Feng shui gets a makeover

For Chen Zicai (pictured right), a young Hong Kong feng shui master, his business is a fashionable one. Recently, some businessmen in Beijing invited him to provide some feng shui consultations. He wore brand-name clothes and had a fashionable haircut, quite different to the usual image of a geomancer.

Rather than carrying around calendars, as is traditional, he uses a PDA, with a digital version of the calendar. He puts in the birth time and date of his client to find out the "eight characters", commonly used in fortune telling.

The Hong Kong media regard him as a successor to the famous Hong Kong feng shui master, Su Minfeng, who has partially retired.

Just four years ago he was operating an advertising company. Out of curiosity he took a training class given by Su. In two years he learned the arts of feng shui, physiognomy, and fortune telling.

"I like studying other people's behavior, character and mentality," Chen says, explaining his interest in the business. A good memory, strong analytical ability and good judgment are the basic qualities for a feng shui practitioner, Chen says.

He believes old-fashioned feng shui practitioners are finding themselves increasingly marginalized. Modern dcor, for instance, does not suit the placement of swords, or images of tigers and lions. "The client should not feel a single element of feng shui after I make an adjustment," he says.

For instance, water, plants, stone and metal can be skillfully introduced to a room without disturbing the original look. Sometimes, colors can be used to represent the "five elements" of the universe that are commonly believed to influence good fortune. A piece of blue carpet can stand for the water element, for instance.

Despite social development and Western influences, the past five years have seen an upswing in the popularity of feng shui in Hong Kong, Chen says.

Homebuyers want Chen's advice when they buy a home, others seek his help when they open a new business, pray for good health and wealth, or want to pick a delivery date for their child, or name the child. Chen says feng shui masters have a high social status in Hong Kong - similar to that of a lawyer or a doctor.

(China Daily 11/23/2007 page20)