feng shui

On my telling two missionaries here lately that this Government would not allow a road to be made to their coal mines because it would obstruct the Feng-shui, they only laughed at it. … The upper classes may have Feng-shui, and use it when it suits them, as the Government do; but they also, when it suits their purpose, have no difficulty in overcoming the Feng Shui.

Feng-Shui has long been the puzzle of European residents in China. It is the principle which is given as a reason for every opposition to modern improvements, and which commands the devotions of the Chinese to such an extent that they will commit murder to avenge its neglect. … This Feng-Shui is, however, nothing more than the development of the principles enunciated in the Yih-king, and expounded by Confucius. … Therefore, Feng-Shui requires the tombs of the deceased to be on specially fortunate ground, where there shall be a proper combination of male and female, the male being represented by hilly country, the female by gently undulating ground. At the junction of these two grounds, where they form a bend like the elbow of a man's arm, is the propitious site for tombs and also for cities. Such a site has been chosen for the city of Canton.