Feng shui - interesting facts

• Feng shui is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi.
• Feng Shui traces its roots to China over six thousand years ago.
• The term Feng shui means "Wind, Water".
• Feng Shui uses five Elements - Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth, and Water - to balance our environment.
• Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings in an auspicious manner.
• There are two types of energy, one being the positive energy (Qi) and another one being the negative energy (Sha Qi). 
• Qi is often compared to Western notions of energeia or élan vital (vitalism), as well as the yogic notion of prana, meaning vital life or energy, and pranayama, meaning control of breath or energy.
• Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), one of the founding fathers of Jesuit China missions, may have been the first European to write about feng shui practices.
• Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s.
• Today, feng shui is practiced not only by the Chinese, but also by Westerners.
• When feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them.
• The Roman Catholic Church criticized feng shui along with other New Age practices; calling it "an occult Chinese method".
• Today, architects study feng shui as an ancient and uniquely Asian architectural tradition.