The Principles of Feng Shui

The first thing you will notice if you are wanting to study 'feng shui' , is the sheer volume of publications available. Browse any book shop or 'new age' centre and you will undoubtedly see shelves upon shelves of books 'claiming' to be written by 'masters' and claiming to offer you a 'quick fix' to increase both your wealth and happiness by 'apparently' using the ancient art of Chinese Geometry (feng shui) - hang a wind chime here, a mirror there, add a bowl of water and BINGO! health, wealth and happiness are sure to follow.... Hmmm! Really?! Ever wondered why they never worked, ever wondered why they are rather thin on actual facts and formulas ('feng shui' is a science after all) - well the reason is that when the 'feng shui' badwagon rolled into town, every hippy-dippie and their wife, mother or cousin who had an inclin towards; crystals, new-age or the occult was there waving their flag ang joining in. Hence forth soon you couldn't see the real for the false, the masters for the charlatans, and all confusion broke out. The people you were inviting in to 'read' your homes were largely un-qualified or possessed the mere basics, and so their 'cures' seldom worked. Step forth 'modest' Master Larry Tsang to put things straight. I am not saying that if you are of Asian descent you know more that 'westerners' - not at all, but what I am saying is bring forth a modest man, immensely knowlegable, a man who understands this science inside out, back to front AND upside down, see a man such as this and you KNOW he speaks and writes the truth. There are VERY vew people on this earth who can claim to be really such an authority on 'feng shui' as to actually write a book on the subject. I mean how many people are really capable of writing a chemistry text, or a physics one? very few I suppose. So then why is it SO MANY people think they have a right to offer their thoughts on this ancient Chinese science? As Loa Tse says in the Dao De Ching 'He who does not know speaks, and he who does not speak knows'. The first thing you will notice when you open Master Sang's book, is that there are no colour photos, no windchimes, no pictures of old Chinese people practicing 'Tai Chi Chuan' nor any smiling couples holding babies. 'Feng shui' is a SCIENCE and so this looks like what it should, a 'science' text book. Besides that difference you will also note that this book contains information, not tall stories and myths. It contains formulas, calculations, charts, tables and CLEAR, succint explanations that will empower you to be able to read your own home, and furthermoor, UNDERSTAND it, it's problems and most importantly it's REMEDIES. This book is a full-on, no holes barred 'feng shui' experience and I admit that if you aren't used to reading very 'academic' texts you WILL need to go back through it, and through it and through it before the penny drops, but once it has dropped, you will begin to see for YOURSELF, how all the things fit together, and you will begi

I was very intimidated by the 'compass school' of feng shui (I had listened to too many of my new age friends who were looking for "quick" feng shui cures - ala Black Hat Sect philosophy.) but I didn't feel the 'bagua type' feng shui really worked for me. It seemed to be missing something. Finally, I picked up Master Sang's book and voila! I understood the basics of the 'compass school' feng shui!!!! This book spells it out in an easy to read manner - I can't believe how much it helped me in my feng shui studies! It is a great introduction to the art of traditional Chinese feng shui. I would recommend this book to every person interested in feng shui - it's clear, it's concise and best of all - it works!

If you want to study Feng Shui seriously, this book should become your "bible". Master Sang gives a precise and clear introduction to the 6 fundamental theories in Feng Shui: The Yin/Yang Principle, the Theory of the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, the East/West System, the Xuan Kong System (Flying Stars) and the effects of the Environment.

No commercialized "hang a mirror, change your lifre" quick fixes with no basis, like most Feng Shui books out there. Sang gives you the background and plenty of information on enough principles for the reader to go beyond interior design with Feng Shui. Before making changes, it is important to understand these principles. A very empowering book. Read it, and THEN hang that mirror, if you think it is the best remedy (it may do harm rather than good). Very clearly written, which is a relief from many such books.

A previous review is mistaken, as half the book is dedicated to flying star (xuan kong) feng shui. This book was the first book written on traditional Feng Shui in the US back in 1995. Before the Principles of Feng Shui book, nobody had written about flying stars, reductive cycles, or the interpretation of the numbers. It is the text book at the American Feng Shui Institute.