Between Fengshui and Neighbors: Case Studies of Participant-Led House-Making in Rural East China

Abstract

China's ongoing rural transition has led to dramatic infrastructural improvements in rural areas, yet local culture continues to decline. In rural east China fengshui has traditionally informed local building practice and has been revived since the "Reform and Opening" policy of 1978. It is practiced in those regions that have not yet been subjected to wholesale demolition and renewal, where residents are able to express a distinct connection to their homes. Adhering to fengshui enables an everyday placemaking process of engagement involving both practitioner and villagers. Through ethnographic field studies in rural Zhejiang province, this paper reveals how in a period of rapid rural transition the engagement with and (re)interpretation of fengshui contribute to the preservation of local building culture and community spirit. We argue that the findings indicate a need for much greater resident involvement in rural regeneration projects.

History in Points, Lines and Polygons: Time Depth in the Landscape of Guangdong Province, Southern China

“…This is likely to be related to the Feng Shui tradition of Chinese funeral culture. The Chinese funeral tradition requires a careful process for the selection of ancestral burial sites because the location of graves is related not only to the dignity of the deceased but also to the future prosperity of descendants [60]. Feng Shui constitutes a comprehensive system of theories and tools to assess the geographical configuration of burial grounds and residences alike.…”