Feng Shui past and present
(Baonghean) - Feng shui theory originates from the concept that humans and the universe (heaven and earth) are a unified entity, the change of human destiny and the operation of the universe have a similar relationship according to the theory of yin and yang and the five elements.
From that concept, when choosing land to live in, building a house, or building a tomb, the ancients always looked for a location that would match the fate of the person with the operation of heaven and earth to avoid "bad luck" and meet "good luck". Finding "good land" to live in, finding a good direction to build a house, the descendants would prosper; digging up a grave and finding a good "acupuncture point" would make the family and clan "prosper". The ancients believed that when digging up a grave and finding a "prosperous" acupuncture point, the family and clan would have someone "to become king". If the grave disturbed the "dragon vein", the family and clan would not be at peace. The location of land to live in, build a house, bury, or build a tomb was chosen by geomancers who were knowledgeable in feng shui according to the principle of ensuring compatibility between the operation of heaven and earth and human fate. It is necessary to base on the age of the person (day, month, year of birth, hour of birth) to calculate the directions of heaven and earth (according to the law of yin and yang and the five elements) so that they are suitable. Choosing a location to live, build a house, or build a tomb that is "in harmony" with heaven and earth will make everything "prosperous" and vice versa, everything will "decline", that is ancient feng shui.
Nowadays, “feng shui” is applied widely without limits. Not only looking at the location of land, the direction of building a house, building a gate, building a tomb, but also looking at the date, age, horoscope… all are called “feng shui”. Choosing a land location in the back must be wider than the front to “have a good future”, in the front there must not be a pond or a road running straight into the house, if the land is higher than the surrounding locations, it is “bad land” and will be difficult to do business. Many people when looking for land to live in, take a handful and ask a fortune teller to “see” if it is suitable for them before deciding to buy. When building a house, many people invite a fortune teller to “see” everything from the date, time to the direction of the gate, the direction of the house, the direction of the altar, the kitchen table.
When building a gate, many families invite a master to "look" at the location, width, height, direction of the gate, paint color... all of which are calculated according to the homeowner's age. Some families have a gate that is only allowed to open on the right side, 6 months later the left side is opened, and a year later both sides can be opened. Some families have a main gate built on the side, and a main side gate must be opened for cars to enter. The location of the kitchen table must be placed wherever the master tells it to be, regardless of whether it is convenient for family life or not. The strange thing is that at the building materials store, there is a "feng shui" corrugated iron board, each color of corrugated iron is written "ty, suu, dan, mao, thien, ty, ngo, mui" (rat, ox, dan, mao, thin, ty, ngo, mui). Buyers of corrugated iron can choose a color based on their age, even if they don't like that color.
In the past, a feng shui master was someone who understood the Book of Changes, was proficient in the five elements of yin and yang, understood geography and astronomy, and had to be good at Chinese and Nom scripts to be able to read feng shui books. Nowadays, all kinds of "feng shui" books in Vietnamese are sold everywhere, from perpetual calendars to astrology books, books that teach how to choose dates and months according to the lunar calendar... Anyone who knows how to study these books and has the talent to "judge" can become a feng shui "master". There was a retired actor who organized a funeral band, and thanks to knowing how to read Chinese literature and learning how to "read" the date and time, he gradually became a "master" trusted by the funeral home owners to entrust all matters to him. There was a carpenter who built houses for others and, thanks to that, learned how to choose the direction of the house and the direction of the gate, and also became a "master" trusted by many people. There was a craftsman who worked in the business of tiling kitchen countertops, but he went to every house and "judged" whether the kitchen was in accordance with feng shui or not.
I think, believing or not believing in feng shui depends on each person's spirituality. But we must study the feng shui theory of the ancients to understand and "follow" it in a reasonable way, not applying it so unreasonably as it is now?!
Tran Hong Co
