Fung Shui Tour

As I posted last June (link), the row of desks where I sit at work is considered a feng shui blackspot and the locals won't sit there.  One problem is direct-line-of-sight to the door which puts us in the path of evil spirits flowing-in down the hallway.   Another problem is an unlucky desk A244.  This has never been occupied because in cantonese '244' sounds like 'easy die die', or 'easily stone dead' (since in Chinese repeating a word creates emphasis).

Feng Shui blackspot -  evil spirits from the hallway and seat 244

So there were three gweilos in the line-of-fire:  my colleague Alex from Korea (closest to the door),  myself,  and my boss with his back to the windows.   To afford some protection,  our local colleague Amanta had kindly placed a plant between our desks and the door.   But unfortunately this wasn't enough to save Alex.  He lost his job in January, just six months after moving to his unlucky seat.   More recently my boss has just suffered from a medical emergency. 

244 = Easily Stone Dead

Having seen the power of Feng Shui, I was anxious learn more.   So with Granny and Grandad visiting, I took the opportunity to book a Feng Shui tour through the HK tourist board web-site.   Grandad is a retired scientist,  so I knew he would appreciate the theoretical nuances of 'Feng Shui science'.

As a special request, they started the tour to start with a visit to Kowloon Peak, which has strong flow of Qi ('chi') energy and also, I think, the finest view in Hong Kong.   As you can see in the image above (link to photographers webpage).

Unfortunately on the morning we visited, he view was somewhat less spectacular,  due to a touch of fog.  

 The Feng Shui tour lasted about 4 hours and was taken by a very engaging and knowledge lady who is studying Feng Shui under a recognized master (a sort of PHD student or Post Doc).   We visited 4 locations illustrating different principles of Feng Shui theory.  

Feng Shui (風水), literally means 'wind and water' and a key idea is that  'Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water'.   Apparently Qi flows down from mountains and along ridges, and  and accumulates in flat land in front of water.

So applying this idea on Kowloon Peak, she explained that Qi flows down to Kong Kong from huge mountain ranges deep in China, over Tai Mo Shan, along to Kowloon Peak and down its ridges where it jumps the harbor at its narrowest point (Lei Yue Mun), and flows around the mountains on Hong Kong Island, and ultimately down to Central and Causeway Bay.   On the other hand, since Qi is dispersed by the wind, locations on the top of a mountain like Parkview are not auspicious places to live because the Qi doesn't accumulate.

We next visited Kowloon Tong to look at how Qi from mountains tends to pool in areas of flat land in front of water.   Qi from Beacon Hill and Lion Rock flows down and accumulates in the flat land of Kowloon Tong and TST, contributing to their prosperity.   Similarly some of the Qi from Tai Mo Shan flows down and accumulates in the flat land at Shatin.   And of course Qi from Hong Kong Island accumulates at Central and Admiralty.   Another factor is that harmonious Qi flows from nicely shaped mountains (e.g. Tai Mo Shan and Victoria Peak), while jagged mountain like Lion Rock produce more disruptive Qi.

New Government offices at Admiralty 

Another principle is the balance between Ying (feminine) and Yang  (masculine) energy.   We next visited Admiralty and the new government offices which demonstrate this.  The building housing the  legislative office (LEGO) is round,  in-keeping with its role as a venue for discussion and debate (Ying energy).   In contrast, the building housing the chief-executive is square which is appropriate for Yang decision-making.   (I guess deciding to follow orders from Beijing still counts as Yang activity).     

Another illustration of this principle is the old Bank of China building in Central which was built with lions facing outward towards the old law courts across the street.  This protects the banking activity (Yang) from being undermined by Ying energy generated by the arguing (Ying) in the courts

We visited Central to look at the the HSBC headquarters which has famously good Feng Shui.   Close to its back,  the HSBC building has Victoria Peak a large nicely-shaped mountain providing support, while in front it has Statue Square and an uninterrupted area of flat land in-front of the harbor where Qi flowing down from the mountains accumulates.   Note that the HSBC lions guarding the entrance are facing each other.

These principles also apply at smaller scale of at home and in the office  where it is desirable to have a 'mountain' (large object) at your back and facing water.   Sitting with a window to your back like my boss does leads on to lack of support (and no doubt contributes to his health problems).  

Finally the guide tried to explain the feng shui compass and calendar and how the auspicious directions are determined by cycles,  including eras lasting 20 years.

But by then our brains were full.  So I didn't absorb anything apart from the idea that auspicious directions keep changing, so it is important to keep hiring a knowledgable feng-shui expert.

Granddad was rather overwhelmed and exhausted trying to follow the theory.  But in retrospect, he says the tour was one of the highlights of his visit.   So we do recommend it, even though I couldn't get any practical advice to deal with my feng shui problem at work ("its complicated,  I'd need to visit the location").