Feng shui, a traditional Chinese practice encompassing the arrangement of buildings, objects, and spatial elements to achieve harmony and equilibrium, serves as the focal point of investigation in this chapter. The chapter examines how feng shui shapes spatial politics and security perceptions in rural Chinese communities. Feng shui operates as both a physical and symbolic system, influencing burial site choices and creating spatial hierarchies within villages. The legitimacy of feng shui resources, such as ideal burial locations, is contested among families and mediated by feng shui masters, often leading to disputes over land and burial rights. Feng shui practices induce both security and anxiety as peasants seek to protect their lineage across generations. Overall, feng shui plays a crucial role in how rural Chinese communities understand and negotiate space, security, and lineage continuity.

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Graveyard Politics: Feng Shui and Rural Chinese Cemeteries

  • Tianyang Liu,
  • Zhenjie Yuan

摘要

Feng shui, a traditional Chinese practice encompassing the arrangement of buildings, objects, and spatial elements to achieve harmony and equilibrium, serves as the focal point of investigation in this chapter. The chapter examines how feng shui shapes spatial politics and security perceptions in rural Chinese communities. Feng shui operates as both a physical and symbolic system, influencing burial site choices and creating spatial hierarchies within villages. The legitimacy of feng shui resources, such as ideal burial locations, is contested among families and mediated by feng shui masters, often leading to disputes over land and burial rights. Feng shui practices induce both security and anxiety as peasants seek to protect their lineage across generations. Overall, feng shui plays a crucial role in how rural Chinese communities understand and negotiate space, security, and lineage continuity.