Qi, whose "essence" is energy, exists in all things as a connection between matter and spirit: this function of connection and balance causes powerful energetic influences which, if disturbed, can have negative effects; such influences can be acted upon both in destructive terms and through rebalancing practices.

Between earth and heaven

Closely connected to this concept is the distinctly Chinese idea of the role of humanity, whose task is to position itself as a regulatory force between nature (earth) and the divine (heaven). Just as acupuncture acts on the bodily meridians through which Qi flows, so too, by analogy, currents and points of energy flow through the body of the earth, active in every environment that takes shape on the land.

These currents, known as "dragons", correspond to particular natural morphological features, can be of the most varied nature, and influence the relationship between the environment and buildings or agriculture: there are therefore "favourable", "aggressive", "dormant", "sick" dragons and so on. The mountain ranges between China and Tibet, for example, have always been regarded as "dangerous dragons" which, coming from Tibet, had to be kept in check.

Qi and feng shui

In this sense, the Great Wall too is a typical work of feng shui, designed to repel possible invasions and to protect against the energies coming from the North, a direction that is difficult to control. The deep influence of these beliefs in Chinese culture is also attested by the local tradition of selling to Westerners plots of land "contaminated" by inauspicious feng shui, and therefore not propitious for human settlement. The environment must therefore always be carefully analysed so that new settlements do not cause imbalances that would rebound against their inhabitants.

Architecture, in the sense of a building — that is, a volume in space — in turn expresses its own autonomous Qi (linked to its form), which may be unfavourable or propitious to the place and its residents.

by Mauro Bertamè