Feng Shui is related to geography, and so in order to study Feng Shui one must first start with geography.
I. Etymology of Geography
Geography was first used by Eratosthenes, the first geographer in the world. Geography is a compound word from two Greek words, geo, or land and graphia, which means describe. Therefore, geography means a description of every natural thing, human knowledge, and society. It is meaningful to see that F. Richthofen prescribed geography as a topographical science. Geography is one of the early developed sciences and is called an ancestor of every study. However, classic geography has some characteristic differences from modern geography. Eratosthenes in Greece, the first geographer, measured the size of the earth for the first time in human history. Ptolemaeos in Rome arranged a map of the world by distinguishing regions which have similar or common characteristics of climate. In topography, the territory of ancient Rome came to be known because of Strabon.
After this, a great philosopher Immanuel Kant said that geography was a science which studies special phenomena. In the 19th century Humboldt and K. Ritter showed up and founded the science of geography. They measured different features according to the location of natural and social phenomena there. Then, they clarified a system of several areas, and organized the whole world by founding out some interaction between them. Afterward, a lot of investigators like Bechel, Ferdinand von Richthofen, and Friedrich Ratzel appeared in Germany. On the other hand, in France, Paul Vidal de la Blache and Emmanuel de Martonne deeply studied about topography and principles. In other European countries and the US, geography became a major lecture in university. In addition, some institutes in a lot of major countries created associations for geography including the Royal Geographical Society of London.
There is also some contribution to geography from the International Geographical Union, survey department, hydrograph department, and institute of topography. Geography can be divided into two categories, a systematic geography which is engaged in normal and theoretical studies and a topography which is engaged in research of individual areas. In addition, the former is departmentalized into physical geography, anthropogeography, and so on. For these studies data like maps, statistical data, and aerial photographs are really influential. Recently, people pioneered the application of geography and make new fields related to exploitation, disasters, land utilization, city planning, and industry locations. Therefore, geography is an environmental science which studies the earth as a human living space. And topography is a study focusing not on the existence of human beings, but on the earth itself.
II. Composition of the Earth
1. Structure of the Earth
Earth, a planet in the universe, has a shape of a ball; its radius is 6,370km. The center of the earth is iron and a lava-like mantle surrounds the core. The exterior is the earth's crust with a thickness of 30km.
The core explodes from the center of the earth from time to time and usually goes up to the crust forming gigantic volcanoes spewing forth lava. The lava continues to flow all over the place. In this process, some lava which has arrived early cools first and other lava keeps on flowing over the cooled lava. All these things make volcanoes larger over time. These are mountains and mountain ranges on the earth where we live. In addition, lava also forms mountains under the sea and there are undersea mountain ranges and a continental shelf which causes every country to argue for resources.
