Feng Shui Wisdom in the Construction of Chinese and Foreign Capitals

The history of human settlement construction is a history of human experience in understanding and conforming to nature. Regardless of the tranquil, lively villages and towns or the magnificent capitals, they are inseparable from the moist nature of the natural environment. Nature and humanities, material and spirit, science and culture have left a glorious picture in the history of human settlement construction. We can see the wisdom of Feng Shui and the wonderful realm of the unity of nature and man from the aspects of the site selection, layout, construction, renovation, and expansion of cities, cities, and villages that have been passed down from generation to generation.

1. Feng Shui Wisdom of Beijing City

Yuan Dadu (now Beijing) is the most magnificent capital in Chinese and foreign history. It laid the foundation for the overall layout of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In 1260 AD, when Kublai Khan came to Yenching, the Mongolian cavalry pointed directly at the lingering Southern Song Dynasty. Afterwards, Kublai Khan obeyed the suggestion of Minister Liu Bingzhong and settled his capital in Beijing. In order to prevent the Yongding River from flooding and to solve the water problem in the metropolis, Kublai abandoned the Jinzhong Metropolis, which was originally located in the southwestern suburbs near the Beijing West Railway Station, and rebuilt the new city. The Yuan "Analysis of Jinzhi" truly records the historical relics of Liu Bingzhong based on geographical latitude and latitude (ie, Feng Shui theory), with Wang Qi as the main principle, "taking the geographical situation first, the king's context, and the great cause". According to the research of Mr. Yu Xixian's "Zhou Yi Xiang Shu and Yuan Da Du", etc., Yuan Da Ducheng not only embodies the idea of I Ching Fengshui in the choice of city site and layout , but also in the setting of city squares and the opening of city gates. It can be regarded as a realistic representation of the Eight Diagrams of the Book of Changes. For example, from the general situation of geography, Liu Bingzhong conducted surveys and led the Yuquan mountain water of Xishan Mountain into the capital through artificially excavated canals, traveled south through present Taipingqiao Street, turned east, and then passed the Ganshui Bridge and the south bank of Taiye Lake (now Zhongnanhai), flows to the national bridge "Zhouqiao" in front of Chongtian Gate, the main entrance of O'Neill (that is, the Forbidden City), and then flows eastward into the present Nanheyan and Beiheyan (then called Tonghui River). Because this river comes from the west, it is named "Golden Water River" according to the orientation of the "golden" in the five elements in the West. This river is located in the south of the city in terms of the layout of the entire city. It is a horizontal planning line with the river as the horizontal axis required by Fengshui. As for the number of 50 squares in the city, it is also taken from the number of heaven and earth. Zhu Xi, a Song agent scholar, said, "The number of Dayan is fifty, and it is derived from the five times of the palace and the sky in the Hetu." The name of the shop is also obviously taken from the Zhouyi. Like Mingshifang, close to the ground

Taishiyuan, taking the Ge hexagram of the "Book of Changes" means "a gentleman governs the Ming Dynasty". Qianningfang, located in the northwestern stem position, takes the meaning of "World Xianning" in the Qian hexagram of the Book of Changes. Tai Heng Fang, located in the northeast, takes the meaning of "Ji Heng" in Tai Gua. This idea was also followed by the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For example, the emperor lived in the Palace of Qianqing, and the stem was the sky, which came from the Qian Gua; in the Kunning Palace, the kun was the earth and came from the Kun Gua. Between the two palaces is the Hall of Harmony, which symbolizes the harmony between heaven and earth and harmony between yin and yang. There were 9,999 houses in the palace city of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the door nails on the palace gates were also 9 rows up and down with 81 pieces. Why? Because the number of days is 9. In terms of the layout of ritual activities such as Sheji and Zumiao in Beijing, there is the Temple of Heaven in the south, and the Temple of Earth in the north; the Sun Temple in the east and the Moon Temple in the west. In the Forbidden City, there is the Taimiao on the left and the Sheji altar on the right. Taimiao is yin, offering sacrifices to ancestors; Sheji altar is yang, offering sacrifices to land and grains. The center point of symmetry is Feng Shui Cave. Because from the perspective of Feng Shui, the harmony and opposition of yin and yang are unified in the urban layout, reflecting the symmetry and balance of yin and yang.

2. Feng Shui Wang Qi of Ming Nanjing City

The city of Nanjing is known as "the capital of ten emperors, the land of golden powder in the six dynasties", from the time when Sun Quan was the capital of the Three Kingdoms, to the Chinese people

China has gone through more than 1,700 years. At that time, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang decided to make the capital Nanjing, and instructed Liu Ji to select the site and plan the palace according to the requirements of Feng Shui. Liu Ji's master iron-clad Taoist pointed out that Miyagi should be built on Yanque Lake. Because the pattern of Fengshui in Nanjing is generally shaded, located in the south of the water, and Yanzhan Lake is in the sun of Zhongshan, which is the "head of the panlong" and is the location of the Fengshui acupuncture point. The square shape of Nanjing City is different from that of the northern capital. It is built according to the topography and is divided into four layers: palace city, imperial city, capital city, and ancient city. The city is long, narrow and irregular from north to south, but the core of Miyagi is still square, which still reflects the traditional view of Feng Shui pattern. In Ming Nanjing, the imperial city was chosen to be in the east because of the difficulty of the mountain city terrain. The gossip belongs to the earthquake hexagram in the east. The Zhouyi says that "the emperor comes from the earthquake", so it is suitable for the imperial residence. The layout of the entire imperial city is regular and symmetrical, and its shape is inverted convex (similar to the shape of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties), in order to facilitate the atmosphere of the southern sky. With the imperial palace as the central axis, important palace buildings were laid out one after the other. Miyagi is in the imperial city, and the core buildings of Miyagi are Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, and Qinshen Hall. The three magnificent halls are magnificent and dominate the palace. Behind the Palace of Qin Shen is the harem, namely the Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace and the Sixth Palace of the East and the West. The front hall is the residence of the emperor, which belongs to the Yang in the south, and the harem belongs to the Yin and the north. In mathematics, odd numbers are used in the front hall and even numbers in the harem, to distinguish between yin and yang. The setting of the temple also meticulously embodies the yin and yang theory of Feng Shui. Yuanqiu sacrifices to the sky, Fangqiu sacrifices to the ground. The place of worship is located outside Zhengyangmen in the south, the sun of Zhongshan; the mound of worship is located outside of Taipingmen in the north, at the northern shadow of Zhongshan.

In short, from the general geographical situation, Nanjing is bordered by the Yangtze River in the north, Zhongshan in the east, Qinhuai in the south, and Xuanwu Lake in the north. Its geomantic veins stretch from the southeast to the Yangtze River to the west for hundreds of miles. The Stone City is a white tiger, and Zhongshan is a green dragon, which can be called a typical Feng Shui shape.

3. Moscow City-Purple Star

If the origin and development of Moscow City also reflect the requirements and pattern of Feng Shui, you may be surprised, but there are too many "astounding similarities" in history. Some are attributed to historical accidents, but to Feng Shui. In terms of it, it is a necessity. Because the principle of Feng Shui embodies the fundamental principle of the relationship between man and the environment. Yu Xixian's research found that Moscow City gradually expands outward in the shape of concentric circles. The radiological center of the whole city is the Kremlin, which was built in 1147, to the east is the Chinatown built between 1535 and 1538, and beyond is the city of Kamel, Moscow, which was built between 1742 and 1860. The river runs as the main stream. The Kremlin was built on a high hill at the confluence of the Moskva River and the Yavchu River and its tributaries. The palace wall was built along the river, overlooking a large open area in the west of the river. The area of Chinatown in the east and Gorky Avenue in the north is another Gangfu. This pattern perfectly embodies the Feng Shui idea of being surrounded by mountains and rivers and surrounded by protective rings. It is worth mentioning that there are 17 turrets of various sizes around the Kremlin. All of them are painted in purple and red, so they are called red walls. The red square is outside the east gate of the red wall. Why use fuchsia to decorate? Why is the Kremlin also known as the Purple Palace?

It symbolizes the purple constellation in the sky, and its center is the fixed point of the cosmic celestial sphere, Polaris. Everyone knows that there is a towering and magnificent minaret on the main building of the Kremlin, with a five-pointed star on it, which is the center point of the entire Moscow city. It is said that there are hundreds of churches large and small in the city of Moscow and its suburbs. The crosses on which stand upright face the five-pointed star from all sides, making it the spiritual commanding heights of the whole city.

4. The wisdom of Chinese Fengshui in Seoul, Kyoto, Kuala Lumpur, and East Asian circles. Chinese Fengshui thoughts have had a profound influence along with the spread of Chinese culture to neighboring countries. Seoul is one example.

Seoul is located in a basin surrounded by low mountains, surrounded by eight mountains, and the Han River and Cheonggye River pass through the city. In 1394, the king of Joseon Lee Sung-gye moved his capital to Seoul (now Seoul) according to the suggestion of a Feng Shui master, and designated Yinqing Mountain on the south side of the city as Anshan Mountain. This is the mountain of Jincheng in Seoul. Today, Koreans still Yinqing Mountain is called "Nanshan as warm as a mother's embrace". Seoul is divided into the old city and the new city. The old district is built according to the ancient Chinese model of "left temple and right community, front and rear city". From the perspective of building methods and naming, the traditional Chinese Fengshui culture is ubiquitous. For example, Jingfu Palace, a famous palace with a history of five hundred years, is square. The south gate is called Guanghua gate, the east gate is called Jianchun gate, the west gate is called Yingchun gate, the north gate is called Shenwu gate, and there are Qinzheng Hall and Jiaotai in the palace. Important buildings such as temples.

The famous Japanese city Kyoto, also known as Xijing, was called "Ping An Jing" in ancient times. For more than a thousand years from 794 to 1868,

Kyoto has always been the capital of Japan. Its planning and layout can almost be said to be a replica of Chang'an City and Ancient Luoyang City in Tang Dynasty in China, and its shape and trend fully reflect China's Feng Shui wisdom. The entire city faces south from the north, Dongshan to the east, Lanshan and Guishan to the west,

The central part of the river meets the Kamo River. The city is divided into two capitals, the east and the west, on the axis of Zhuque Street, which runs from north to south. Tokyo imitates Luoyang, Xijing imitates Chang'an, and the center of the north is Miyagi, where the royal family is located. The entire downtown area of Kyoto is divided into five districts: Luozhong, Luodong, Luonan, Luoxi, and Luobei, so the Japanese also call Kyoto "Jingluo".

The Feng Shui pattern of Kuala Lumpur is also quite remarkable. It is located in the middle of the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the urban area is surrounded by hills. More than one hundred and forty years ago, today's Kuala Lumpur is still a virgin forest. In 1857, more than 80 Chinese who went to Southeast Asia came here in small boats to look for tin mines, and the pioneering history of the city began. Chinese now account for about 25% of the city's population. The residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia was selected and planned by the former Prime Minister Mahathir himself. It is backed by the hillside, and the river at the lower right, led by the artificial lake, winds northeast to the south. In front of the mansion is the magnificent and magnificent administrative center of Malaysia. The huge semicircular building seems to embrace the open Daming Hall in front. Dozens of kilometers away, there are majestic and beautiful

The green hill ring guards the arch, and the case hill in front of the mansion resembles a tribute. In short, local scholars call it "the pattern of a panlong with a purple wall."

In short, the wisdom of Feng Shui can be seen everywhere in the endless history of mankind for thousands of years. It can be said that every place of geomantic omen, whether natural or man-made, is the perfect embodiment of mankind's understanding of nature and skillful use of nature. From this point, it can be said that Feng Shui is a knowledge that can be applied to the world. It can help ordinary people make rational use of land. It is a skill that enables people to live and work in peace and contentment. At the same time, Feng Shui has a rich and colorful cultural accumulation. Feng Shui wisdom has carried China's cultural heritage of both spiritual and material since ancient times, and it is worthy of our earnest exploration and development.

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