Script: https://tcmpodcast.me/episode-9-feng-shui-origin-and-practice/ The art of divination in China has a vast tradition which foundation traces goes to several millennia. Such art incorporates China’s political and social fabric. During history it had various purposes; when to take part in war or when to seek peace, when to plant and harvest, or to schedule important events such as weddings and funerals. Very unique to divination in China is a symbiosis of astrology and geomancy. Purpose of Chinese divination is to unearth mysterious events and to position and balance humans to be in harmony with the flow of time and space. Analyzing stars and planetary positions and chronological movements, and the earth’s unique physical features, we can discover characteristic situational patterns in life. The very first unification of China brought Art of divination to be state law adopted in 3rd BCE. From the foundation of the empire in 221 BCE, until its collapse in 1911 AD, Chinese imperial state continuously employed professional diviners and sanctioned official texts about their art. Chinese astronomy incorporated astronomical advances from India in the 9th century following the arrival of Buddhism, and in the 18th century following European missionaries which in turn greatly influenced Chinese astronomy. Crucial point for Chinese divination and astronomy marked Emperor Qianlong Hong Li 弘历 (1736-1796 CE.) who ended dispute in choosing correct methods for selecting times and orientations, as rectify calendrical and geographic practices publishing set of rules and principles known as Treatise, within Bureau of Astronomy, a subunit of the Board of Ritual. Treatise is considered the official reference manual for imperial diviners and almanac makers. The Chinese art of divination and astrology contains the very core of traditional culture and philosophy. Divination in China was considered neither supernatural nor superstitious. The information with which the art dealt was thought to derive from the natural universe itself and not from a transcendent power. In relation to earth energies Chinese culture isn’t the only one to recognize the places and landscape energy and its effects on people. Many ancient cultures recognized in which way earth energies influence people as well. Most of the old Catholic and Orthodox churches were built over an old animistic worshipping place. Metaphorically and literally, those places continued to be an ideal place to continue worshipping the gods without judgment about people's beliefs and doctrines. Similar respect for the universal energies and man-made structures can be seen in the Egyptian Pyramids, at Delphi and in various structures and mounds built in North and South America. Relations of people with the built and natural environment are affected by many inseparable elements such as feng shui, electromagnetics and radio waves, natural earth energies in general, way of building, building materials, systems and design, and finally history. Feng shui represents the most developed and sophisticated forms of geomancy. Feng shui observes particular design, layout and residential and work places, and how these factors influence our health, wealth, career, relationship, etc. Its foundation is based on the flow of Qi or energy in the external environment, and what effect produce on people. Different sources of qi in external environment influence our living space. In general, qi is greatly accumulated in the water. When a house is located near the ocean, on the peninsula, it gets too much qi from the ocean. To reduce its exposure to abundant yang without affecting great scenery, we should surround the house with trees. Info: www.tcmpodcast.me

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