Nanjing, China – Few places are as steeped in the traditions of feng shui as this ancient city.
The pathways of centuries-old tombs follow the pattern of the Big Dipper’s seven stars.
Countless homes and modern buildings sport mirrors to deflect bad energy and outdoor fountains to guide riches inside.
So when a university here joined last month with a government agency to offer training in the 3,000-year-old practice of harmonizing buildings with nature, it seemed as natural as, well, “feng” and “shui,” or wind and water.
Instead, it has triggered a backlash.
“This is really ridiculous,” scoffed Chen Zhihua, an architect and professor at prestigious Qinghua University in Beijing. “It’s a fake science. … It only makes money for some swind lers.”
Ge Jianxiong, an eminent geography professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, compared feng shui to dregs that have floated up to the surface.
“This shouldn’t be happening,” he said.
Feng shui has flowed into the consciousness of many countries, including America. Homebuilders have been known to bow to its principles when erecting subdivisions.
In Southern California, professional feng shui consultants cater to people who believe that remodeling, rearranging furniture or adding objects to their living spaces can, among other things, boost careers, promote childbearing and achieve good health and happiness.
The furor involving feng shui follows its surging popularity in the China in recent years, thanks partly to a massive construction boom and arrivals of overseas Chinese who have fewer hang-ups about it.
Mao Tse-tung denounced feng shui for its vulnerability to fraud.
During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and ’70s, it was derided as a legacy of China’s feudal society. Practitioners often were persecuted. To this day, feng shui masters cannot get business licenses or legally advertise their services in China. People here understand that the practice falls in the category of superstitious activity, which is illegal.
Yet their business is flourishing because many people want good feng shui, even if they might not admit that they believe in it.
“It’s like a big, public secret,” says Xu Shaoshan, a researcher at China Architectural Culture Center, a unit of the Ministry of Construction that is offering the feng shui training in Nanjing.
Xu argues that China should embrace, not malign, something that is unique and historical in the nation’s culture.
