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'Fengshui' stumbles along as debate continues
Superstitious or not, the recent launching of a fengshui training program -- the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland - was a newsmaker.
The training program, at the co-sponsorship of the China Architectural Culture Center under the Ministry of Construction and the elite Nanjing University based in eastern Jiangsu Province, aims to teach basics about traditional Chinese architecture and the ancient practice of fengshui. Fengshui, which translates as "wind and water", is a centuries-old Chinese discipline of geography, architecture, ethics and prophecy based on the Daoist principle that the earth, sky and homo sapiens are part of one whole. As fengshui makes a comeback in China, people, particularly the upwardly mobile, go to fengshui experts for everything from how to decorate homes to where to rent office space. Amid widespread media reports about the event, however, Nanjing University denied its involvement in the training program over the weekend, the Beijing News reported Monday. "We're not involved whatsoever in the 'fengshui' courses," a staff at the president's office was quoted as saying. "Those reports are all baseless and are sheer fabrications." Without giving her name, she said the deal was reached between China Architectural Culture Center and the university's Book of Changes Research Institute. "The institute does not represent Nanjing University and their pact does not bear the university's official seal," she noted. Professor Li Shuyou, head of the institute, declined to comment. On September 5, the Nanjing-based "Jinling Evening News" carried a special report entitled "Nanjing University professor refutes bias against 'fengshui masters'", which was based on an exclusive interview of Li, a professor of philosophy. The "Yangzi Evening News", another leading local newspaper, published a critical editorial the very next day. "Fengshui has been denounced ever since new China was founded. Does the university mean to promote science or superstition?" it asked. Sources with the Beijing-based China Architectural Culture Center, nevertheless, said the program will continue despite Nanjing University's public disavowal. "The university board is probably under pressure because fengshui is a sensitive topic anyway," said one university source on condition of anonymity. Xu Shaoshan, a researcher with the center, said their two registration offices in Beijing and Nanjing had received more than1,000 phone queries by last Friday, mainly from realtors, self-acclaimed fengshui tellers and people who are merely interested. The registered trainees, which have topped 20 so far, will pay 5,800 yuan (about 720 US dollars) each to attend courses that are to be given by renowned architects, including two academicians.
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