Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The Feng-shui theory, although hotly debated since Communism took power in China,
currently serves as instrument for landscape evaluation and improvement in the
pursuit of an ideal landscape mode for livelihood and eventually for harmony between
nature and human being. It has arguably, as guidance, contributed a lot to shaping the
ideal landscape, the mode of which, as modeled on Feng-shui, might thus be seen to
provide a basic model for the traditional elements of the Chinese built environment,
such as city structure, architecture and garden. This thesis attempts to draw attention
to issues with regard to the Feng-shui theory from multiple perspectives, including
human geography, environmental psychology and Chinese philosophy. Feng-shui
stems from the Chinese cosmology and is closely related to the Ying-Yang dualism. It
articulates the Chinese space-place relationship and the dread of nature that
profoundly affects the pattern of Chinese landscape and architecture. The thesis also
conducts a cross-cultural comparison to differentiate the Eastern and the Western
landscape styles, especially since the Enlightenment, during which Chinese
architectural elements were initially brought to Europe, although the authenticity of
these elements has been questioned. The thesis comes to the conclusion that
Feng-shui is in essence a kind of genius loci and the understanding of Feng-shui
contributes to landscape architectural theory, particularly from an ecological
perspective for sustainability.