ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the traditions, discourses and writers that saw and in some cases still see the world as an organic presence; a living thing, animated, alive. The literal translation of feng shui is wind and water. The name comes from tsang-feng, which means calming of the wind, and te-shui, which translates as acquiring of the water. Other older names include kanyu from kan, theory of time, and yu, geographical theory. Ch'i is the universal essence and pulse of life; the life force; the cosmic breath. The aim of feng shui is to understand and harmonize the flow of ch'i so as to maximize good fortune. Feng shui harnesses the earth's ch'i, just as acupuncture aims to harmonize a person's ch'i. An important element of feng shui is to create harmony by balancing the forces of yin and yang.
