The perfect living location is surrounding by hills and facing up to waters.

[studentyoung]

山环水抱理想家居地

The perfect living location is surrounding by hills and facing up to waters.

gzdaily.dayoo.com 2006年05月26日来源：广州日报

Originated from Gzdaily on May, 26, 2006-6-3

作者：钟 葵

Writer: Zhong Kui

http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2006-05/26/content_56094.htm

Translated by studentyoung (The information in this article is for reference only.)

开篇语:人类生存离不开自然环境，在自然环境中，对人类影响最大的莫过于居住的环境。

(Introductory words: Human beings’ existence can’t live without the natural environment, and in the natural environment, it is the living environment influences human beings the most.)

随着全球城市化进程的加快，如何营造和谐人居环境已逐渐成为世界共同关注的问题。

Since the pace of urbanization in the world is putting forward, how to create a harmony living environment has been getting the worldwide concern gradually.

因为和谐人居文化所强调的“以人为本”、“人与自然融为一体”等理念与中国古代堪舆学观点不谋而合，使堪舆学这一古老的学问重新引起世人的重视，甚至走上大学讲堂。

Because the culture of harmony living environment stresses on the ideas like “people oriented” and “the integrity of nature and man” which are quite close to the ideas in Chinese ancient Kanyu study, Kanyu study, such an ago-old knowledge, attracts people’s attention again and even go into the classroom in university.

何为堪舆？汉代学者许慎解释道：“堪，天道也；舆，地道也。”堪舆学是中国古代先哲研究天文地理和人类休养生息关系的学问。堪舆学并不是哪一个人的创造，它是古代先哲集体智慧的结晶。堪舆学的突出特点在于：它不仅强调人要和大自然融为一体，还要善于吸收大自然的力量，使人的潜能得到充分的发挥，从而达到“旺丁旺财”的目的。堪舆学虽有神秘和迷信的成分，但其中也有许多科学的内容，值得我们去分析探索和借鉴。

What is Kanyu? The scholar in Han Dynaty, Xushen explained, “Kan is the law of the heavens, while Yu is the law of the earth. ” Kanyu study is the knowledge that the ancient Chinese thinkers considered the relationship among astronomy, geography and human’s behaviors in every aspect of life. The outstanding feature in Kanyu study is that it is not only stresses the integrity of nature and man, but also on how to take the advantage of the natural surroundings to bring into the human beings’ full play, so to achieve the goal of “benefiting man and accumulating wealth”. Though there are some elements of mysticism and superstition in Kanyu study, so many scientific contents in it, which are worth studying, analyzing and utilizing.

我国的社会经济发展到今天，在衣、食、住、行当中，“住”的好坏已成为百姓最关注的问题。每个人都想有一个住得舒适、住得“人财两旺”的家。有鉴于此，本报开辟《和谐人居》专栏，希望通过探讨建筑与自然之间、建筑与人之间的“和谐之道”，帮助读者选择和营造适宜居住的理想家园。

As China’s society and economy has developed so far, the quality of housing has become the most concern among common people within clothing, food, housing and traffic, the four basic living needs. Everyone wants a house that is comfortable and “benefiting both man and wealth”. Therefore, we open the column “Human Beings’ Harmony Living Environment” on our newspaper. We hope that we might help our readers to select and create a bed of flowers by discussing “the law of harmony ” among architecture, nature, and human beings.

《和谐人居》专栏将陆续刊登《选择楼房10个基本原则》、《室内布局20诀》、《商业堪舆实例》等文章，敬请读者留意。

The column “Human Beings’ Harmony Living Environment ” will publish in succession the articles, “the 10 basic principles on selecting houses ”, “the 20 keys to inner layout” and “ the Kanyu study in commercial practice ”. Thanks for your attention in advance.

什么是好的住宅环境？什么样的楼房是自己一家人的最佳选择？这是大家都非常关心的问题。

What is good housing environment? What kind of is the perfect choice for your families? They are the very questions people are concerned about.

在选择人居环境方面，古代堪舆学已总结出一套行之有效的经验，现在笔者把它整理成挑选楼房的十个基本原则，以供读者参考。

While selecting housing environment, the ancient Kanyu scholar summed up a set of effective experience. Now, I would like to clear it up as “the 10 basic principles on selecting houses”, just for readers’ reference.

第一， 要选择山环水抱，“藏风聚气”的楼宇。

First, choose those buildings surrounding by hills and facing up to waters, while “storing winds and accumulating vitality ”.

堪舆学认为，大自然中对人类最有益的“生气”忌风喜水，这种生气“乘风则散，界水则止”，要留住它就要选择“藏风聚气”的地方。而在自然山水的各种形态当中，山环水抱之地就是“藏风聚气”的理想格局。古代中国，大至京都王城，中至州县邑府、小至乡村聚落，基本上都是按照山环水抱的格局选址兴建的。

In Kanyu study, the most favorable thing in nature, “vitality”, avoids wind and is pleased with water. This kind of vitality “scatters in winds and stops in front of waters”, so in order to keep it, people must select a place of “storing winds and accumulating vitality ”. In ancient China, from big as capitals and metropolis, to medium-sized as common cities and counties, to small as countries and villages, were all basically built according to the layout of surrounding by mountains and facing up to waters.

以广州为例，广州北倚白云山，面临珠三角平原，东江、西江、北江三江汇聚，珠江蜿蜒穿城而过，山川秀丽，格局宏伟，是典型的“藏风聚气”福地。

Take Guangzhou as an example. Guangzhou is against White Cloud Hill in the north, facing up to Pearl Delta where the East River, the West River and the North River are all converging, with the Pearl River wandering through The local landscape is neat and the layout is grand, so it is the typical Happy Land of “storing winds and accumulating vitality ”.

我国不少历史名城都经过了屡次变迁，今天的西安、北京城址已不是汉代和元代时的位置，只有广州城两千多年不变。在古代中国南方，不少城市的政治、经济地位都曾在广州之上，但现在都被广州超越。广州能两千多年不衰，其地理上的优势是原因之一。

In China, many historic cities have gone through vicissitude again and again. The locations of Xian and Beijing are not they used to be in Han Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. In ancient south China, quite a few cities surpassed Guangzhou in politics and economy, but now have been surpassed by Guangzhou. Its geographical superiority is one of the reasons that Guangzhou can keep its good momentum for more than 2000 years.

堪舆学有“山主贵，水主富”的观点。广州的“来龙”从南岳至大庾岭，从大庾岭至白云山，浩浩荡荡“奔腾”千余里，形势雄伟；广州既在“三江总汇”的地方，又与海洋相连，能吸纳“大海之气”。在以“河流经济”为特征的古代，广州的地理位置得天独厚；在人类社会已步入“海洋经济”时代的今天，广州的地理位置同样也是得天独厚。所以不论在古代还是现代，广州作为南方政治、经济中心的地位都不变。

In Kanyu study, “Mounts indicate honor, while waters indicate wealth.” Guangzhou’s geography shows a “dragon-coming” momentum, i.e. its hill ranges are from Nanyue to Dageng then to White Cloud Hill and the hilly area nearby are quite vast. Guangzhou locates at the convergence of three rivers, meanwhile it is still quite near the sea, so it can absorb “the power of the sea”. In ancient time when the was a “watercourse economy “ style (i.e. transportation in those days half relied on watercourse), Guangzhou’s location was advantaged; even now, the society has stepped into “sea economy”, Guangzhou’s location is advantaged as it used to be. So in all ages, Guangzhou hasn’t changed its status as the political and economical center in Lingnan area.

历史上的名人之宅都选在山环水抱的“藏风聚气”之地，如百里奚、郑玄、陶潜、谢玄、嵇康等人的住宅都是古人选址之佳例。

In Chinese history, a lot of famous persons’ houses were at a location of surrounding by mountains and facing up to waters, where could be storing winds and accumulating vitality. Such as Bali Xi (a famous prime minister in Qin Dynasty), Zheng Xuan (a famous Confusion in Han Dynasty)，Tao Qian (a famous poet in Jin Dynasty), Xie Xuan (a famous general in Jin Dynasty), Ji Kang (a famous thinker, literature and musician in Three Kingdoms period), all their houses are the perfect examples of the ancients’ selecting housing location.

堪舆家认为，中国古代最好的住宅有两处。一为山东曲阜孔子故宅，地居泰山之下，周围洙泗二水交流，乃是平原得水之“贵格”，故其子孙福祚绵远，两千多年不绝。一为江西龙虎山张道陵旧宅，该宅临碧溪，倚青山，有龙盘虎踞之势，张道陵在此地居住修炼，其子孙承袭先辈名号63代，时间长达1900年。

Kanyu scholars think that two places are considered as the best housing locations. One is Home of Confucius in Qufu city in Shandong Province, where is under Mount Tai with Zhu River and Si River converging nearby, which is called as the “honorable pattern” of plain connecting water. Therefore, Confucius’s descendants have been benefited for over two thousands year. Another is Home of Zhang Daoling (a famous Taoist in Han Dynasty, his another famous name is Zhang Tianshi 张天师) at Dragon Tiger Mountain in Jiangxi Province, where is facing up to a clear brook and again mountains, with a pattern of dragon winding and tiger crouching. Zhang Daoling lived and studied Taoist theories there, and his descendants has gone through 63 generations for 1900 years.

但在现代都市，寻找真山真水的山环水抱的居住环境几乎是不可能的。在这种情况下，可以当楼宇周围的建筑物是山，马路、高架路是水。如果楼房后有较高大厦作“靠山”，左右有大厦环抱挡风，前有马路环绕而过，也可视之为“山环水抱”的格局。这种处在“藏风聚气”格局中的楼房是首要的选择。

However, in modern cities, it is almost impossible to find a location of surrounding by mountains and facing up to waters. In this situation, we can take surrounding buildings as mountains and streets and overhead road as waters. If your house is against some higher buildings as “backer”, and surrounded by them, with streets circled around, you might take it as the pattern of “surrounding by mountains and facing up to waters” Buildings in this kind of pattern, which can be “storing winds and accumulating vitality ”, are the best choice.

　　因为“气乘风则散”，所以风之害为选楼大忌。中医学里，风被列为“风、寒、暑、湿、燥、火”六气之首，“六气”太过不及或不应时则变成致病邪气，对人体危害甚大。因此,选楼的时候，对风要给予足够的重视。凡是附近左右无其他高楼挡风的“孤峰独耸”楼和过分低矮及处于大厦低层的住房，不是风速太大就是空气不流通，应避免选择。

Because “the vitality will scatter in the wind”, so the harm of wind becomes the taboo in selecting houses. In TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) theories, “wind” is ranked the first of the six Qis (i.e. six basic pathogenetic elements, i.e. “wind, coldness, heat, humidity, dryness and fire (internal inflammation)”. Six Qis will do harm to people no matter they are too much or not enough. Therefore, we must pay enough attention to wind while selecting houses. If the building is standing alone too high in a place without any other tall buildings surrounded or too low, it is either too windy or too stuffy, which should be avoided.