page_title: Feng shui
section_title: Qi (ch'i)
hierarchical_section_title: Feng shui / Foundational concepts / Qi (ch'i)
caption_attribution_description: English: Lingshan Islamic Cemetery (Lingshan Park) in Quanzhou.. 中文: 泉州灵山伊斯兰教圣墓.
context_page_description: Feng shui, also known as Chinese geomancy, is a pseudoscientific traditional practice originating from ancient China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term feng shui literally translates as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the passage of the now-lost Book of Burial recorded in Guo Pu's commentary.
  Feng shui is one of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics, classified as physiognomy. The feng shui practice discusses architecture in terms of "invisible forces" that bind the universe, earth, and humanity together, known as qi.
  Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or the compass.
context_section_description: Qi (气, pronounced "chee" in English) is a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in feng shui.
  The Book of Burial says that burial takes advantage of "vital qi". Wu Yuanyin (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. Some people destroyed graveyards of their enemies to weaken their qi.
caption: A traditional turtle-back tomb of southern Fujian, surrounded by an omega-shaped ridge protecting it from the "noxious winds" from the three sides[26]
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