by Master Francis Leyau

There are numerous schools of Feng Shui which deal only with landscapes, directions and locations.

The San Yuan School happens to be the only school which includes the time dimension when assessing Feng Shui. This adds a three-dimensional effect and gives it depth thus making the school superior to others. The San Yuan School’s insistence on the time factor means that it places great importance on the changing forces of different periods, thereby incorporating the astrological aspects into it which allows a more accurate and minute prediction of the Feng Shui effects. Good times and bad times do not last forever but change as time goes by…

To gain an insight into the different schools of Feng Shui and the differences between the two major schools of Feng Shui known as the San Yuan (Xuan Kong) and the San He (Ba Zhai); please refer to the comparison chart below:

San Yuan (Xuan Kong)	San He (Ba Zhai)
Feng Shui arrangement is based on the time dimension of 20 years (the length of 1 Yuan Period).	Feng Shui arrangement is based on the East and West group of the inhabitants.
Direction of the building is obtained from the measurement of the main door.	Direction of the building is measured from the centre of the house.
The house must firstly be in harmony with the universal and earth Qi of the reigning Period prior to the matching of the inhabitant’s Qi (obtained using the date of birth) to the house.	Under this school the house must suit the inhabitants Qi (also based on his date of birth) but taking no account of the time cycle.
The chart of the house is divided into nine equal squares as shown below.	The chart of the house is divided into eight sections as follows.
The house orientation is adjusted to account for the new and upcoming reigning Periods.	The good and bad directions for any chosen individual are the same throughout his life thus the house matches the occupant’s direction which is considered good permanently.
Good and bad directions change with time.	Good and bad directions for each group (East and West) are fixed permanently.
The reading of the house can fall into any of the 24 sectors of 15o each. When sleeping, the leg’s direction is considered as the facing direction.	The readings only fall into 8 sectors (cardinal direction) of 45o each. When sleeping, the head is considered as the facing direction.

(Article kind courtesy of Master Francis Leyau, Central Academy of Feng Shui)