Friday 03rd of September 2010

 
Fundamentals Print

Qi (氣)

Qi is the abstract forces surrounding the universe which is related to time and space. The influence can be from the highest mountain to the deepest ocean. They are changing over time. Their impacts come from different directions. This ‘qi’ can also be defined according to the five basic elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The ancient Chinese has observed and wrote down the characteristics of this ‘qi’ and they know that they change over time in a fixed pattern.

Concept of 陰[Yin] and 陽[Yang]

Tai Chi: Concept of Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang are positive and negative energies that rule the cosmos. The concept of陰 [Yin] and陽 [Yang] is symbolized by the picture ‘Tai Ji’ 太極 above. White region is symbolizing male, good, positive and sun, while the black region is symbolizing female, bad, negative, and moon. Yin and Yang are complementary and merging into each other. The round Tai Ji’s shape symbolizes the harmony between the Yin and Yang. The circle is draw like two fishes merging into each other with Yang on top (Heaven), and Yin on bottom (Earth).

Everything in the universe contains varying degrees of Yin and Yang, that is why, we see there are two small white and black circle, which means within Yin, there is little Yang and within Yang, there is little Yin. It is wrong to assume that Yang is better than Yin. Computer science of the binary digit system of 0 and 1 in the last decades was adopted and inspired by this concept too.

Five basic elements 五行 [Wu Hang]

Cycle of BirthCycle of Destruction
According to Chinese metaphysics, everything is made up of five phases of the natural energy: fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Each of these elusive elements has its own qualities. There are considered to be the basic of all matters and events. There are basic laws governing their relationship as shown by two circles on top: Cycle of Birth (Harmony) and Cycle of Destruction (Disharmony).

Cycle of Birth shows an element producing another element, like mother giving birth to a child. Cycle of Destruction shows an element conquering or destroying another element. We can easily understand these 2 cycles as all adhere to the common sense. Fire will melt the Metal (cycle of destruction), and Fire will burn objects into Earth or ashes (cycle of birth).

Five Basic Elements

By understanding the cycle of birth and cycle of destruction, we can understand everything in the world. For example, drinking alcohol will harm the liver. Alcohol is pungent taste (metal), we know metal destroy wood (liver) – see Cycle of Destruction; that is why drinking alcohol will damage the liver.

8 Trigrams 八卦 [Ba Gua]

8 Trigrams are symbols of continuous Yang lines and broken Yin lines. These trigrams are from the observation of the Heaven and the Earth. Each symbol is made out of three lines, and they represent Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Earth, Mountain, Water and Wind. The 8 trigrams arrangement are symbolizing natural phenomenon or forces of nature. The Early Arrangement of 8 Trigrams is believed to carry a power of protection.

Early Heaven Ba Gua in Feng Shui

Early Heaven Ba Gua are placed with Heaven on top (South), the Earth in the bottom (North), Fire to symbolize the sun (in East), and Water to symbolize the moon (in West). The four corners are following the geographical setting of China. In Northwest, there’re mountains, Lake in the Southeast, Wind in the Southwest because it is covered by desert, and Thunder in the Northeast because it is an earthquake zone (Japan).

Later Heaven Ba Gua in Feng Shui

Later Heaven Ba Gua is reflecting the change of element in the four seasons. Thunder and Wind are wood elements representing Spring season in the East and Southeast, Fire on top in the north symbolizing Summer season, Lake and Heaven are metal elements which symbolizing the Autumn season, Water in the north symbolizing Winter season, and the Earth and Mountain trigrams is placed opposite to each other in Southwest and Northeast symbolizing the center line of the Tai Chi which reflect the important Earth in all year round.

8 Trigrams Table

 

The River Book 洛書 [Luo Shu]

Magic Luo Shu in Feng Shui

Luo Shu was found on the back of a giant tortoise according to the Chinese legend. This tortoise emerged from the River Luo around 6,000 years ago. This Luo Shu is a magic square because when you total any 3 numbers in a straight line, the total is always 15. This Luo Shu number arrangement which shows the distribution of feng shui energies in time and space is the foundation of Flying Star Feng Shui.

The River Map 河圖 [He Tu]

He Tu in Feng Shui
 
He Tu was found on the back of “Fire Horse”. This diagram shows numbers in pairs in the four cardinal directions. Number 2 and 7 represent Fire in the South, 1 and 6 represent Water in the North, 3 and 8 represent the Wood in the East, and 4 and 9 represent Metal in the West. Application of this He Tu is in Flying Star Feng Shui and San Yuan Feng Shui.
 
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