A brief history of Feng Shui

Meaning

Coming from China, the words literally mean Wind and Water.

Early Days

Feng Shui was born out of agriculture several thousand years ago, as people learned where best to plant the crops, put the cattle, or build their home; those who could make good use of the land, lived a better life than those who couldn’t. This is quite obviously not rocket science and the same kind of learning was taking place all over the worlds in early civilizations; as a result, Feng Shui type systems are also found in other parts of the world, for example in India it is the Vastu tradition.

The Chinese spent much time and effort looking in detail at just how people were influenced by the place where they lived and found that there was much more of a connection between people and places than might have been imagined.

The basics always come first, so living in a home that is safe, secure, warm and dry is the priority, as without these features life can be pretty miserable. After that, it was found that the shape of the home and its surrounding landscape also played a part in the lives of the people living there.

Later Development

The magnetic alignment of the home was also found to be influential.
So as time went on, a system was developed that could “read” an environment and show where homes should be built, what shape they should be, and what direction they should face to give the occupants the best chance of success and good health in life. This continued to grow into what we know as Feng Shui today. 

Official Secret

In China, the benefits of knowing how to control your environment were seen to be so great, that Feng Shui became an official secret, and only the Emperor and high Government officials were allowed to have access to it. Its practice therefore was closely guarded within and around the Imperial Palace. It is only since the Cultural Revolution that Feng Shui knowledge has slowly made its way into the wider world.

Feng Shui in the modern world

While technology has gone mad in the last few years, mankind as a species has not evolved far in the last few thousand. This means that in general, the techniques used by the ancient Chinese are just as valid today as they ever were. Those who practice Feng Shui today continue to develop the methods to take into account things like electromagnetic stress, multi-storey buildings, that our ancestors never had to deal with.