Two Types of Roads with Good Feng Shui (1)

Authentic Chinese Feng Shui encompasses five fundamental aspects of knowledge: dragon (龙, the larger environmental terrain), acupoint (穴, the building site), sand (砂, the nearby terrain), water (水), and orientation (向). The first four belong to the Form School of Feng Shui, emphasizing how the environmental qi field influences people. “Orientation,” on the other hand, pertains to the Compass School of Feng Shui, involving esoteric knowledge rooted in the Book of Changes (I Ching, 周易), as well as the theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. These five aspects highlight the critical role of “water” in Feng Shui as a geographical element.

In Feng Shui, the Form School is considered the most fundamental and important Feng Shui knowledge. One famous Feng Shui classic, Snow Heart Ode (雪心赋), written by the renowned Tang Dynasty (唐朝, 618–907) Feng Shui master Bu Yingtian (卜应天), offers comprehensive and intricate theories about water. This prominent work on Form School Feng Shui is considered essential reading for serious students of the practice. In this book, the concept of water is extensively explored. Today, I’ll introduce one of the most common and beneficial water patterns in Feng Shui and will cover more in future blogs.

This article is the first in a two-part series introducing favorable water patterns in Feng Shui. Today, we’ll explore the “Water Gathering” pattern, while the next article will focus on the protective “Bow-Shaped Water” pattern.

Streets as Rivers: Applying Feng Shui to Urban Environments

In urban environments, streets can be regarded as rivers, with vehicles and pedestrians representing flowing water. These moving elements carry unique qi, creating dynamic qi fields within the streets. From a Feng Shui perspective, the principles applied to rivers in nature are equally applicable to city streets. This insight forms the basis for understanding favorable urban Feng Shui patterns.

Pattern One: Water Gathering — Creating Energy Convergence

The Significance of Water Gathering in Feng Shui

Let’s begin by exploring the first type of water formation: “Four Waters Converge” (Si Shui Gui, 四水归). According to Feng Shui theory, when qi encounters water, it gathers, bringing blessings and prosperity. In the natural environment, a “water gathering pattern” occurs when water flows from all directions and converges, creating an abundant energy field. In urban settings, streets function as water channels, and the movement of cars and pedestrians represents water flow. When streets converge and form a balanced energy field, the area benefits from good Feng Shui.

For instance, Central Park in New York City exemplifies this auspicious Feng Shui arrangement. As shown in Figure 1, Central Park serves as the focal point where surrounding streets converge like rivers, forming a “gathering water pattern.” Similarly, Boston Common in Boston exhibits a similar “gathering water pattern” (see Figure 2), albeit on a smaller scale compared to Central Park.

Yin Yu Tang’s “Four Waters Pour into the Hall”

Visitors to the Chinese historic house exhibited at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, may recognize the term “the Four Waters pour into the Hall” (Si Shui Gui Tang or Si Shui Dao Tang, 四水归堂，四水到堂). This phrase describes rainwater flowing down from all four sides of the roof, symbolizing wealth accumulation. In Feng Shui, “water” is synonymous with “wealth.” On rainy days, the sight of rainwater streaming from the roof tiles embodies the concept of “Four Waters Pour into the Hall” (Figure 3), indicating that wealth flows into the hall (or family). This architectural feature mirrors the auspicious water formation of “Four Waters Converge” described earlier.

Stay tuned for the next blog in this series, where we will delve into the protective “Bow-Shaped Water” pattern and its significance in urban and natural environments.

Figure 2

Figure 1

Figure 3