Traditional schools of feng shui An introduction.
By Jayashree Bose

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Over the ages the ancient Chinese science called feng shui divided into two stems known as Xing fa -forms method or the study of environment (landscape) and Li fa - time concept method that involves the study of movement of qi through mathematical calculations. Both systems are equally important in the study of feng shui, as it is impossible to just study one aspect of qi and disregard the other.

Schools of traditional feng shui
There are various schools of traditional feng shui each having a set of their own formulas that help in evaluating and assessing the power of the land. All the schools are important as some formulas from certain school can be used in commercial and residential building, others for evaluating complex landforms (surrounding environments), while some others can be used for evaluating movement of water. Each school has various formulas for particular purposes; generally a blend of formulas belonging to different schools is required to correctly assess a property. Given below is a gist of all the traditional schools in use today. In all the schools the Lo Pan (Chinese compass) is an essential tool in determining the movement and the quality of qi that affects the property.

San He School
San He literally translates into three combinations. The theory of San He school is based on the four sets of the triangular combination of the earthly branches*. It is the study of landforms and waterways. It is especially useful in the study of complex environments which include waterways, mountains and valleys. The famous water dragon formula falls under this school.

San Yuan School
San Yuan translates into three periods. In the olden times San Yuan method was used to evaluate burial sites and landforms. Later on it developed the Fey Xing System (Flying star) to incorporate the study of manmade structure by studying the movement of qi, which was done by charting it in nine grids. In still later stages the San Yuan School applied the landform classifications to the manmade structures such as roads, dams, bridges, buildings etc. However, later on the San Yuan system developed a separate branch called the Xuan Kong School.

Xuan Kong School
Xuan Kong (Mysterious subtleties) can literally be translated into time and space. This school started as a part of San Yuan School, since in the olden times San Yuan only dealt with landforms, Xuan Kong was developed so that it could be used in buildings and man-made structures. In Xuan Kong the movement of qi is studied in accordance with time. Fey Xing (flying stars) is one of the branches of Xuan Kong. Fey Xing is based on the Lo Shu and mathematical calculation of charting the movement of qi. Another branch is Xuan Kong Da Gua, which is based on the eight trigrams and sixty four hexagrams. Xuan Kong Da Wu Xing is based on the understanding of the five elements and how they interact with each other.

Ba Zhai School (Read article - Ba Zhai formula)
The Ba Zhai school is the simplest of all the schools and can be learnt easily. Ba Zhai had been formulated so that it could be used for people and in buildings. In this formula the person's favorable and unfavorable stars are calculated (from the year of birth) so that the person can use them to his advantage. This school should not be confused with the new-age formula of eight aspirations.

* The 24 mountains (360⁰ of the compass divided in 15⁰ each) in feng shui, consists of 12 Earthly branches which are the same as the Chinese animals used in Chinese astrology.

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