Chinese geomancy and traditional urban design

摘要

Chinese geomancy or fengshui has made an enormous impact on Chinese and other East Asian urban landscapes as it is a key factor in determining city locations and city designs. The term 'fengshui' is a relatively recent popular term for Chinese geomancy. Historically, terms such as dili 地理 ('Principles of earth', referring to geomancy as well as geography) and kanyu 堪舆 ('Heaven and Earth', referring to geomancy) were more common names for Chinese geomancy rather than fengshui 風水. Now, standard English dictionaries such as the Oxford English Reference Dictionary (1955,581) defines the English word'geomancy'as being equivalent to the Chinese term 'fengshui'. Hence, geomancy is a more appropriate English term to describe the Chinese art of divining auspicious sites rather than 'fengshui'.