Core feng shui terms

How to use this page

This is page one of four in the glossary, covering the foundational terms that recur everywhere else in this guide. Each entry gives you a quick definition and a link to the canonical page where the term is properly explained.

Chi. Wade-Giles spelling of Qi. Older Western spelling of Qi that appears in pre-1980s feng shui books. Same concept, different romanisation system. See the Qi entry on the foundations page.

Feng Shui. Feng shui, "wind and water". The Chinese practice of arranging built and natural environments to support the flow of qi for the people who use them. See the foundational definition of feng shui.

Guo Pu. Guo pu. Jin Dynasty scholar (276 to 324 AD). Traditionally credited as author of the Zang Shu, the earliest classical text to define feng shui in roughly its modern shape. See the historical roots of feng shui.

Hanyu Pinyin. The romanisation system. The official mainland Chinese romanisation system, used as the standard throughout this guide. Where a term has an older Wade-Giles spelling (Chi, Tao, I Ching), it is cross-referenced to the Pinyin entry. See how this guide handles romanisation.

I Ching. Wade-Giles spelling of Yi Jing. Older Western spelling of Yi Jing. Same text, different romanisation system. See the Yi Jing entry on the foundations page.

Qi. Qi. The active substance, energy quality, or animating flow that feng shui aims to read and adjust. It is the central concept of the field, described in practical not mystical terms. See what qi means in this guide.

Sha Qi. Sha qi, "killing qi". Sharp, fast, aggressive qi produced by hard edges, long corridors, opposing rooflines, or T-junctions. Sometimes called poison arrows. See the three qualities of qi.

Sheng Qi. Sheng qi, "vital qi". The term carries two meanings: the flowing life-supporting qi a well-designed space produces, and the most auspicious of the four favourable Eight Mansions directions. See the three qualities of qi.

Si Qi. Si qi, "dead qi". Stagnant qi produced by clutter, blocked ventilation, never-opened rooms, and dust. It is the qi of neglect. See the three qualities of qi.

Tai Chi. Tai ji, "great ultimate". The centre cell of the Bagua holding the whole arrangement together, and the philosophical concept of the supreme polarity from which yin and yang emerge. See the centre of the Bagua.

Taijitu. Tai ji tu. The classical yin and yang symbol. A circle of swirling black and white halves, each containing a dot of the opposite colour. See yin and yang in the foundations.

Tao. Wade-Giles spelling of Dao. Older Western spelling of Dao, the philosophical root of the Taoist tradition out of which classical feng shui developed. See the roots feng shui draws from.

Three Lucks. San cai. The Heaven, Earth, Human triad of classical Chinese cosmology. Feng shui addresses Earth Luck, the conditions of the place. See what feng shui actually addresses.

Wade-Giles. The older romanisation system. The Western romanisation of Chinese dominant before Hanyu Pinyin became standard. It is the source of older spellings like Chi, Tao, I Ching, and Pa Kua. See how this guide handles romanisation.

Yang. Yang. The active, bright, warm, masculine, expanding pole of the yin-yang polarity. It is one half of a paired and mutually defining structure. See yin and yang on the foundations page.

Yang House. Yang zhai. A dwelling for the living. This is the standard subject of modern feng shui practice. See what feng shui reads today.

Yang Jun Song. Yang jun song. Tang Dynasty master (834 to 900 AD) regarded as the founding patriarch of Form School and author of the Qing Nang Ao Yu. See the origins of Form School.

Yi Jing. Yi jing, "Book of Changes". Classical Chinese divination text built on the eight trigrams and 64 hexagrams. It is the philosophical backdrop to every Chinese metaphysics system including feng shui. See the Bagua and its source text.

Yin. Yin. The receptive, dark, cool, feminine, contracting pole of the yin-yang polarity. It is the structural mirror of yang. See yin and yang on the foundations page.

Yin House. Yin zhai. A burial site. This was the original subject of classical feng shui before focus shifted to dwellings for the living. See how feng shui shifted from burial to dwelling.

Zang Shu. Zang shu, "Book of Burial". The classical text attributed to Guo Pu. It is the earliest source for the principle that qi rides on wind and stops at water. See the classical roots of feng shui.

Where to go next

If you came here for a term and you are still not sure where to read more, try one of these next:

• For school names, direction terms, and Bagua vocabulary, see the glossary page on schools, directions, and Bagua.
• For cure, room, and Five Element vocabulary, see the glossary page on cures, rooms, and elements.
• For Flying Stars, BaZi, and Qi Men Dun Jia vocabulary, see the glossary page on timing and sister disciplines.
• For how this guide handles sources and spellings, see the methodology page.