'Fengshui' stumbles along as debate continues
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-09-14 08:53

Pros and cons -- the long-running debate

As a matter of fact, the debate over whether "fengshui" is science or superstition had been going on long before the new training program was launched -- with top scientists on both ends.

Tao Shilong, a noted science fiction writer, warned in an online forum earlier this year that fengshui was making a comeback in China "in the name of science".

His view was echoed by Chen Zhihua, a renowned architect and Qinghua University professor. "Fengshui is no science. It only swells some swindlers' wallets," he said.

In China's rural areas, two families often fight over one piece of land that promises good "fengshui". "Sometimes it becomes a feud that continues for generations. These are tragedies of the Chinese nation," said Chen.

But Professor Yu Xixian of Beijing University thinks otherwise.

"Many people tried to discourage me when I took up fengshui study in the 1980s," he said. "As far as I remember, fengshui consulting was first discouraged in the 1920s, when Western architectural culture entered China."

Though the Chinese government never banned the practice officially, fengshui is defined in Chinese dictionaries as "superstitious beliefs in ancient China".

Fengshui studies that were revived in interior Chinese regions starting in the 1980s were also widely criticized, said Yu.

"Fengshui, having long been part of the Chinese culture, was already found in Yangshao culture period some 6,500 years from today," he said. "It has superstitions intertwined with scientific beliefs."

"Most people take it as a magic trick, but really, it's all about the simple philosophy of living in harmony with your environment," said Prof. Han Zenglu of Beijing Civil Engineering University.

As a specialist on city planning, Professor Han said frankly he "admires the seasoned fengshui masters in ancient times".

"Fengshui stresses balance and coordination in the overall urban planning, ideal space between buildings and comfort of the dwellers -- modern architectures often lack these qualities," said Han, 68. "What Chinese-style buildings do we have for foreign tourists to see today? The skyscrapers most cities are building are the same everywhere in the world."

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