🏔️ Reading a site
6 entries · fortune encyclopedia
The foundation of feng shui is to gather the wind and gain the water. Look closely at how people used to choose a good site and it turns out to be a science of light, airflow and drainage.
Mountain behind, water in front (背山臨水)
A hill at your back, water before you — formula number one
A mountain behind blocks the cold wind, and water in front supports farming and daily life. It puts your back to the winter north-westerly and your face to the southern sun, which makes it the most liveable arrangement in strictly practical terms too. In a modern flat, the equivalent is a home with something solid behind it — a rise, a taller building — an open outlook in front, and a river or a park in view.
Blue dragon left, white tiger right (左靑龍 右白虎)
Ground that wraps around from both sides holds the energy in
The ridge to the left (east) of a good site is called the blue dragon and the one to the right (west) the white tiger. When the land embraces the site from both sides like a pair of arms, the wind is gathered and a sheltered microclimate forms. In a city, the equivalent is neighbouring buildings that enclose you comfortably without looming over you.
Low in front, high behind (前低後高)
High at the back and low at the front brings stability and room to grow
A house site wants higher ground behind and lower ground in front, so that it drains well and the view opens up. Higher ground in front blocks the view, feels oppressive and lets damp collect. It applies indoors too: a home with a clear view from the living-room window is read as favourable.
The shape of the water
Water that curves around you is favourable; water that turns its back and rushes away is not
Water that curves gently around a site, embracing it, is read as the shape in which wealth collects. Water that turns its back and shoots away was avoided as the shape in which wealth leaks. When you look at a riverside home there is genuine pleasure in checking whether it sits on the inside of the bend or the outside.
A house facing the end of a road
A site with a road driving straight at it is avoided
A house at the end of a T-junction, with the road pointing straight at the gate, has always been read as unfortunate. In modern terms it is a site fully exposed to headlights, noise and the risk of a car coming through. If you can’t avoid it, the traditional remedy is a screen wall or a tree inside the gate to create a buffer.
Feng shui, translated into modern terms
Light, airflow, drainage — the practical core of it
South-facing sun (light), a hill blocking the wind path (airflow), lower ground in front (drainage). The conditions feng shui calls a good site turn out to overlap almost exactly with the conditions for living healthily. When you view a home, checking whether the light comes in, whether there is mould, and whether the water drains means you have already done half the feng shui.