Foundation theories

The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time.^[25][26]

[edit]Qi (ch'i)

A traditional turtle-back tomb of southernFujian, surrounded by an Ω-shaped ridge protecting it from the "noxious winds" from the three sides.^[27]

Qi (pronounced "chee" in English) is a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in feng shui.^[28] In feng shui as in Chinlese martial arts, it refers to 'energy', in the sense of 'life force' or élan vital. A traditional explanation of qi as it relates to feng shui would include the orientation of a structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment including the local microclimates, the slope of the land, vegetation, and soil quality.^{[citation needed]}

The Book of Burial says that burial takes advantage of "vital qi." Wu Yuanyin^[29] (Qing dynasty) said that vital qi was "congealed qi," which is the state of qi that engenders life. The goal of feng shui is to take advantage of vital qi by appropriate siting of graves and structures.^[26]

One use for a Luopan is to detect the flow of qi.^{[30][citation needed]} Magnetic compasses reflect local geomagnetism which includes geomagnetically induced currents caused byspace weather.^[31] Professor Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solarradiation.^[32] As space weather changes over time,^[33] and the quality of qi rises and falls over time,^[26] feng shui with a compass might be considered a form of divination that assesses the quality of the local environment—including the effects of space weather.

By Alexandro Moncion from wekepedia.