Origins
Currently Yangshao and Hongshan cultures
provide the earliest evidence for the
practice of feng shui. Until the invention
of the magnetic compass, feng shui
apparently relied on astronomy to find
correlations between humans and the
universe.
In 4000 BCE, the doors of Banpo dwellings
were aligned to the asterism Yingshi just
after the winter solstice—this sited the
homes for solar gain. During the Zhou era,
Yingshi was known as Ding and used to
indicate the appropriate time to build a
capital city, according to the Shijing. The
late Yangshao site at Dadiwan (c. 3500-3000
BCE) includes a palace-like building (F901)
at the center. The building faces south and
borders a large plaza. It is on a
north-south axis with another building that
apparently housed communal activities. The
complex may have been used by regional
communities.
A grave at Puyang (c. 3000 BCE) that
contains mosaics of the Dragon and Tiger
asterisms and Beidou (the Big Dipper, Ladle
or Bushel) is oriented along a north-south
axis. The presence of both round and square
shapes in the Puyang tomb, at Hongshan
ceremonial centers and the late Longshan
settlement at Lutaigang, suggests that
gaitian cosmography (heaven-round,
earth-square) was present in Chinese society
long before it appeared in the Zhou Bi Suan
Jing.
Cosmography that bears a striking
resemblance to modern feng shui devices and
formulas was found on a jade unearthed at
Hanshan and dated around 3000 BCE. The
design is linked by archaeologist Li Xueqin
to the liuren astrolabe, zhinan zhen, and
Luopan.
Beginning with palatial structures at
Erlitou, all capital cities of China
followed rules of feng shui for their design
and layout. These rules were codified during
the Zhou era in the Kaogong ji (traditional
Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: 考工记; "Manual
of Crafts"). Rules for builders were
codified in the carpenter's manual Lu ban
jing (traditional Chinese: 魯班經; simplified
Chinese: 鲁班经; "Lu ban's manuscript"). Graves
and tombs also followed rules of feng shui,
from Puyang to Mawangdui and beyond. From
the earliest records, it seems that the
rules for the structures of the graves and
dwellings were the same.
Early instruments and techniques
A feng shui spiral at LA Chinatown's Metro
station.The history of feng shui covers
3,500+ years before the invention of the
magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese
astronomy. Some current techniques can be
traced to Neolithic China, while others were
added later (most notably the Han dynasty,
the Tang, the Song, and the Ming).
The astronomical history of feng shui is
evident in the development of instruments
and techniques. According to the Zhouli the
original feng shui instrument may have been
a gnomon. Chinese used circumpolar stars to
determine the north-south axis of
settlements. This technique explains why
Shang palaces at Xiaotun lie 10° east of due
north. In some cases, as Paul Wheatley
observed, they bisected the angle between
the directions of the rising and setting sun
to find north. This technique provided the
more precise alignments of the Shang walls
at Yanshi and Zhengzhou. Rituals for using a
feng shui instrument required a diviner to
examine current sky phenomena to set the
device and adjust their position in relation
to the device.
The oldest examples of instruments used for
feng shui are liuren astrolabes, also known
as shi. These consist of a lacquered,
two-sided board with astronomical
sightlines. The earliest examples of liuren
astrolabes have been unearthed from tombs
that date between 278 BCE and 209 BCE. Along
with divination for Da Liu Ren[18] the
boards were commonly used to chart the
motion of Taiyi through the nine palaces.
The markings on a liuren/shi and the first
magnetic compasses are virtually identical
The magnetic compass was invented for feng
shui and has been in use since its
invention. Traditional feng shui
instrumentation consists of the Luopan or
the earlier south-pointing spoon (zhinan
zhen)—though a conventional compass could
suffice if one understood the differences. A
feng shui ruler (a later invention) may also
be employed.
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