Are you frequently tired and drained of energy? Are you experiencing financial woes? Does your toilet continue to stink regardless of how many times you clean it with acme strength bleach?
If the answer to any, or all of the above questions is yes then your problems could respectively be resolved by simply moving you bed, rearranging you sitting room and placing a rose next to the throne.
It might sound like mumbo-jumbo to some people, but earth wisdom, or the study and manipulation of the surroundings in order to provide a more healthy environment -- commonly referred to as geomancy or fengshui (風水) -- has been practiced for well over 4,000 years.
"We're like doctors. People come to us when they are sick," said Chang Hsu-Chu (張旭初), chairman of the Chinese Geomancy Research Association (CGRA, 中國地理風水研究協會). "We don't give out medicine, but instead prescribe better living and working environments for our patients."
A science rather than the product of a religious credo, fengshui was once a closely guarded secret and was used to ensure the good health, prosperity and power of successive imperial Chinese
dynasties.
Originally only practiced by revered fengshui masters (風水師) employed by the royal courts, the science is based upon a set of calculations using a lopan (羅盤), or compass, that takes in to consideration the building, its immediate environment, the time of year and -- most importantly -- the people who inhabit the domicile under examination.
Basic examples of bad fengshui include a front door that is in line with the back door, a bed that is placed under a load-bearing wall, a toilet bowl that faces the front door and an apartment that faces a T-junction. Problems that arise because of bad fengshui, which, according to the experts are caused by the chi moving in contradictory directions, can be remedied by moving the furniture or by the placement of carved stone talisman at key locations.
The complex rules and guidelines that govern the execution of fengshui may appear archaic and sound like the rantings of a shaman, but geomancy continues to play a major role in influencing people's everyday lives even today. According to Chang more people than ever are turning to fengshui to bring order to their complicated modern-day lives.
"Economics are very important and people have money problems, the concept and values of the family have been altered, there are more health worries and society has changed. People want stability in their lives and one way to ensure that one's living and working environment is perfect is through fengshui," he said.
"The more complicated everyday life becomes the more people will turn to fengshui for their financial, physical and mental wellbeing," Chang said.
As a third generation fengshui master and chairman of the largest fenshui association in Taiwan, Chang is considered by many to be one of the nation's leading purveyors of the ancient science of "earth wisdom."
In the 20 years he has practiced the discipline he has rearranged the furniture and sorted out problems ranging from stinky bathrooms to marital disharmony in hundreds of private households. Seventy-five percent of those who request his home service are women.
Chang's most difficult surveys are those he undertakes for corporate clients and these make up 65 percent of his annual caseload. Over the years he has fashioned offices in order to correct the flow of chi and ensure the prosperity of dozens of companies both in Taiwan and abroad.
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