An Introduction to Feng Shui by Ole Bruun (2008).pdf

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AN INTRODUCTION TO FENG SHUI

Feng shui has been known in the West for the last

years but has

mostly been regarded as a primitive superstition. During the mod-

ern period, successive regimes in China have suppressed its practice.

However, in the last few decades, feng shui has become a global

spiritual movement with professional associations, thousands of titles

published on the subject, countless websites devoted to it and millions

of users.

In this book, Ole Bruun explains feng shui’s Chinese origins and

meanings as well as its more recent Western interpretations and global

appeal. Unlike the abundance of popular manuals, his Introduction

treats Chinese feng shui as an academic subject, bridging religion,

society and culture. Individual chapters explain:

the Chinese religious–philosophical background

Chinese uses in rural and urban areas

the history of feng shui’s reinterpretation in the West

environmental perspectives and other issues.

OLE BRUUN is Associate Professor at the Institute for Society and

Globalization, Roskilde University, Denmark. He is author of Feng-

shui in China: Geomantic Divination between State Orthodoxy and

Popular Religion (

) and editor with Michael Jacobsen of Human

Rights and Asian Values: Contesting Identities and Cultural Representa-

tions in Asia (

AN INTRODUCTION TO

FENG SHUI

OLE BRUUN