Chinese traditional culture is vast and profound, and through the millennia of time, the essence of this national learning has emerged from the dusty pages of history.
As the oldest surviving Chinese text, the I Ching is known to the world as the first of the scriptures and the beginning of the scriptures, and is the total source of traditional Chinese culture.
The study of Feng Shui originates from the science of Yi. Since the Dragon and Horse carried the map and the Tortoise carried the book, there has been the River Map and the Luoshu, as recorded in the I Ching: “The River comes out of the Map, the Luo comes out of the Book, and the sages are the ones who do it”.
Chinese feng shui has a strong academic basis in the five elements of the I Ching. In this article, you can learn feng shui history.
Feng Shui Formation
Feng Shui, astronomy, geography and the science of the human body are the three scientific pillars of Chinese Feng Shui. The unity of heaven, earth and man is the highest principle of Chinese Feng Shui. Ancient Chinese scientists looked up at astronomy, looked down at geography, took the body from near and took things from far, and after 5,000 years of practice, research, generalisation and perception, formed the world-famous Oriental science of Chinese Feng Shui.
Feng Shui is the perfect embodiment of the combination of I Ching culture and human living environment in the natural world. It is a kind of instinct for human beings to pursue a good living environment to achieve happiness, nobility and longevity; it is a way to reveal the mysterious wishes of the universe in the unity of heaven, earth and human beings.
The history of the development of Chinese Feng Shui can be roughly divided into seven periods, namely, the Qin Dynasty, the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Republic of China; each period of history has seen different degrees of spread due to different social circumstances.
Feng Shui History
Pre-Qin: the budding period of feng shui
The origins of feng shui can be traced back to the hunting period of primitive mankind, but feng shui in the strict sense of the word had not yet emerged, only the knowledge of geomancy associated with feng shui emerged, providing the premise for the emergence of feng shui culture later on; people knew to choose the land for living as early as the primitive society; in the pre-Qin period, there were activities of geomancy, and there were Pan Geng, Gong Liu and Zhou Gong who contributed to the practice of geomancy.
Qin and Han dynasties: the gestation period of feng shui
During the Qin Dynasty, there was already a relatively mature concept of geomancy, and the practice of feng shui geomancy was prevalent both at court and among the people; during the Han Dynasty, the theory of feng shui began to take shape gradually, when the theories of yin and yang, the five elements and the eight trigrams had already emerged, and the foundational works of feng shui, such as The Golden Treasury of Public Opinion and The Topography of the Palace and Residence, formed the framework of the philosopher’s overall understanding of the universe; these theories were of particular importance to feng shui, and laid the initial theoretical foundation of feng shui.
Wei, Jin and North and South Dynasties: the period of the spread of Feng Shui
To the Wei and Jin dynasties, the initial establishment of the theoretical system of feng shui, this period of feng shui is widely spread; produced like the chariot, Guo Pu such feng shui masters, the Three Kingdoms, the chariot “Guan’s geography refers to Meng” is its classic, the Jin dynasty Guo Pu “burial book” is a milestone in the history of the development of feng shui, this book systematically put forward the basic theory of feng shui, is China’s feng shui culture, and by later scholars engaged in feng shui research generally respected Guo Pu for the foundation of the originator of feng shui, “burial book” was released, became an important symbol of the development of feng shui; since the Jin dynasty, feng shui in China began to spread.
Sui dynasty: the period of the spread of feng shui
The Sui dynasty was also a time when the theoretical system of feng shui was divided, with the emergence of a lineage of teachers and a relatively clear geographical area of activity; the most accomplished feng shui theorist in the Sui dynasty was Xiao Ji, who was well versed in the science of music, the five elements and the phase of the house.
Tang and Song dynasties: the period of the flourishing of feng shui
This was a rare period in Chinese history when a variety of cultures flourished and feng shui theory was further developed, applied and matured, and a large number of feng shui works were published, forming a more complete theoretical system; during this period, there were many famous feng shui masters, including Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, Yang Yunsong, Qiu Yanhan and Zeng Wentuan in the Tang Dynasty, and Lai Wenjun, Chen Tuan, Wu Jingluan, Cai Yuanding and Xu Renwang in the Song Dynasty.
Yang Gyun Song was a national teacher of the Tang Dynasty, and was the official in charge of astronomy and geography. He was known as Mr. Saviour of Poverty, and his masterpieces include the “Dragon Doubt Sutra”, “Dragon Shaking Sutra”, “Lik Cone Fu”, “Green Bag Sutra”, “Heavenly Jade Sutra”, “Du Tian Bao Zhao Sutra”, “Tian Yuan Wu Fu Sutra”, “36 Dragons” and “Zheng Long Zi Sutra”. The main points of Mr. Wu’s feng shui theory were mainly embodied in the Dragon Shaking Sutra and the Dragon Doubting Sutra, which emphasized the situation of the fallen veins of the mountains and dragons and created the “Form Method School” of feng shui in later times. which provided the main theoretical basis for the later Eight Mansions Zhoushu. During the Song dynasty, Lai Wenjun, who called himself Bu Yi Zi, was known to the world as Lai Bu Yi, and his main work, The Book of the Official, in two volumes, was influential in the feng shui world and was a typical representative work of the Rei Qi school. He is also an important representative of the Riki school.
Ming and Qing dynasties: the period of the proliferation of feng shui
The Ming and Qing dynasties were a period of further interpretation and theoretical validation of pre-feng shui theories, while the official and private sectors worked hand in hand to make a large number of feng shui works emerge in society and the private sector.
The main masterpieces include Wang Junrong’s Ten Books on Yangzhai in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Menghe’s Yangzhai Integration, Wu Ming’s Yangzhai Daquan, Jiang Dahong’s Water Dragon Sutra, Geographical Discernment, Ancient Mirror Song, Tian Yuan Wu Ge, and Gui Hou Jue, Zhao Jiufeng’s Five Tips on Geography, Ye Jiusheng’s Geography Da Cheng in the Qing Dynasty, Wei Chunjiang’s Yangzhai Da Cheng, and Li Guomu’s Geography Daquan, etc.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, through the collection and collation of various feng shui books and the continuous research of scholars, the theory of feng shui has become quite complete, and many materials have become important documents for the study of feng shui through the ages today.
The Republic of China: a period of repression in feng shui
During the Republic of China, books on geomancy were published in Shanghai, such as Liao Ping’s “Answer to Geomancy” and “Geographical Dialectical Correction”, and Foyin’s “Lectures on Feng Shui”, but as feng shui itself was mainly spread in a folk form, its use in folk studies never ended.
After his death, his son, Shen Zuxian (Shen Goumin), compiled and published “Shen’s Xuankong Studies”, which was a pioneering and unique work on feng shui, making it the mainstream of feng shui research in recent times.
As a crystallisation of the wisdom of traditional Chinese culture, Feng Shui is a rich and valuable cultural heritage left to us by our ancestors.
It still deserves to be re-examined and understood through the lens of modern civilisation, drawing on the wisdom of the ancients; it has influenced a number of highly qualified, high-minded cultural aspirants to explore in greater depth, to further explore the deeper connotations of feng shui, and to carry on the discipline of feng shui.
