China Travel 2.0

Just found this interesting post from my facebook feed. I really need this kind of staff in English for my western readers how need to know more Chinese culture. actually I didnt read it carefully. at least, it can give you some sense of Chinese Fengshui（风水）concept.
The following is an excerpt from Master Simon Wong’s 2010 Feng Shui book(check the original link here).

Below we have listed the essential things that you should do to ensure good fortune and prosperity in the coming year. Most western people will not believe in these Chinese Customs, so this section will mainly be of interest to Chinese people.

However Master Wong advises that they are based on Chinese Astrology and therefore they do work. They work by using the different types radiation emitted by each planet in the solar system.

Although invisible to the naked eye scientists have been able to produce spectacular multicoloured pictures of this ultraviolet radiation.

Various western superstitions work in the same way. For instance hanging a horse shoe above your door will bring good luck or finding a four leaved clover gives good luck.

It is important to realise the difference between science and psychology. Feng Shui is purely scientific, however a positive mind can also increase the good effects of Feng Shui. Even if people live in a place with good Feng Shui, if they are always thinking negative thoughts they will still cause themselves problems.

Changing the Year God
The Year God needs to be changed on Sunday 7th Feb 2010 (24th December on the Chinese calendar). The suitable times for this are:

• between 11pm (6th Feb) – 3am (7th Feb 2010)
• 5am – 7am
• 11am – 1pm
• 3pm – 5pm

To do this you need the Year God talisman. Write your name and those of your loved ones on the bottom of the talisman to ensure protection for the coming year. However, do not worry too much if you are unable to do this on the correct day. You may use the talisman at the back of the book or contact us to request that your name is added to our Year God shrine.

In Chinese Astrology, Tiger people coincide with the Year God (Jupiter) this year. This means that they they get the full effect of the negative influence of Jupiter and may have more trouble than usual this year. This is entirely scientific, based on the planetary radiation in relation to your own. It is a Chinese custom to treat the Year God like a King. Therefore if you try to sit on the King’s throne, you can expect trouble!

Also against the Year God in 2010 are Monkey people, and to a lesser degree, Pig and Snake people.

In Master Wong’s experience, particularly when combined with other negative astrological influences, it can be fatal. Statistically more people suffer from health problems, have accidents, court cases and die when they are against the Year God.

Anyone against the Year God should go to their nearest temple and put their name on the Year God shrine. This is the traditional Chinese way of reducing the negative influence of the planet Jupiter and at the same time offering yourself greater spiritual protection. As mentioned, those directly against the Year God will also require a talisman to carry with them.

If you cannot get to a temple, Master Wong can empower a Taoist talisman to reduce the negative effects of the Year God. If your local temple doesn’t have a shrine for the Year God, send your name and a donation to our temple, Jen Wai Tong. We would be able to help you because we have the Year God shrine. When doing this a donation is offered to pay your respects to the Buddha for giving you protection.

Send your request to: Jen Wai Tong at Suite 7, 87 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3HY, UK enclosing a stamped addressed envelope and donation (by obligation).

Even when you are on the Year God shrine and have a talisman, don’t expect that you will have no problems. You should try not to rush whenever possible, and not take any unnecessary risks. However it is worth remembering that without this protection those problems would have been a lot worse. For example it might mean the difference between being knocked over by a bus and being knocked over by a bicycle!

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Thank the Kitchen God
A suitable time to thank the Kitchen God is 11th Feb 2010 (28th December according to the Chinese calendar).

The best times to do this will be between:

• 3am – 5am
• 7am – 11am
• 3pm – 7pm

There is a legend that the Kitchen God is from the Jade Emperor. He comes down to peoples houses and checks on what things they are doing. It is his job subsequently to report back to the Jade Emperor when their punishment or reward will be decided. If they do good things, they will receive a reward, if they do bad things, they will be punished.

These are the offerings for the Kitchen God :
a) 3 amber incense sticks
b) 2 red candles
c) 3 small cups of chinese tea
d) 3 small cups of rice wine
e) 1 pair of chopsticks
f) 8 fruits (Eg. 8 oranges, 8 apples, 4 apples or 4 pears etc)
g) 8 sweets
h) vegetarian dish of fried vegetables
i) spiritual money paper
j) 8 mochi (glutinous rice cakes), plain or with sweet fillings. These are offered to the Kitchen God so that when he tastes the sweet cake, he will say some sweet things about the family to the Jade Emperor. (This sounds a little bit like a bribe!)

This is the order for the ceremony of making offerings to the Kitchen God:

a) set up a small shrine for the Kitchen God in the kitchen. Make sure that:

• it is not near any doors or windows (so the chi will not escape)
• it is not under any pillars
• it is not facing the door (the chi will be too strong)
• it is not facing the toilet
• it is not facing anything with sharp angles or corners
• it is not positioned under the stairs
• it is not positioned with the stairs behind it.

By avoiding these 7 problems you will ensure that the shrine is much more effective. These are Feng Shui tips that will help in setting up any type of shrine.

b) put the offerings in front of the small shrine
c) light the 2 red candles
d) light the amber incense and put them in the incense holder
e) visualise the offerings multiplying to fill up the whole sky
f) place your hands palms together and make a number of wishes eg. for the business to be successful, good relationships, good health, no accidents whatsoever etc.
g) burn the money paper. That is the end of the ceremony.

Clean and decorate the house
The 11th February 2010 is the best time to clean and decorate your house (29th December on the Chinese calendar). The best time to start is between:

• 3am – 5am
• 7am – 11am
• 3pm – 7pm

Need more info about who is Master Wong? goto this page.

Tags: 2010, chinese culture, fengshui, year of the tiger