![[Main Page]](/wikinerds3.png)
Feng Shui is an ancient and complex Chinese art that combines mysticism, science, and superstition to determine health, luck, and prosperity according to natural landscapes and the placement of dwellings, buildings and graves. It is still actively practiced in various forms in China and other Pacific countries such as Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The term translates as "wind" and "water." Its fundamental concept is that in order to be healthy and prosper, one must be in harmony with the earth and receive the benefit of ch'i, the universal principle, which exists in all things and flows through the earth and nature. The flow of ch'i and the yin-yang balance are often affected by contours of the landscape, the presence or absence of water and vegetations, the weather conditions, and the sitings and shapes of buildings and the placement of furnishings in them.
Crucial to good feng shui is the presence of protective mountains of certain shapes, especially those evocative of dragons; the proximity of life-giving water (also associated with money), especially streams or rivers that flow neither too fast nor too slow; and the presence of rich, green treets and vegetation. The Chinese believe that the best ch'i winds and meanders along natural contours, thus there is an aversion to straight roads in modern construction. Ideally, houses, palaces, and tombs should face South and be located near yang energies of strength, and be protected at the rear by yin energies. Associations with the cardinal points are: north=business; east=good family life; south=fame; west=children's fame.
[edit] Wikinerds notices
Notice: This article may not be of much interest to people who self-identify as nerds, and as such it may be considered for deletion. Please raise your opinions in the article's talk page.
Notice: This article lacks copyright licensing information as as such it is considered copyrighted and unlicensed, which means that it is likely going to be deleted if the author(s) do not edit the article to indicate its licensing terms.