Feng Shui: The Ancient Wisdom for Harmonious Living in Modern Times by Eva Wong
Book Review by Kartar Diamond
I first discovered this book, shortly after it was published in 1996. Eva Wong became one of the better-known Feng Shui authors, with several titles including books on Taoism. We find out that Wong had an intense curiosity about Feng Shui as a child, with her grand uncle and his friend as mentors. They both encouraged her feng shui studies and established with her a very serious teacher-student relationship.
As I re-read this book for the second time in two decades, I noticed that I had previously highlighted many parts. One of my original highlights was this following passage, “The study of feng shui should start with its origins. Knowing the history of this discipline of knowledge will help you understand its practice. Feng-Shui has an illustrious history and is one of the oldest practical arts. Its origins can be traced back to the shamans of ancient China, Taoist magicians, diviners, and scholars all contributed to its popularity and its development into a systematic science.”
Wong describes the development of fundamental symbols within Chinese metaphysics and astronomy, matching cycles to certain milestones in Chinese history and the long line of dynasties. Individual feng shui masters stood out, referred to originally as “fang-shih,” which translates as “those who are experts of the esoteric arts.”
Transcending divination, legends like Kuei-ku Tzu also mastered geography, metallurgy, medicine, the art of longevity, and military strategy. As an adjunct to this book, you might be interested in Robert Temple’s, The Genius of China, where he features numerous inventions and discoveries made by the Chinese, hundreds and even thousands of years before those in other parts of the world.
Wong explains that divination was founded on essential principles such as Yin-Yang theory and Five Elements. Next came the trigrams and hexagrams of the I-Ching, providing the framework for divination, backed up by calendrical computations and compass points. It was during the Han dynasty that feng shui became a professional skill, according to the author, and referred to originally as “Kan Yu.” This phrase translates as “the pattern of the land based on the understanding of the Way of Heaven and the Way of Earth.” Mic drop!
Wong’s book uses Wade Giles transliteration. She mentions the “chi-mun tun chia” practice, which many know by the Pin Yin system as Qi Men Dun Jia, crediting that technique to master Chu kuo Liang. This practice gives the diviner the ability to open and close portals on Earth, originally designed to hide the movement of an army. Can you imagine if today’s generals in war strategy utilized this?
During the T’ang dynasty (618-960 CE), the author notes that the Chinese Feng Shui compass (Luo pan) was incorporated into the practice of “Kan Yu.” She proceeds to tell stories about Yang K’un-sun (known as Yang Who Saves the Poor), one of the first celebrated feng shui masters known to emphasize virtue and compassion, assisting common people and not just the wealthy or politically powerful. Wong also recounts the life of Chen Hsi-i, founder of “tzu-wei tu-su,” (also written as Zi Wei Dou Shu), one of two major forms of Chinese astrology, used in conjunction with Feng Shui.
The author takes us briskly through the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, where feng shui had both a rise and fall, forbidden from open practice and then a resurgence which created an abundance of books, to the point where unqualified people claimed to be feng shui masters.
It was also during the Ch’ing period, according to Wong, that feng shui began to handle such requests as the timing for groundbreaking, moving into a house, renovating, and protocols for burial and headstone placement. Wong states that even though modern-day feng shui has retained many practices from the Ch’ing period, the integral and formal link with Taoism is not as evident or acknowledged. It is just now in reviewing so many feng shui books that I can better appreciate why the Chinese authors include chapters on talisman.
Wong remarks that divination arts are not just about predicting the future. She writes, “In Taoist thinking, divination is the art of reading patterns of the universe, so that the flux and permanence of the Tao can be admired and the interdependency between all things can be intuited.” Additionally, the Taoist way is not to control or conquer nature, but to observe and make adjustments with our own actions (and thoughts) in response, to be in harmony with all our surroundings. These choices and interactions take place constantly, on all levels of consciousness.
In a most mundane example, we see some drivers enter the freeway or change lanes like a bat out of Hell, in total disregard for the safety of other drivers. In contrast, the more conscientious driver will not make a move until they are confident they will not disrupt the flow, startle or cause an accident. The Tao of Driving.
Wong’s chapter on Taoist cosmology sets the tone for how we should approach Feng Shui, what we intend to get out of it morally and personally or how we transmit the knowledge to others.
In chapters which introduce the Chinese calendar and the Geomantic compass, the subtext re-enforces the differences between the Eastern and Western mindset. While the Western mind thinks in a linear fashion, the Eastern mind approaches time in a cyclical way. Can they co-exist together? With smaller cycles, like the perpetually repeating seasons in a year, one can grasp the cyclical nature of life easily, just as day and night follow a predictable, recurring pattern. But when stretched out over a lifetime, linear notions take hold, unless we refer back to the Chinese calendar or the Feng Shui cycles, reminded of the continuous loop through co-occurring cycles of varying lengths. We have the saying “history repeats itself” for a reason.
Wong introduces readers to the Nine Palaces, which she refers to as a Magic “Circle.” Chapter 9 is just a tease of what’s to come with a brief explanation of the “geomantic chart.” Here she makes a comment, which I highlighted the first time I read this book, in regard to Yin House (grave sites). While mentioning first that residential feng shui factors in the year the house was built, she states that for a burial plot, it is the year the plot was purchased and the front/back orientation of the marker which is used to create a chart for the grave site. Not to say this is incorrect, but just a different style. Master Sang taught that the orientation of the headstone marker, combined with the timing of the marker’s installation creates the flying star chart. Both Sang and Wong agree that the burial of the casket is not the time factor to use. Consider this: how some religions delay the placement of the headstone and intentionally do not install it at the burial time.
Sang went on to explain further in his Yin House course that the tombstone or marker has a facing side that is not 100% obvious to the untrained observer. If the marker is flat on the ground, then the facing side (of the Yin House) is the direction of the top of the marker, like the top of a page in a book. If the marker is positioned perpendicular to the ground, then the facing side is the direction of the engraved message on the marker, such as name and dates of birth and death. If using the date in which the site was purchased is a powerful influence, that certainly helps out with planning, as it is impossible to know in advance when a person will pass.
What follows is a very thorough section on land forms, where the author describes the influence of real mountains and bodies of water. She also mentions the Four Celestial Animal Guardians surrounding a property, as a potential since not all structures have the perfect arrangement. She includes detailed sample drawings of dragon veins from a Ch’ing dynasty feng shui manual, with many types of classifications.
Mountains can be placed in categories according to the Five Elements and their recorded impact, such as specific configurations producing prosperity, wealth, strong character, filiality, a warrior, a scholar, a philosopher, a genius, a military figure, or a business person, to name a few. While not stated explicitly, in order to be influenced by a mountain, one must live on the mountain or be extremely close to it.
As well, the land and mountains can be evaluated for whether or not more than the first occupant will be able to generate these lucky aspects, or if the first occupant on the land will drain the good Qi and leave nothing for future residents.
Mountains can also be categorized for their relationship with the Nine Stars from the Big Dipper. Wong states that these stars are the “home of deities” (my translation: inter-dimensional beings or aliens) that control the destiny of humanity. Each star rules a 20 Year Period for a complete cycle of 180 years which repeats. This notion, that our human affairs are so influenced by the deities of the Big Dipper, it could put to rest the controversy that the 20 year Periods in Flying Star Feng Shui are related to the Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction. This astrologically well-known cycle is imprecise in lasting 19-20 years, throwing off the schedule for when each Period starts, according to those who have questioned this.
Other classifications of mountain land forms: those which resemble animals, people, or natural phenomenon (like a cloud or lightning bolt). Just in the “animal” category alone, there are three sub-categories of “passive form, the dynamic form, and the magical form.” The drawings for each land form setting are detailed, but they would be understood much better if there were a real example in a photo to go along with each illustration.
Wong continues with detailed examples of water formations, including temporary (like seasonal streams), virtual water (like roads), and artificial formations like dams, reservoirs, and fountains. She speculates that the Great Wall of China is one of several ancient structures, built to manipulate Qi as much as for mundane purposes.
The next fifty pages could be a whole day course, as Wong describes the various categories of the external environment, which includes the immediate surroundings on each side of a property and then the more general environment off in the distance or the neighborhood. She states that if the surrounding environment is not suitable, then there is no need to go further with analysis of the internal environment. She also states that a person’s business luck is very tied to their residential feng shui. If their feng shui at the business location is below average, then the home feng shui needs to be extraordinarily good to compensate.
She gives examples of how the protective nature of an environment can be evident in both rural and urban settings, but some features to our man-made environment just don’t equate to what a natural setting has to offer. Readers may be surprised to learn that a dirt or gravel road exudes better Qi (life force energy) than a smoothly paved road, as the pavement suffocates the Qi below.
This portion of the book provides photographs and more self-explanatory illustrations, describing objects in the immediate vicinity, such as shiny objects which reflect on a building or objects which cast a shadow. Wong covers many common-sense recommendations, such as not living on the edge of cliff or under power lines.
Earlier in the book, she mentions circumstances where land Qi can get used up by the first occupants, drained of benefits for future occupants. Later, she notes some types of environments can affect multiple generations, even those not still living on the land. Wong then covers a list of thirteen different types of “dragon veins,” with such names as The Receding Dragon or The Dragon of Misfortune. To be clear, these are the forms and undulations of a mountain range.
Wong also gives examples of the clash between yin versus yang mountains and water sources, stating that yin and yang are not merely opposites, known for complementing each other. Rather, yin or yang water or mountains carry their own distinct qualities. She warns not to live in a house with rocky slopes on one side and a lake that freezes on the other.
The chapter closes with insight regarding the differences between temples and monasteries used only as spiritual retreats, compared to local churches (as community centers) which might as well have the same feng shui features as a restaurant since locals gather there and fund-raising is a common activity.
Much of what she includes as good external environments will also apply to burial sites. She notes that in Chinese tradition it is usually not advised that ashes be scattered. If need be, she says the best place to scatter them would be in a valley or a lake.
Wong has an excellent chapter on the Internal environment, but questions for me did pop up. Instead of recounting her numerous examples that are universally agreed upon, I noted the more obscure: that she thinks a house with an irregular shape is unbalanced, simply by having rooms that jut out from the main body of the house. While we agree that a square or rectangular shape is balanced and common, larger homes often have extensions, in part to maximize views and natural light (which is a good thing). Flying star practitioners also know that one could intentionally design an inherently good part of the house to be larger and extend beyond the basic width and length of a boxy shape.
She states that a house can be unbalanced when there is a separate section, only connected to the main house via a covered walkway. This can happen when a detached garage gets converted into living space. Wong also lists round houses as preferable, but my experience is that only artistic or eccentric people can handle living in a round house because the shape makes the Qi swirl around more and is not as anchored. It was also odd to read her comment about how chimneys should not protrude like thin towers. Honestly, I don’t know how you would correct that or avoid it, since chimneys are, by definition, thin towers compared to the rest of the house.
Likewise, she doesn’t approve of a garage which is part of the house, preferring it to be detached. Next best is a garage which is attached to the side of a house, instead of a garage where there is a bedroom or any living space behind it. Her premise that a garage with rooms behind it is like a car “crashing into the house,” is a bit of an exaggeration.
Another generalized observation stood out, one which I could relate to as of recently: “If the front half of a house is higher than the back, the younger members of the family will have difficulty achieving independence.” I happen to live in a neighborhood where many of the homes have a high-pitched roof line in the front and a moderately-to-significantly lower roof line in the back where bedrooms form an extension to the floor plan. While not conclusive, one neighbor two doors down from me has an adult son still living at home. The house across from them also has a 35-year-old son still living at home. Another couple across from me has an adult daughter and her husband living with them, as well as grandchildren. The home I am living in now had a previous owner with an adult daughter also living with her. Feedback from anyone reading this is welcome!
Wong continues to point out more extrapolations from common Feng Shui notions, such as not having a front door aligned directly with a back door. Here she adds that an exterior door aligned directly with an internal home office door will also drain finances or impede success.
Wong’s instructions on how to take a compass reading are adequate, mentioning that when there is lower land level on one side of the house, this could determine the facing side as much, or more, than the front door location. She hints that if the front door faces a different direction than the bulk body of the house that two compass readings will be needed, although an angled door or a door off to the side of a house does not constitute the facing side. She instructs readers, as did Man Ho Kwok and other authors, in how to make your own Luo Pan, but this is not necessary. You can just have a compass illustration handy to show you the exact ranges for each of the 24 different compass readings. (See photo below).
In Wong’s Chapter 14, Setting Up a Geomantic Chart, the book shows its age with commentary on how to find out when a house was built. As she suggests, one can still look up the Deed to the house or find out from the County Tax Assessor or local Building Department for residences within the United States. Currently, Year Built information is often on-line and this is most helpful for renters.
What follows are nine Period charts which are too complicated for some beginners to understand. Without any directives in English, it is not obvious that all nine circles are orientated toward North being at the bottom of the page. One must immediately memorize that Tzu= North and Wu=South. I can appreciate providing extra information and Chinese words so that a chart can be referenced for more than one thing, but this slows down the basic goal of creating a flying star chart. The two concentric circles with black and white dots are also confusing for a beginner. When other teachers explain how to create a flying star chart, they show first how to locate the Period stars from the sitting and facing sectors, placing them in the center of the chart.
Then, the decision to fly each star forward (ascending 1,2, 3, 4, etc) or backward (descending 9,8,7,6, etc) throughout the directions will be reliant on which sector of the direction is the sitting and facing. Once the yin (descending) or yang (ascending) nature of the star is determined, then you either ascend or descend the stars based on whether the orientation is in the first sector of any direction –or you do the opposite with the 2nd and 3rd sector. For example, if the Period star from the sitting sector is 4 and it’s the first sector of any direction, you descend the flow to fill out the chart because 4 is inherently yin. This means 3 in NW, 2 in West, 1 in NE, etc. For this same 4 sitting star, if the orientation was second or third sector, you do the opposite, which would mean ascending the flow: 5 in NW, 6 in West, 7 in NE, etc.
After a few pages of confusing instruction, there is an error on page 189, illustration C, which could cause a meltdown for the beginner. Wong had laid out instructions for how to create a flying star chart for West-2 facing from Period 7. And yet there is a facing arrow aligned with south, as if that were a South-facing chart.
In another section, she gives four examples for the reader to practice, with each one yielding one of the Four Basic House types. For each of the four, she describes them at the top of page 190, not only in a confusing way, but with incorrect recommendations. The first house type is more universally called Double Facing (good for money/bad for people). This is the house type which needs a mountain (real or virtual) out front to help make it more stable for the people (health and relationships). Water on its facing side is a bonus for the correctly placed water dragon. Instead, she just states that this house needs water in front. Given a choice, the mountain in front is the priority.
Likewise, with the Double Sitting house (good for people/bad for money), she writes that it needs a mountain in the back. The mountain will cater to the wang mountain dragon at the sitting, but this house also needs water behind it for improved money luck, as the priority.
For the third house she describes (her example is a Period 4 SW-1 sitting chart), Wong writes that this is the house type that should have water in front and mountain in back. This is the famous “Reversed” house type (bad for people/bad for money) which should be corrected in the opposite way, with water in the back and mountain in the front. Big mistake here as these instructions could make things worse.
The fourth house she refers to as “reverse mountain/reverse water.” She only describes it as “powerful.” The sample she gave readers is for a Wang Shan Wang Shui house (good for people/good for money). Using the term “reversed” will give students of other teachers a panic attack since the term “reversed” has become associated with the worst of the Four House types. In other words, it is the “reverse” of the best house type. It was a misleading decision to use the word “reverse” when “descending mountain and water” would have been less confusing. I had to read this section more than once and fly the charts she described, to see if I was having a senior moment or not. With this one, she also indicates that no remedies are needed, “regardless of its position relative to mountain and water.”
In actuality, the Wang Shan Wang Shui (strong mountain/strong water) house is not fully realized without mountain in back and water in front to further activate it. And by logical deduction, if the outside influences of mountain and water placement were the opposite, it could undermine this inherently best house type. Since I love analogies, this might be like a person with a strong genetic constitution who undermines their health by eating junk food and never exercising. By the way, I am reviewing the first edition of this book. I do not know if future editions addressed these errors.
Wong then tries to explain what to do with a 5 star that lands in the sitting or facing sector when you begin to fly the Period Star (Earth Base number) throughout the directions. The point is that the 5 star is neither male nor female in gender and so it takes on the gender of the Period it was built in. One must understand this in order to know whether flying the other stars move in a descending or ascending pattern.
As one example, let us say you have a Period 6 chart, facing Northwest. You fly the Period star as such: 6 in center, 7 in NW, 8 in West, 9 in NE, 1 in South, 2 in North, 3 in SW, 4 in East and 5 in Southeast. You bring that 5 star from the SE sitting sector into the center palace. Now, do you ascend or descend the flow in order to create your mountain star in each direction?
Since 5 is neither yin (female=descending) nor yang (male=ascending), you just refer to the Period 6 construction cycle. The 6 star is yin-female, so you will descend the stars (4 in NW, 3 in West, 2 in NE, etc.)–if the sitting direction is in the first sector of Southeast. If it is in the second or third sector, you do the opposite and ascend the flow (6 in center, 7 in NW, 8 in NE, 9 in South, etc.) I just think it is easier to define each number (1 through 9) as yin or yang, with 5 being neither, but taking on the identity of the (Construction)Period . Her description of compass segments being “chi/wu/wu” or “wu/chi/chi” is unnecessary, confusing to the reader who is new to flying stars and who does not understand Chinese.
It should be noted that in this instance, stars are considered yin or yang based on being odd numbers (yang 1, 3, 7, 9) or yin being the even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8). In other words, in this instance we are not relating to the stars as trigrams, with their inherent “family member” noted as male or female. The 6 star for instance is yin (naturally descending) for the purpose of creating a flying star chart, even though the 6 star is also the Qian trigram (father figure, male).
In a section headlined as “Interaction of the Earth Base and Facing Star,” it should be understood by anyone familiar with the Flying Star School, that Eva Wong is in the minority in how she prioritizes the flying stars. She feels that the energy between the Earth Base (Construction Period star) is more relevant than the Mountain Star (aka Mountain Dragon). Readers will find similar or same definitions of these flying star combinations, but they must know that she is not comparing the Mountain Dragon with the Water Dragon.
Wong begins with a highly specific set of flying stars to take note of, without naming them as “He Tu” combinations, which are: 1-6, 2-7, 3-8, and 4-9. She describes these combinations as “conditional” as they need to be located in certain palaces in order to have either a positive or negative influence. As one example: if the 2-7 combination (Earth Base and water dragon) are in the southwest or northeast sectors, it can indicate financial success, but with some “seedy connections,” attached to it.
In contrast, if the 2-7 combination lands in the northwest or west sectors, it can result in infant death, accident or illness according to Wong. In order for these predictions to potentially manifest, it is not just the flying star combination, but the directional location within the chart, and it is the Period star (the number she places to the left of dash) aligned with the facing star (the number she places on the right side of dash).
What she follows with is a description of “unconditional interactions,” meaning the Earth Base star and facing star combination could exist in any direction in the chart. Her definitions of these combinations also ring true for the more conventional mountain dragon-water dragon pairings.
Eva Wong’s section on Special Charts only includes two, but there are more which are routinely discussed, even in books meant for the novice. She remarks that the “Three Combinations” chart is a lucky house type because each directional sector hosts one star from each of the Yun Cycles. This gives the house a perpetually “fresh” Qi no matter what cycle we are in. When Master Sang taught this chart (Fu Mu San Gua), he cautioned that while it can be a lucky house, it can also be a high drama house.
Wong continues with the Combination Ten Special Chart and notes how many times these two Special Charts occur and in which Periods. She states that these two Special Charts are similar, but they do have a noteworthy distinction. With the Combination Ten or Sum to Ten chart, it can be lucky for finances or for health, but not both, by the criteria set to recognize each type.
Wong also states that the most important palaces (directional sectors) within a floor plan’s chart are the facing palace and the Central palace. The central palace hosts the stars figuratively, which permeate the entire space and represent what I call the Hidden Agenda in my book, The Feng Shui Matrix. While these palaces are important, there is so much more to evaluate and compare that I think a responsible disclaimer should be included. In Master Gayle Atherton’s book, she gives countless examples of good and bad feng shui environments, but she mentions frequently that if the “unseen energies” (i.e. flying stars) are factored in, everything generalized in Form School theory could change.
Eva Wong’s book presented so much food for thought and traditional concepts that I had to break this review of into two parts. You can find Part 2 here: (coming soon!)
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions (R)
From the Book Review Blog Series
