FENGSHUI AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF SOUTHEAST CHINA

Abstract Literally translated as 'wind and water', Fengshui has been used as a special and important tool to harmonize people with their built environment and with the surrounding natural world. By examining some aspects of Fengshui as it was employed in traditional villages in southeast China, this paper aims to explore how Fengshui influences the interactions of Chinese people with their natural world. It focuses on two aspects of the employment of Fengshui in the outer spaces of villages in Southeast China: site selection and the entrance organisation. The methodology employed in the research involved both field investigation and archival study with a special emphasis on the historical records of family trees in the villages of Southeast China. Some modern psychological and architectural principles are borrowed as a frame of reference for analysing the Fengshui models. This analysis concludes that Fengshui satisfies not only physical needs, but also environmental, psychological and aesthetic ones. It demonstrates one of the most distinctive and sensitive treatments to aspects of the natural environment and landscape. It has been able, therefore, to improve the quality of the environment.