ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF FENG SHUI WWW.AJOFENGSHUI.CO.NF 1 st Symposium Oceania Canopy and Chariot Chinese concepts of Heaven and Earth in the Feng Shui tradition University of Technology Sydney 13 th & 14 th May 2017 ABSTRACTS
Academic scope of research into Chinese Geomancy Keynote Speaker - Associate Professor Hong-key Yoon Chinese geomancy or fengshui is an academic subject that has great research potential. Scholars of East Asian Studies need to give more attention to it, because fengshui has played such an important role in the development of East Asian culture and history. Researchers need to be mindful of objectivity and fairness when they collect geomantic data and analyse it, if their works are not be seen as manifestos or confessions of their fanatic faith in fengshui. In this paper, I wish to draw the scholar s attention to the following points: 1. Geomancy as the academic term for fengshui in the English Language. Traditionally western scholars used the term geomancy or Chinese geomancy as the English term denoting fengshui in Chinese. The standard dictionary of the English language, the Oxford Dictionary defines the English word geomancy as equivalent to fengshui in Chinese. This paper proposes the use of the term geomancy especially referring to academic study of fengshui. 2. What is fengshui? Fengshui (geomancy) is a traditional Chinese system of divining auspicious locations which may have its origin in the Loess Plateau. Just like modern analysis of industrial locations or shopping malls may not be called a practice of geomancy, traditional site divinations from outside Chinese culture may not be called geomancy or fengshui. The arts of site divination from Africa, Middle East or Indian cultures are separate systems from Chinese geomancy. 3. Some academic aspects of geomancy studies: a personal view. The history and culture of geomancy (fengshui) related topics are of great research interest to the scholars of geomancy. a) Translations and annotations of classical Chinese geomancy literature, such as Zangshu, Qingwujing, Dili Shinfa, Dili-Renzixuezhi, Nan jie ershi pian (the Twenty Four difficult Problems), and so on. b) Research on the origin and dispersal of the art of geomancy from China to nations surrounding it. It is important to document and interpret the practice of geomancy in different regions in China, Japan and Korea. c) Exploring important ecological principles as imbedded in geomantic principles. A fascinating research area might be on what and how geomantic principles were applied in traditional environmental design, architecture, landscape gardening in East Asia. Some useful points to give attention are the geomantic concepts and importance of balance, limit to growth, gentleness and centrality. Whether geomancy represents scientific principles, religious faith or simply superstitious belief is simply beyond scholarly concerns and should be left as personal matter, like people s faith in Christianity or other religions. Scholars study geomancy, not because they necessarily believe in the art, but because geomancy made a tremendous impact on East Asian culture. I believe that academic investigation of geomantic traditions in China, Japan and Korea can reveal a number of ecological and other useful environmental ideas imbedded in the art. Academic study of geomancy is different from the practice of geomancy for clients by recommending supposedly auspicious locations. Feng shui: Intuition, not just superstition. Architecture: Superstition, not just intuition. Guest Speaker - Doctor Derham Groves Derham Groves discusses the similarities between the branch of feng shui known as the form school and postmodern architecture. As symbolism is intrinsic and critical to both, he argues that the roles of a feng shui expert and an architect are very similar in at least one important respect: Namely, both are responsible for creating, manipulating and explaining symbols in the built environment. Groves presents a number of examples of where the form school and postmodern architecture coexist hand-in-glove in particular, Hong Kong Disneyland, where the Walt Disney Company, a major patron of postmodern architecture, successfully embraced feng shui for the first time in the design of one of its theme parks. He believes that a better appreciation of the similarities between feng shui and architecture could be beneficial to both: It would certainly present feng shui in a wider, more architectural context. It may also help to reestablish the architect s former role as master of ceremonies. Hence the title of the article: Feng shui: Intuition, not just superstition. Architecture: Superstition, not just intuition.
The Dynamic Balancing Between Ying and Yang in Painting Creation Professor Wei Dong I m always searching to bring dynamic balance to opposite elements in my creative painting work. Sometimes we as artists prefer to work only from a single perspective, but I believe that if we expand our perspectives, we will be able to achieve greater enrichment. This dynamic balancing process originates from my understanding, appreciation, and practice of Yin and Yang concepts. Positive and Negative compliment and enrich each other. They co-exist harmoniously, producing good energy for the next phase of the process. For all my paintings, I take this approach. When I m working with large, wet brushes, I m already thinking about how I can use dry brushes to balance it. When I m using large brushes and broad strokes of color, I m already thinking about how I can use small, elegant lines to make connections. When I m creating bold, emotional backgrounds, I m already thinking about how I can use more logical thinking for the foreground. When a painting is becoming very practical and realistic, I begin thinking about how I can balance it with more abstract and spiritual ideas. When I m using my brushes freely and following my hand and my heart, I m already thinking about how I can use my eyes and mind more strategically. My presentation will systematically introduce how I have incorporated the concept of dynamic balance between Ying and Yang which is one of the core concepts of Feng Shui in to my painting creations. Shinto Shrines as Deities of the Five Directions Associate Professor Ellen Van Goethem Since about a decade ago, five Kyoto shrines portray themselves in promotional material as the age-old guardians of the ancient capital despite the fact that only some of these shrines existed around the time of the city s founding in 794. In this configuration, Kamigamo Jinja, Yasaka Jinja, Jonangu, and Matsunoo Taisha each correspond to one of the four guardian deities of the cardinal directions, while Heian Jingu presents itself as the Yellow Dragon of the Center, a directional guardian that is usually not found in Japanese adaptations of ancient Chinese cosmology. Major focus will be on Heian Jingu; this shrine, established as an imperial shrine in the late nineteenth century, is itself replete with references to the directional deities in the form of building names, ornaments, etc. This is surprising as it was established at a time when Japan was turning to the West, rather than to China, for a guiding model and an attempt was made to create a pure Shinto cleansed of foreign (in particular Buddhist) influence. Are Bedroom Fengshui Rules Practical in an Architectural Perspective? Assistant Professor Wan Thing Hong, Professor Hamzah Abdul-Rahman & Associate Professor Chen Wang Bedroom Feng Shui practices have been criticised as myth over the years but in fact having its scientific origin that is not purely superstitious. This paper intended to investigate whether the architects design practice for bedroom interior arrangement is concurring with the recommended bedroom Feng Shui practices. The study has successfully interviewed 16 architects of diverse backgrounds, seeking their design perspectives in bedroom interior configuration. Subsequently, the interviewees were asked to submit sketches of ideal bedroom layout based on their expertise, with pre-set requirements. Data from semistructured interviews were analysed using mixed method approach. In agreement with our expectations, majority of the interviewees have matching thoughts that bed arrangement is the primary consideration in bedroom interior configuration. Most of the design outputs were highly attached to favourable Feng Shui condition. The overall findings implied that bedroom Feng Shui is not merely superstitious but a practical design reference for the architects.
Feng Shui as Design Paradigm in Architecture Doctor Mauro Rahardjo Nowadays, many Architects clients demand Feng Shui to be adopted in their building projects; however, most architects are not trained in Feng Shui, they were shocked when they found that they have to do major changes to their design. In order to meet Feng Shui, architects make an effort to attentively follow Feng Shui Experts guidance. It is not seldom that Feng Shui-masters dictate the spatial layout which is often contrary to architectural space concept, as a result the architects encounter topsy-turvy design procedure. For architects, Feng Shui offers complicated rules which are at times contradictive to their designs; therefore tensions between architecture and Feng Shui arise. This paper observes and illustrates selected Preliminary Architectural Design Projects the writer involved in initial design and share from among hundreds of design experience on how Architecture Design adopts Feng Shui as DESIGN PARADIGM. How shall we bridge the gap between Modern Architecture Design and Authentic Feng Shui? If an architect wants to adopt Feng Shui in his design, the writer suggests, architects learn Feng Shui more deeply, grabs the basic principles of Feng Shui and exercise in design by integrating them into Design Process. The paper concludes that using Feng Shui as Design Paradigm influence architects, such, that architects and architecture will realize that Forms follows Feng Shui. An imperial study of modern sustainable office buildings in Sydney from the Feng Shui perspective Doctor Michael Mak The interaction between humans and the environment is an everyday process. In western contemporary architecture, these interactions with the natural and man-made environment are called sustainable design. The fundamental concept of modern sustainable building emphasizes on a holistic approach to reduce negative environmental impact of man-made structure, and this is coincided with the ancient Chinese knowledge of Feng Shui that aims to creating harmony between heaven, earth and human. Previous studies have already indicated that there are many similarities between ecological sustainable design and principles and practice of Feng Shui. Most of the previous studies were based on case studies of modern sustainable buildings, but this paper is based on empirical study of Green Star rated modern sustainable office buildings in Sydney from the Feng Shui perspective. Their sustainability concepts and characteristics are systematically compared with the theories and applications of Feng Shui knowledge. The results of this study provides a framework for Feng Shui concepts to be considered and applied to the modern sustainable buildings that will enhance the effectiveness of sustainable development. The Dragon of Sydney Doctor Michael John Paton In traditional dili (principles of the earth) and fengshui (wind and water), mountain ranges are called dragons. The ridge lines of a mountain range are called the dragon s veins. The relationship between these dragon veins and water allows the development of vital qi, i.e. the energy/ether underlying the life force, through the development of topsoil and rivers. In Australia, the Great Dividing Range is the major dragon with traditional dili theory explaining why over 80% of the population of Australia live between this dragon and the coast. The theory even explains why downtown Sydney is where it is. The major dragon of Sydney can be traced from the Blue Mountains through the Hills district down the ridge line through the site of Government House to the Opera House. This paper focuses on an understanding of the Dragon of Sydney from a southern hemisphere perspective with discussion of the problems of the ritualization of knowledge.
Surfing the Oceanic Waves of the Cosmic Breath Under the Guidance of The Stems and Branches Calendrical Clock Doctor Rey Tiquia Nowadays, many Architects clients demand Feng Shui to be adopted in their building projects; however, most architects are not trained in Feng Shui, they were shocked when they found that they have to do major changes to their design. In order to meet Feng Shui, architects make an effort to attentively follow Feng Shui Experts guidance. It is not seldom that Feng Shui-masters dictate the spatial layout which is often contrary to architectural space concept, as a result the architects encounter topsy-turvy design procedure. For architects, Feng Shui offers complicated rules which are at times contradictive to their designs; therefore tensions between architecture and Feng Shui arise. This paper observes and illustrates selected Preliminary Architectural Design Projects the writer involved in initial design and share from among hundreds of design experience on how Architecture Design adopts Feng Shui as DESIGN PARADIGM. How shall we bridge the gap between Modern Architecture Design and Authentic Feng Shui? If an architect wants to adopt Feng Shui in his design, the writer suggests, architects learn Feng Shui more deeply, grabs the basic principles of Feng Shui and exercise in design by integrating them into Design Process. The paper concludes that using Feng Shui as Design Paradigm influence architects, such, that architects and architecture will realize that Forms follows Feng Shui. The use of different metrics or Feng Shui Formulae for different parts of the Built Environment Doctor Stephen Skinner Feng shui treats different parts of the built environment differently. For example, the sitting/facing position of a building is utilised by San Yuan Flying Star formulae, but the positioning of its doors is handled by Eight Mansion formulae. The building s relationship to the external environment is a function of San He feng shui and the three Plates of the luopan or Chinese compass. The location of external water in the environment and its relationship, beneficial or otherwise, to the building is measured by the Heaven Plate of the luopan. However the circulation of qi (ch i) inside the building is dealt with by San Yuan Flying Star formulae. The apparent clash of some of these methods such as the interior assessment of the quality of various rooms in terms of Flying Star formulae as opposed to their analysis by Eight Mansion formulae are often the cause of controversy and doubt. Another example is the apparent, but not real, tension between front door positioning and facing direction. All these issues have a very real impact of the assessment of the feng shui of a building. In fact classical feng shui formulae do not clash, but simply measure different things in the built environment. It is the objective of this paper to demonstrate that different formulae in feng shui cover different domains of the built environment, and so, when rightly understood, do not clash. Self-care Landscapes: Feng Shui Craft and Everyday Practices Ding Yan, PhD Candidate In this article, I conceptualize self-care landscapes through the lens of Feng Shui. Feng Shui as a spatial craft provides a way in which to enframe the agency of our hidden perception to living environment and situates this agency within everyday life. Drawing upon Foucault s technologies of the self as the analytic notion, this article argues that Feng Shui enables the transformative potential of the very sense of mundane everyday spaces in the service of self-care, which structures a dynamic relation between space and human as the latter accounts for the living experience of happiness, prosperity, and well-being. Working with and manipulating invisible Feng Shui energy (qi) of spatial orderings, ordinary people establish new subject positions to realize themselves in coherence with everyday spaces; meanwhile, everyday spaces function as the self-care landscapes that accommodate, mirror, reflect, amplify, and idealize real world desires and struggles in a rapidly changing society. As such, self-care landscapes are not reducible to passive spaces for imaginings, but are an active component of effort to realize the self. Based on my fieldwork carried out in Chinese cities, I examine how Feng Shui has assisted to explore the ways that self-care landscapes come into being, and how self-care landscapes are being applied in the context of everyday life. More specifically, I explore the twofold meaning of Feng Shui craft as both a terminology term rendering technical procedures to structure life and an everyday tactic to counter-balance others and the self when everyone wants to achieve their hopes.
The Use and Abuse of Chinese Correlative Thinking in Feng Shui Howard Choy Feng Shui is a living tradition and one of the most urgent task to bring Feng Shui into the 21 st Century is to select the refine and discard the crude in the practice of modern Feng Shui (qu qi jing hua, qi qi zao po 取其精華, 棄其糟粕 ). My thesis is that both the refine and the crude are embedded in the Chinese correlative thinking used in Feng Shui. How to identify when and where Chinese correlative thinking is used and how to think efficaciously instead of superstitiously will allow us to sort out the use and the abuse of Chinese correlative thinking, in order to restore Feng Shui to its proper standing. This paper will also examine how logical and correlative thinking are fused together in the practice of holistic traditional Feng Shui, with an emphasis on logical thinking when used in Form Feng Shui and a preference for Chinese correlative thinking when used in Compass Feng Shui, in particular the Flying Star School (Xuankong Feixing Pai). The paper will conclude with an explanation of the meaning of the perplexing but popular Feng Shui saying, There is no falsehood in Form Feng Shui (and) there is no truth in Compass Feng Shui. (Luan tou wu jia, li qi wu zhen 巒頭無假, 理氣無真 ) Is Feng Shui a Science? Master Hwee Boon Yap Many have tried with little success to address the question Is Feng Shui a science? They are looking for proof. Science itself has wrestled with the question of proof and an entire rigorous academic discipline of philosophy of science developed as a result. Rather than get drawn in to this debate it is better to ask what is science? The Oxford English Dictionary suggests science is a systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject Feng Shui has just such a systematic organized body of knowledge and by this measure is undoubtedly a science. It has its own knowledge system, its own way of understanding phenomena and its own logic. This will be elucidated through an introduction into the different schools and systems of Feng Shui. For those who crave proof Western science answers many questions in connection with the organization and structure of the universe. Yet quantum physics which is at the very core of western science remains notoriously uncertain. In certain branches of science such as astronomy, experimentation is impossible and historically, observation has proved as difficult. Mathematical proofs eventually became validated through observation. Similarly, the discipline of Feng Shui is rooted in its own unique mathematical formulations and evidenced through observations. The derivation of certain Feng Shui systems will be demonstrated. The rigour of these mathematical or logical formulations will show Feng Shui is deserving of a place amongst the most highly revered disciplines in the West. Decoding Ancient Feng Shui Talismans Jing Wei, Guest Professor at Jiang Nan Culture Academy This article mainly discusses Talismans in Dunhuang Feng Shui manuscripts. It re-decodes Guan Gong Ming Talismans( 管公明神符 ) by analyzing different components of each Talisman. Then this article puts emphasis on studying Door Talismans ( 门符 ). After researching Door Talismans and Talisman for curing of diseases ( 祛病符 ) posted on doors, this article reveals that exorcising ghosts is the pivotal function of these Talismans to cure patients. Also this article analyses the characteristic of those Talismans in order to study the relationship between their look and their function.
Defusing The North-south Issue Jodi Brunner This article examines the arguments for and against those who would enter into the debate for the changing of Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere. Drawing on the theme for the 2017 1st Symposium of the Academic Journal of Feng Shui - Oceania 2017, Canopy & Chariot...', this article refers to the two schools of thought in Feng Shui: the Form School and the Compass School. It examines how the proponents in favour of changing Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere present their arguments. Then, referencing again the Form School and the Compass School, this article refers back to those arguments to demonstrate that, there is in fact no need to change Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, this article examines a chart based on the Fei Xing (Flying Stars) School of Feng Shui and how changing Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere would affect the chart. Then, using both the amended and the original charts, the article will draw a comparison and discuss the resulting implications of the changes, using actual case studies to discuss the two variants. In conclusion, the main tool used in Feng Shui is the compass, and it can be shown that the use of the compass does not change between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Therefore the reader will be left with no doubt that Feng Shui is indeed to be used the same way in the Southern Hemisphere as it is in the Northern Hemisphere. Traditional Application of the Five Phases 五行 in Feng Shui: An Examination of The Golden Mirror to Peaceful Dwellings 安居金鏡 Lan Xing, PhD Candidate This article examines the role and application of the Five Phases 五行 in traditional Feng Shui. Feng Shui has become a globally known art and an inseparable part of Chinese culture, not merely supernatural belief. Therefore, international research into Feng Shui has made significant progress, including some remarkable works such as An Introduction to Feng Shui (Bruun, 2008) and Five Classics of Feng Shui (Paton, 2013). Nevertheless, research into Feng Shui is still at a preliminary stage, and many facets require further investigation. For instance, scholars have rarely examined the traditional theoretical foundations of Feng Shui. Without a full understanding of these foundations, it is difficult to perceive the principles of Feng Shui and how traditional Chinese employed Feng Shui to draw on advantages and avoid disadvantages. To aid in such an understanding, this article discusses how the Five Phases has shaped the theoretical foundation of Feng Shui by examining their influence since the 1st century CE through an in-depth case study of The Golden Mirror to Peaceful Dwellings 安居金鏡, a renowned Feng Shui text compiled in the 18th century. This study indicates that the Five Phases has played an essential role in Feng Shui, as much as they have in traditional Chinese medicine, alchemy, and religion. Guo Pu s Antique School of Feng Shui Tyler J Rowe Throughout the history of Feng Shui in China, and more recently abroad, there have been numerous different and often competing methods employed by Feng Shui Practitioners. Textual evidence suggests there was once however, a common root. This paper will investigate the specifics of this foundational system and illuminate its scope of practice. A true Chinese Classic is a text important before or during the Golden Age of Philosophical thought, the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. 220 C.E.). This is sometimes extended to, but not beyond, the Jin Dynasty (265 C.E. 420 C.E.). Whilst many manuscripts from later periods in Feng Shui and other traditions may carry the title Jing Classic, it is merely a literary device. This leaves scarce few texts to meet the definition. Nevertheless one such text does exist - Guo Pu s Zang Shu Burial Book. Guo Pu was a famous Scholar, Philosopher, Poet and Diviner known for his commentaries of Confucian Classics. From these texts and a now lost Burial Classic he composed his own work, the oldest existent on Feng Shui, the Burial Book. Within it he outlines three different methods in a hierarchical arrangement, corresponding with three chapters Inner ( 勢 Shi Configurations ), Outer ( 形 Xing Forms ) and Mixed ( 方 Fang Directions ). These three devices, along with supplementary information from Guo Pu s other writings and annotations, formed the corpus of his original classical system or Antique School of Feng Shui.
Five Emperor s Coins: The reformation of Yansheng object as a popular culture in Feng Shui Wing-Fai Wong, PhD Candidate A set of Five Emperors Coins 五帝錢 (Wudi qian) nowadays is a popular yansheng 厭勝 object for Feng Shui remedies. Copper cash coins have been popularly used as charms, amulets, medicine and grave goods in the everyday life of Chinese. In Qianshen Lun 錢神論 written in Western Jin (265 316 AD), the design of cash coin is given the philosophical meaning that the circular shape symbolises Heaven and the hollow square symbolises the earth. Cash coin qian is also called quan 泉 (spring) to signify the monetary characteristic of currency. Water therefore is considered to be the source of wealth, hence the major principle of Feng Shui is to acquire water 聚水 (ju shui). Although the yansheng cash coins Taiping qian 太平錢 (Peace Coins) have been illustrated in Feng Shui literatures such as the carpenter's manual Luban Jing 魯班經, medical prescriptions and popular literatures including folklore, drama and novels, however the term Wudi qian is not documented in any literatures published before the republican period. Wudi qian no doubt is derived from Taiping qian but when and how Wudi qian being derived remains mysterious. Cash coins are the major archaeological discoveries in the Chinese sites in the nineteenth century New Zealand goldfields. The discoveries are also a clue to resolve the mystery of Wudi qian. In this paper, I will examine that the cash coins discovered in New Zealand demonstrate a major phase of the formation of Wudi qian.