A Book Review by Kartar Diamond
This is the second book by Evelyn Lip for me to review. Even though her books are rather slim, I hoped that each one in the series would shed light on Feng Shui in a unique way. Feng Shui, A Layman’s Guide to Chinese Geomancy, is mis-titled like her other book, Feng Shui for Homes (which is sparse on information for homes and includes sections on temples and commercial properties).
The reason I’m stating that A Layman’s Guide is misleading, is because parts of it are so technical or conversely vague, that it’s really not suited for the “layman.” Of course, every teacher has their own style and order for dispensing the information. But who was this book designed for? In the Foreward and Preface, readers get the impression that this book was put together with fellow architects in mind and to inspire appreciation for these mysterious principles, showcasing how they mirror good design.
Within the first few chapters, she describes each ring of various Chinese Feng Shui compasses (luopan), which the “layman” will probably never study further or use. Lip also goes into details from Chinese astrology with charts and references, but she does not explain their practical use. Equally, Lip enlightens readers about the original divination principles for grave sites, which could strike any person as being the least practical or provable branch of Feng Shui.
She describes Feng Shui (geomancy) as a “logical way of foretelling the future based on external phenomena.” She later quotes Lai Chuen Yan that “feng shui is a mystical combination of Chinese philosophical, religious, astrological, cosmological, mathematical and geographical concepts.” Followed by, “it is a unique dogmatic faith or superstition of the Chinese mind.” I agree with the former quote but not the latter, which implies that the principles are not universal and only relevant to the Chinese as pseudo-science. After decades of practice with mostly non-Asians, I can vouch for this being totally incorrect.
Because there are layers of meaning to so many aspects of Feng Shui, I did enjoy her more unusual definitions of the Eight Trigrams, which includes attributes not found in other instructional Feng Shui books. A run-down of her more obscure trigram features includes:
Qian: means good fortune, strength and vitality. My comment: Usually, we learn that Qian is related to the father figure and associated with the head and lungs. This becomes immediately applicable if, for instance, there is something wrong with the Qian (Northwest) sector of a floor plan. It can indicate that the father in the house may suffer or any of the occupants could have head or lung issues.
Kun: means “reception” and “subordination.” My question: Why? Is it because the image of the mother or elder female (SW) is weaker than the male in an ancient patriarchal society?
Zhen: means thunder, movement, apprehension, changes. My comment: Usually, we learn about the Zhen trigram of East being associated with the eldest son in the family and body areas like the feet, throat or nervous system.
Kan: means “pit,” perilous danger or mental abnormality. My comment: Of course, in the I-Ching the Kan trigram (North) is expressed as a deep body of water, the “abysmal.” It should be noted for people new to Feng Shui that all the trigrams have positive connotations as well.
Ken: (Northeast) means mountain. A mountain can stop travelers and symbolize resting the body and mind. My comment: In other sources, we come to understand the Ken (Gen) trigram as Hard Earth like a rock, implying a stubborn person or more literally related to the bones.
Sun: means penetration, the sun, wind and wood, growth and vegetation. My comment: These definitions of the Southeast are accurate or perceptive in varying contexts. Each trigram takes on different attributes depending on whether used in Feng Shui, Chinese medicine, Chinese astrology, Nine Star Ki or other forms of divination.
Li: (south) means separation. Comment: That’s a new one for me, but she notes the double meanings of firmness and “adhering to” which sound like the opposite of separation.
Dui: means joy, happiness, satisfaction, progression. With one broken line paired with two solid lines, this West trigram implies that weakness (broken line) is compensated with double the strength and power. My comment: A broken line does not always imply weakness; in fact, often it alludes to being receptive (like an open mind).
I appreciate when a book has a lot of colored photos. Many Feng Shui books are devoid of photos, especially colored ones, just because of the sheer costs of publishing. This author chose to go heavy on the pictures and light on the content.
By Chapter 6, we get a run-down of Do’s and Don’ts. It’s a combination of universally agreed feng shui principles, along with some concepts which don’t ring true in all circumstances, as well as some justifications not well known. For example, Lip states that a tree situated in front of a main door is unlucky. Popular notions are that the tree will block sufficient Qi from entering the front door, the mouth of the house.
She also says that a tree which shades a front door deprives occupants of enough sunshine, leading to unhappiness. She also speculates that a big tree is more of a magnet for a lightning strike (which could also set the house on fire.) Logically speaking, a lightning strike on a tree anywhere on the property could set a house on fire. I suppose the implication is that the main door is special compared to other parts of the house.
She states that it is unlucky to have a graveyard oriented to the south of a house, but does not elaborate on why the direction of south, in particular. Generally speaking, living too close to a cemetery can attract ghostly spirit energy, regardless of the directional alignment.
Lip mentions that a pool to the west of a house means the White Tiger “opens its mouth” and devours the wealth. There is a lot to unpack with a statement like that because her reference to the White Tiger is code for either real or man-made features to a surrounding landscape. In popular descriptions of the Four Celestial Animals (including the White Tiger), there is an assumption that these symbolic protective features (like a hill or mountain) influence the house.
The presence of water affects the house on a whole other level. For example, outside water west of a house during Period 7 (last Period 7: 1984-2003), could undermine the wealth of the occupants. But that is not true in other Periods, i.e. most of the time.
She notes that the number of bedrooms in a house affects the feng shui, but she does not explain why certain numbers are good and others bad. A funny story she shares involves a practice in ancient times when the Chinese tax collectors established the tax based on the width of the frontage of the property (as opposed to the size of the whole structure or parcel). People altered the dimensions of their homes so that only the narrowest part of it would jut out to the street and it would widen in the back.
It’s hard to believe that the tax collectors didn’t verify the total size of the property, which would be easy to do without any modern methods. She reasons that this is why a narrow frontage brought luck to residents and became a sneaky, but successful practice. Meanwhile, in virtually every Feng Shui School, we learn that a narrow frontage inhibits the Qi from entering the house (like a mouth that is not wide open), actually making it harder for occupants to attract wealth luck.
The author then includes examples from a classical Chinese text called the Imperial Encyclopedia which illustrates mostly moderate stable shaped houses, sitting north. They are labeled as good or bad based on the house’s position in relation to mounds, hills, streams, roads and graveyards. Not all houses sit north/facing south, so it would have been ideal to include other orientation possibilities. A big take-away from this section, however, is that a south-facing house is definitely not guaranteed to be a good house (when there is a cultural belief that south facing houses are the best). Something in the surrounding environment could ruin it with these as examples.
Lip includes examples from another old test, the Yang Zhai Shi Shu, with various groupings of homes or apartment-like configurations. In one example, a two-story house at a right angle to a one-story house makes the “bad” list, stating that one or both of these homes will cause the family to have a shortage of food and clothing. Extreme statements are made just based on how the houses are aligned to each other. Usually, more than one flaw needs to coincide before something really significant can happen to the occupants.
From the Water Dragon Classic (600 A.D.), Lip includes a couple dozen simple illustrations of a house in relation to water courses. Some of the examples are obvious even for a novice who has just been introduced to basic concepts of Qi flow and street alignments, which can apply similarly to water courses.
She describes some of China’s monasteries as being “under the influence of Feng Shui,” referring of course to the monastery’s siting and design. I’ll have to use that in my stand-up routine, such as being guilty of a Feng Shui D.U.I. (designing under the influence).
Lip provides photos of buildings and temples in Singapore with extremely ornate decorations on the roof tops. She explains the meaning of various symbols and statuary, intended to protect the structures and occupants from evil forces. The length these traditions go to ensure their safety and prosperity is both astounding and comical. She speculates about the feng shui surroundings of Nanyan University in Singapore and other notable buildings. She quotes a May 1977 edition of Asia Magazine, which reported that Hong Kong’s Public Works Department altered the design of a low-cost housing development in order to accommodate the future occupants’ concerns about the design and adjacent landscape details.
On the other end of the spectrum, New Nation reported in 1978 that Chase Manhattan’s merchant bank in Hong Kong also applied remedial feng shui actions, after losing a series of business deals. Lip quotes Asia Magazine again from an October 1973 article which claimed that 20,000-30,000 “geomancers” resided in Taiwan. I found this incredible, so I actually confirmed the population of Taiwan in the 1970’s so I could do the math. (Taiwan’s population in the 1970’s averaged about 15 million. That is still a lot of feng shui practitioners in one area!
The author also wrote about Feng Shui changes made to the Hyatt Hotel in Singapore, which led to dramatically good results. One of the changes made was to eliminate a fountain directly across from the entrance. The feng shui practitioner brought in to correct the problems understood that water is not automatically good on the facing side of a business. There are cultural assumptions that water attracts prosperity, but this is not always the case. As I write this, I have a friend who works at a nearby furniture store. There is a large fountain in front of the store and she noticed that on days when the fountain is turned off, that there is less in-fighting among employees and people make more sales. I was intrigued to check it out for myself and sure enough the store has a poorly placed fountain, aligned with a section of the store where water can trigger gossip, bickering and legal problems.
Lip concludes with remarks about the feng shui interpretation of certain colors, according to her limited research in this area:
Black= mourning or calamity, Green=prosperity and harmony, Yellow=celestial glory, Red=joy and festivity, White=purity, Blue=heavenly. In truth, there are no good or bad colors. The correct color for any room should be based on more criteria, which includes the age of the building, the compass alignment, the function of the space and who is using it.
While she also notes the direction and the element associated with these colors, people have historically used these colors like talisman, to emulate their wishes. For example, regardless of the direction, a temple may have a green roof and red doors to represent longevity and happiness. Specific to the region and the type of structure, colors can take on additional meaning.
Lip was a highly regarded architectural professional and considered a source for authentic feng shui information, yet this book does not read like it was written from experience. Instead, it feels more like academic reporting from a partial skeptic. She included excerpts from old feng shui texts, but it comes up short in inspiring the application of these theories. At least the reader is spared from the inclusion of New Age/Western aberrations.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Book Review Blog Series
