Theory
Feng Shui (the spatial-ordering of qi)
Explore in the Atlas →The Chinese geomantic system ("wind-water") for arranging buildings, settlements and tombs to harmonise the flow of qi — cosmic life-energy — through orientation, landscape form, the bagua trigrams and the five elements. A sophisticated cosmological framework that ordered everything from the courtyard house to the Forbidden City.
Dwelling Ritual Settlement
Details
- Introduced
- —
Classifications
- Holder
- Communal intergenerational
- Source of authority
- Revelation cosmology
- Subject
- More than human
- Cosmological orientation
- Cardinal axes
- Degree of codification
- Highly codified
- Mode of transmission
- Text drawingApprenticeship
- Knowledge type
- Relational embodied
- Epistemic cluster
- East asian
Connections
- relates to Bioclimatic Design
Referenced by
- The Chinese Garden as Cosmology relates to
- An Introduction to Feng Shui articulates
Sources
- Stephen Skinner. The Living Earth Manual of Feng-Shui. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982.
- Ole Bruun. An Introduction to Feng Shui. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Cite this entry
First published May 2026Last revised Jul 2026
CLAD. "Feng Shui (the spatial-ordering of qi)." Atlas of Architectural Thought. CLAD, 2026. https://www.cl-ad.com.au/research/atlas/theory/feng-shui/. Accessed July 17, 2026.