FengshuiisanancientChinesesystemofaestheticsbelievedtoutilizetheLawsofbothheaven(astronomy)andEarth(geography)tohelponeimprovelifebyreceivingpositiveQi.TheoriginaldesignationforthedisciplineisKanYu.Thewordsfengshuiliterallytranslateas"wind-water"inEnglish.ThisisaculturalshorthandtakenfromthefollowingpassageoftheZhangshu(BookofBurial)byGuoPuoftheJinDynasty.Qiridesthewindandscatters,butisretainedwhenencounteringwater.

　　TraditionalFengShuipracticealwaysrequiresanextremelyaccurateChinesecompass,orLuoPan,inordertodeterminethedirectionsinfindinganyauspicioussectorinadesiredlocation.[citationneeded]TraditionalFengShuialsorequiresthecalculationofalocations'lifeforceenergyor"QiLevel",aswellasthenumericalsignificanceofapersonincludingtheirbirth-date,birth-hour,animalsign,andpersonalGuanumber.Inadditiontothis,theindividual'sdestinyiscalculatedusingBaZiorChineseStarAstrology,wheregoodluckstarsandbadluckstarsarebased,andaFengShuiauditisconcluded.

　　ManywesternenthusiastshaveincorrectlyinterpretedFengShuiasaformofgeomancythatisonlybasedonfurniturearrangingandwidedisplayofBuddhistamulets---apracticethatisheavilydiscouragedandresentedbyprofessionalAsianFengShuimasters.