Fung shui literally means "wind water" when translated into English. This poetic name shows the study's reverence for the power of the natural world. Fung shui is the study how people can live safely and happily in harmony with their surroundings. It is a philosophical notion which has given birth to a set of ideas that many people now live by. The hope is that by arranging people's lives properly, casualties and damage can be decreased. In addition, it helps people live in places where they can find food and water easily. Fung shui deepens understanding of nature and focuses on avoiding natural disasters such as rainstorms, snowstorms, strong winds and floods.
Since the settlement of humankind, early settlers lived according to the ideas of feng shui. Without modern technology to make life easier, it was crucial to position oneself properly within nature. Evidence of that fact is the Eastern and Western 'Goin-dol', or Dolman. Dolmen lie scattered across Eastern Europe, northeastern China and Korea. They are widely distributed in Hanam district, where more than 20,000 can be found. Dolmen, in the theory of feng shui, need to be located in a favorable site, usually behind a mountain with a river in front. This means our ancestors acclimated themselves well to nature and lived safely and blissfully. In addition, after the era of Three States, a lot of remains were found in Korea as proof of the use of fung shui.
Especially during the Goryeo dynasty, politicians were inspired by fung shui to move the capital to Gae-kyong. During the Joseon dynasty, the state examinations required thorough study of fung shui. Furthermore, the office and institution educated experts of fung shui. A governmental office in charge of astronomy, disaster, the calendar, was installed and managed by politicians. Joseon also transferred the capital city according to fung shui. In addition, in the same manner of Goryeo dynasty, it installed Seowoon-kwan and trained experts of fung shui to put them practical use of the important business of country. Then, many scholars and experts of fung shui held significant influence in Korea during that period. They had control of the improvement of fung shui and of Korea.
Fung shui has been demonized in many circles, as certain sects of the practice have written irresponsible books. Non-scientific approaches, the theory of predisposition of nature based on the Chinese fortune telling and deceit of astrologists have distorted how people view Korean fung shui and caused a lot of confusion. Particularly, as a result of ignoring cosmic study of astronomy and geography, comprehension of the vast theory of fung shui is incomplete. In addition, some astrologists who weren't knowledgeable about fung shui wrote about it in the manner of fortune telling. Despite being unhelpful, their books are some of the most widely read on the subject.
Therefore, this writer has studied feng shui based on astronomy and geography in earnest for decades. I have made it my mission to teach and train younger students. According to in-depth study, is has been concluded that fung shui is a natural science for people to pursue the three following things: First, reproduction - finding a good and propitious site for the house in which to reproduce one's offspring. Second, stabilization of livelihood - finding a good and propitious site for house to live safely and happily. Third, eternal life and immortality - finding a good and propitious site to be buried and live eternally. The end-all purposes of a sincere pursuit of study can be summarized in three things above. Therefore, this series can be categorized into four chapters.
