The art of geomancy (in Chinese called fengshui 風水 "Wind and Water" or "Winds and Rivers") is one of the pseudo-sciences of old China. Geomancy is as old as Chinese culture: we can find the influence of geomancy in neolithic tombs.
The old Chinese used the methods of geomancy to direct their houses, palaces and the tombs of the deceased. The influence of mountains, hills, plains, and rivers or rather their animating "energy" (qi 氣; Dr. Stephen L. Field therefore translates fengshui as "qimancy") is able to benefit or to harm the inhabitants of a house or the descendants of a deceased laying in a tomb. Creting a desired harmony was dependant of the shape of hills and valleys, the direction of rivers and of the wind. Additionally, the height and shape of buildings, and the direction of streets and bridges could be incorporated in a successfull geomantic architecture.
The minimum requirement for the erection of a building was the right point of the direction. According to experience, the northern winds in winter harm the inhabitants. The northern gate of a palace is therefore usually closed, and every door of a house is directed to the south, where the sun and the summer wind can enter the house. Northern winds scatter and destroy positive animating "energy" and therefore have to be breaked and hindered; a mountain or hill north of the house, palace or tomb was required, if needed, even artificial. Water, on the contrary, concentrates and stores positive animating "energy"; a river or small creek south to the house, palace, city or tomb, was required, if needed, even artificial.
Another important influence to consider by geomancy (also called kanyu 堪輿 "adequate land") was the constellation of the stars with the Great Dipper as object of orientation; for the Chinese as a farming people, the observation of the stars and celestial appearances was an important matter. To find out a positive location, where all the stars and celestial phenomena could be observed, Chinese geomants used a geomancy "compass" or cosmograph (luopan 羅盤 or shipan 式盤). The cosmograph consists of two metal plates: the lower square plate is incised with a square "Terrestrial" field containing the twelve double-hours or "Terrestrial Branches" (dizhi 地支); the upper "Celestial" disc, smaller than the lower square field, is incised with the twelve months and the Great Dipper (beidou 北斗) in the center. The celestial disk can be moved to the right and therewith imitates the movement of the zodiacal constellations. This kind of geomancy enabled the user of the compass to determine a positive location for a certain time of the year. Qi, the animating energy, is thus not only channeled the direct environment, but also the cosm.