another, laying a theoretical system of Feng Shui with Jiangxi Formalism School and Fujian Neo-Confucianism School as the main body.
In an interview with Xinmin Weekly, Li Jialin, head of the Shanghai Hall of Fame, who has a good knowledge of naming and geomantic omen, said that throughout history, the pre-Qin period was the gestation period of geomantic omen theory, the Song Dynasty was the prevailing period, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties were the flooding period.
Li Jialin told reporters that there was a "Si Tian Jian" in both the Tang Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, who was not only responsible for observing astronomical phenomena and recording astronomy, but also for building tombs. Therefore, the officials of the company must understand Feng Shui. "It can be seen that most of the famous geomancers in ancient times were court officials."
After liberation, although Feng Shui still existed as a custom, its theory suffered a heavy blow and was once labeled as "feudal superstition".
Li Jialin analyzed that this is because in recent hundreds of years, western science has gained the upper hand in the competition between countries, so that the whole world has formed a one-sided pattern, and more and more people are convinced of western science.
"In addition, there are some charlatans involved in Feng Shui, which makes researchers mixed up and confused, and tarnishes the reputation of Feng Shui." Li Jialin emphasized that "the cultural background of people engaged in geomantic omen and naming is much worse than before the Republic of China. The reason is that there is a serious fault in the whole China culture, and modern people have too little effort to read and recite. "
Li Jialin repeatedly stressed that Feng Shui is an important part of China's 5,000-year-old traditional culture. "Feng Shui is culture, and science are two different systems. Now some so-called scholars interpret Feng Shui as' environmental science' in order to make it develop better. I think some of them gave up the foundation. "
Weng, a professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning and an expert in architectural geomantic omen in China, further subdivided geomantic omen culture. "China people talk about food, clothing, housing and transportation. Feng Shui is a culture of' living' and cannot be compared with science."
World trend
Li Jialin told Xinmin Weekly that he was not surprised that Xintiandi was listed in London. "Feng Shui culture originated in China, but after the17th century, as China people went to the world, Feng Shui culture also went to the world, and it broke ground, sprouted and blossomed everywhere."
It is understood that in Hong Kong, Singapore and other places, the relevant institutions have a high degree of recognition of Feng Shui culture, and even the Chief Executive does not deny that he has seen Feng Shui. In Hong Kong, some big companies frequently invite some geomancers to give directions and even give lectures to employees. Unlike the mainland, Hong Kong feng shui masters are not only social activists, but also can enter the ivory tower. The continuing education departments of some universities are willing to hire relevant experts to give lectures and teach this unique China classical culture to college students.
Hong Kong Feng Shui master is a mixture of professionals and artists. They are busy with classes, reading, education and "going north" across borders. Their income is comparable to that of lawyers, doctors and other professionals. According to reports, Su Minfeng has to pay HK$ 7,500 to see the geomantic omen of houses and offices, while Lingling Mak starts at HK$ 10 to HK$ 12 per square foot, which is another bargaining outside Hong Kong.
In Japan and Southeast Asia, there are also many college architecture professors studying astrology and geomantic omen. Yin Hongji, a famous geomantic expert in Southeast Asia and the geography department of Auckland University in New Zealand, once wrote in "Research on the History of Natural Science", "Geomantic omen is a landscape rating system for the location of architectural signs and an art of site selection and layout in ancient China, which cannot be simply called superstition or science."
The same is true of western society. After the 1970s, except in Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States, there was an upsurge of "learning" China's geomantic omen, which led to more and more foreigners using geomantic omen theory to guide their lives.
At present, there are 17 universities in the United States that offer Yijing Feng Shui and other majors, and scholars from Canada, Britain, Australia and other countries have made special research on this. In the lobby of CMA headquarters in France, a whole wall is a huge indoor fish tank. Relevant personnel said that this is related to Feng Shui.
Some foreigners think that geomantic omen is similar to foreign environmentology, which makes sense. "The house is ventilated and open, the people living in it are refreshed, and business and family are naturally smooth!"
"It can be seen that Feng Shui is not a patent of Asians or China people." Li Jialin said that the prosperity of multiculturalism has made more people have an objective and comprehensive understanding of Feng Shui.
In fact, as early as 1985, with the strong support of Hou Renzhi, then head of the Department of Geography, Feng Shui was officially opened in Peking University. At that time, Professor Yu Xixian, known as "the first Feng Shui master in China", was the keynote speaker.
However, because the policy environment in Chinese mainland is different from that in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Feng Shui companies in Chinese mainland are generally low-key, and customers of Feng Shui companies tend to keep a low profile. An insider admitted in an interview that he was invited by a domestic bank to watch Feng Shui for him, and then talked about it in his blog, but the customer asked him to delete the content.