The places where we spend our lives are part of our existence. Where we are is part of what determines who we are. Our locations have a profound influence on us. We, in turn, transform them. Every time we find a home, move to a new office, or choose a place to sit in a crowded room, we make a decision and have to live with its consequences. Our location influences what happens to us at any moment, just as surely as standing under a tree in a thunderstorm increases the chances of our being struck by lightning.
Protection at the back, water in front
From caves in the mountains to great capitals of commerce, humanity has selected sites that offered physical protection to the rear and access to waterways in the front. Hong Kong is poised between the South China Sea and the Central Mountains of China, New York between the Chilterns and the River Thames. All these cities are great contemporary centers of communication and finance.
From what we know of the earliest human habitation, there is much in the experience of cave dwellers that remains true today. Living and sleeping in the open is hazardous and offers no protection against the elements. Camping under trees or living in a hole in the ground offers little shelter and can be fatal in storms. A cave offers more protection, and acts like a shell or backbone, preventing access from the rear. We remain vulnerable at the front, however, but can erect a barrier in front of our living area. To have a secure outdoor area for communal activities would also be important and we need access to drinking water if we are to remain alive. Either we need to live by a stream or a river or the area must be suitable for digging wells. Living near a river has another advantage: it acts as an added line of defence, just as medieval moats were used to defend castles.
We can see the concept of "wind" and "water" emerging from this description of the fundamental needs of a good location. The water is in front. But where is the wind? It stirs the air between the water and the cave entrance. The movement of the river freshens the air and there is a cleanness and vigour in the wind as it brushes the hillsides or mountain slopes.
From caves in the mountains to great capitals of commerce, humanity has selected sites that offered physical protection to the rear and access to waterways in the front. Hong Kong is poised between the South China Sea and the Central Mountains of China, New York between the Chilterns and the River Thames. All these cities are great contemporary centers of communication and finance.
From what we know of the earliest human habitation, there is much in the experience of cave dwellers that remains true today. Living and sleeping in the open is hazardous and offers no protection against the elements. Camping under trees or living in a hole in the ground offers little shelter and can be fatal in storms. A cave offers more protection, and acts like a shell or backbone, preventing access from the rear. We remain vulnerable at the front, however, but can erect a barrier in front of our living area. To have a secure outdoor area for communal activities would also be important and we need access to drinking water if we are to remain alive. Either we need to live by a stream or a river or the area must be suitable for digging wells. Living near a river has another advantage: it acts as an added line of defence, just as medieval moats were used to defend castles.
We can see the concept of "wind" and "water" emerging from this description of the fundamental needs of a good location. The water is in front. But where is the wind? It stirs the air between the water and the cave entrance. The movement of the river freshens the air and there is a cleanness and vigour in the wind as it brushes the hillsides or mountain slopes.Today, of course, very few people dwell in caves or are camped by the sides of rivers, But the fundamental experience of people trying to find good locations for human habitation remain in our collective memory. They have influenced the location of cities and the sites of ancestral homes. They are used to this day by Feng Shui practitioners when advising people on houses and offices even in metropolitan cities.
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