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53-474: Ap Lei Chau or Aberdeen Island is an island of Hong Kong, located off Hong Kong Island next to Aberdeen Harbour and Aberdeen Channel . It has an area of 1.30 square kilometres (0.50 sq mi) after land reclamation. Administratively it is part of the Southern District . Ap Lei Chau is one of the most densely populated islands on earth , as well as the most densely populated island with

106-426: A lacquered , two-sided board with astronomical sightlines. The earliest examples of liuren astrolabes have been unearthed from tombs that date between 278 BC and 209 BC. Along with divination for Da Liu Ren the boards were commonly used to chart the motion of Taiyi (Pole star) through the nine palaces. The markings on a liuren/shi and the first magnetic compasses are virtually identical. The magnetic compass

159-442: A compass) Others Traditional feng shui was a system designed to aid rural villages from the effects of weather and natural disaster. As a set of consistent rules, feng shui can facilitate collective consensus on development without the need of centralized leadership. Understanding that one's actions could damage the feng shui and fortunes of the entire village, individuals were incentivized to know these rules and carefully manage

212-528: A large plaza. It stands on a north–south axis with another building that apparently housed communal activities. Regional communities may have used the complex. A grave at Puyang (around 4000 BC) that contains mosaics— a Chinese star map of the Dragon and Tiger asterisms and Beidou ( the Big Dipper, Ladle or Bushel )— is oriented along a north–south axis. The presence of both round and square shapes in

265-442: A paradigmatic example of pseudoscience. It exhibits a number of classic pseudoscientific aspects, such as making claims about the functioning of the world that are not amenable to testing with the scientific method . The Yangshao and Hongshan cultures provide the earliest known evidence for the use of feng shui. Until the invention of the magnetic compass , feng shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and

318-657: A place with ideal qi . It also considers the time of important events such as the birth of the resident and the building of the structure. The Compass branch is a collection of more recent feng shui techniques based on the Eight Directions, each of which is said to have unique qi. It uses the Luopan , a disc marked with formulas in concentric rings around a magnetic compass. The Compass Branch includes techniques such as Flying Star and Eight Mansions . More recent forms of feng shui simplify principles that come from

371-520: A political institution and instead became an increasingly private affair. Many feng shui experts and diviners sold their services to the public market, allowing feng shui to quickly grow in popularity. During the Late Qing dynasty , feng shui became immensely popular. Widespread destitution and increasing government despotism led to feng shui becoming more widely practiced in rural areas. The Qing dynasty attempted to crack down on heterodoxy following

424-553: A population of over 10,000. In the 2000s on their website the Guinness World Records called it the world's most densely populated island. Before the First Opium War , Ap Lei Chau was a small fishing village, with its harbour forming an excellent natural typhoon shelter . The island appears on a Ming-era map with its primary settlement labelled "Fragrant Harbour Village". This is the probable origin of

477-523: A power station on Ap Lei Chau to provide electricity for the whole of Hong Kong Island. In 1980 and 1994, a bridge was constructed to connect the island to the Hong Kong Island, and this created momentum for rapid economic development. Public housing estates were built to accommodate people, including some who had suffered in a fire in the Aberdeen typhoon shelter . In 1989, the generators of

530-439: A record price of HK$ 16.86 billion (US$ 2.17 billion) to a venture between KWG Property and Logan Property Holdings . List of islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong Hong Kong Island is historically the political and commercial centre of Hong Kong. It was the site of the initial settlement of Victoria City , where the financial district of Central is now located. Most of the other islands are commonly referred to as

583-655: Is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in Ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term feng shui means, literally, "wind-water" (i.e., fluid). From ancient times, landscapes and bodies of water were thought to direct the flow of the universal Qi – "cosmic current" or energy – through places and structures. More broadly, feng shui includes astronomical , astrological , architectural , cosmological , geographical , and topographical dimensions. Historically, as well as in many parts of

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636-405: Is an emphasis on continual compromise and balance in order to maintain harmony. Feng shui has been observed to play an important role in the mediation of rural conflict. Through its amoral explanation of differential fortunes, feng shui provides a universal set of cosmic rules communities seek to abide by. This can promote community unity while also creating numerous points of polarization. Through

689-423: Is an industrial estate on the southern tip of the island. The population of Ap Lei Chau is 79,727. The sum of the population in constituency areas D02 to D07 and its area is 1.30 square kilometres (0.50 square miles), giving it a population density of 61,328 inhabitants per square kilometre (158,840/sq mi) and making it the fourth most densely populated island in the world . Ap Lei Chau also lends its name to

742-556: Is currently the fourth most densely populated island in the world, public space is highly insufficient. In 2016, the Hong Kong Government reallocated the waterfront land of the former Hong Kong Driving School on Lee Nam Road for building luxury apartments, ignoring the suggestion of the locals and intensified the problem of insufficient land use. In February 2017, it was reported that the land, measuring 11,761 square metres (126,590 sq ft), had been sold by tender for

795-404: Is inherently a form of ancestor worship . Popular in farming communities for centuries, it was built on the idea that the ghosts of ancestors and other independent, intangible forces, both personal and impersonal, affected the material world, and that these forces needed to be placated through rites and suitable burial places. For a fee, a Feng shui practitioner would identify suitable locations for

848-851: Is the oldest branch of feng shui. Qing Wuzi in the Han dynasty describes it in the Book of the Tomb and Guo Pu of the Jin dynasty follows up with a more complete description in The Book of Burial . The Form branch was originally concerned with the location and orientation of tombs ( Yin House feng shui ), which was of great importance. The branch then progressed to the consideration of homes and other buildings ( Yang House feng shui ). The "form" in Form branch refers to

901-401: Is to balance yin and yang in the body, the goal of feng shui has been described as aligning a city, site, building, or object with yin-yang force fields. Eight diagrams known as bagua loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the I Ching . The Lo (River) Chart was developed first, and is sometimes associated with Later Heaven arrangement of the bagua . This and

954-465: Is to take advantage of vital qi by appropriate siting of graves and structures. Polarity is expressed in feng shui as yin and yang theory. That is, it is of two parts: one creating an exertion and one receiving the exertion. The development of this theory and its corollary, five phase theory (five element theory) , have also been linked with astronomical observations of sunspot . The Five Elements or Forces ( wu xing ) – which, according to

1007-596: The Outlying Islands . The Kowloon Peninsula , across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island is another notable commercial centre in Hong Kong. In terms of the districts of Hong Kong , while one of the 18 districts is called the Islands District , many islands of Hong Kong are actually not part of that district, which only consists of some twenty large and small islands in the southern and

1060-710: The Yellow River Chart ( Hetu , sometimes associated with the Earlier Heaven bagua ) are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BC, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao. The Turtle Calendar of Yao (found in the Yaodian section of the Shangshu or Book of Documents ) dates to 2300 BC, plus or minus 250 years. In Yaodian , the cardinal directions are determined by

1113-792: The Aberdeen Channel Bridge , to the southeast of the Ap Lei Chau Bridges. There are two stations on the island: Lei Tung (for Lei Tung Estate and Ap Lei Chau Main Street) and South Horizons (for South Horizons, Ap Lei Chau Estate and Ap Lei Chau Industrial Estate). Ap Lei Chau is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 18. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and Hong Kong Southern District Government Primary School. Since Ap Lei Chau

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1166-533: The Ming ). The astronomical history of feng shui is evident in the development of instruments and techniques. According to the Zhouli , the original feng shui instrument may have been a gnomon . Chinese used circumpolar stars to determine the north–south axis of settlements. This technique explains why Shang palaces at Xiaotun lie 10° east of due north. In some of the cases, as Paul Wheatley observed, they bisected

1219-667: The White Lotus Rebellion and Taiping Revolt , but feng shui's decentralization made it difficult to suppress in popular and elite circles. Under China's Century of Humiliation , feng shui began to receive implicit government encouragement as a method of colonial resistance. Through the militarization of the countryside, the local gentry used feng shui to justify and promote popular attacks against missionaries and colonial infrastructure. This allowed local elites and government officials to bypass foreign extraterritoriality and maintain local sovereignty. This, in addition to

1272-583: The Ap Lei Chau geologic formation , which covers most of Hong Kong Island. The Hung Shing Temple located on Hung Shing Street, off Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, is a notable site. Dating back to 1773, it is the oldest temple in the Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau areas and is a declared monument . The Shui Yuet Temple aka. Kwun Yum Temple is located at No. 181 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau. Dedicated to Kwun Yum , it

1325-619: The Chinese countryside. Feng shui experts remained highly sought after, in spite of numerous campaigns to suppress the practice. It was only after China's Reform and Opening-Up that feng shui would see a complete resurgence. As economic liberalization promoted social competition and individualism, feng shui was able to find new footing due to its focus on individualism and amoral justification of social differences. Feng shui views good and bad fortune as tangible elements that can be managed through predictable and consistent rules. This involves

1378-419: The Chinese, are metal, earth, fire, water, and wood – are first mentioned in Chinese literature in a chapter of the classic Book of History . They play a very important part in Chinese thought: ‘elements’ meaning generally not so much the actual substances as the forces essential to human life. Earth is a buffer, or an equilibrium achieved when the polarities cancel each other. While the goal of Chinese medicine

1431-547: The Puyang tomb, at Hongshan ceremonial centers and at the late Longshan settlement at Lutaigang, suggests that gaitian cosmography (heaven-round, earth-square) existed in Chinese society long before it appeared in the Zhoubi Suanjing . Cosmography that bears a resemblance to modern feng shui devices and formulas appears on a piece of jade unearthed at Hanshan and dated around 3000 BC. Archaeologist Li Xueqin links

1484-514: The angle between the directions of the rising and setting sun to find north. This technique provided the more precise alignments of the Shang walls at Yanshi and Zhengzhou . Rituals for using a feng shui instrument required a diviner to examine current sky phenomena to set the device and adjust their position in relation to the device. The oldest examples of instruments used for feng shui are liuren astrolabes, also known as shi . These consist of

1537-608: The contemporary Chinese world, feng shui was used to choose the orientation of buildings, dwellings, and spiritually significant structures such as tombs . One scholar writes that in contemporary Western societies, however, "feng shui tends to be reduced to interior design for health and wealth. It has become increasingly visible through 'feng shui consultants' and corporate architects who charge large sums of money for their analysis, advice and design." Feng shui has been identified as both non-scientific and pseudoscientific by scientists and philosophers, and it has been described as

1590-441: The cultural aspects of feng shui, made the practice a powerful expression of demarcation between foreign and Chinese identities. Following the rise of Communist China, religion and traditional cosmology were suppressed more than ever, in the name of ideological purity. Decentralized heterodoxies, like feng shui, were best adapted to survive this period. As a result, feng shui became one of the only alternative forms of thought within

1643-606: The design to the liuren astrolabe , zhinan zhen and luopan . Beginning with palatial structures at Erlitou , all capital cities of China followed rules of feng shui for their design and layout. During the Zhou era, the Kaogong ji ( Chinese : 考工記 ; "Manual of Crafts") codified these rules. The carpenter's manual Lu ban jing ( 魯班經 ; "Lu ban's manuscript") codified rules for builders. Graves and tombs also followed rules of feng shui from Puyang to Mawangdui and beyond. From

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1696-694: The development of their land and resources. This served to prevent the Tragedy of the Commons . When conflict did erupt during development, feng shui experts played an important role in balancing interests and enforcing orderly development. Different branches of feng shui were developed and embraced in response to differing local geographies. In southern China , this often resulted in villages located on high hills safe from flooding and erosion, with pooling streams that allow for easy irrigation and drainage, fields downstream fertilized by sewage, and graves located on

1749-564: The earliest records, the structures of the graves and dwellings seem to have followed the same rules. Some of the foundations of feng shui go back more than 3,500 years before the invention of the magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese astronomy . Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added later (most notably the Han dynasty , the Tang , the Song , and

1802-461: The highest hills far from water and on otherwise unvaluable farmland. To this degree, feng shui could help communities manage their spaces to match their physical, environmental, and aesthetic needs. A core aspect of feng shui has been its understanding of polarity. As opposed to western dualism , in which concepts are completely oppositional and irreconcilable, Chinese polarity sees opposing concepts as constantly changing and inseparable. The result

1855-410: The highest population, while the southern part of the island is less densely populated. The highest point on the island is Yuk Kwai Shan (玉桂山; aka. Mount Johnston), with an altitude of 196 metres (643 ft). It comprises four main residential areas — Lei Tung Estate , Ap Lei Chau Main Street, South Horizons and Ap Lei Chau Estate , each of which comprises several highrise towers. There

1908-483: The hiring of feng shui experts, disputes between villagers can be peaceably resolved without losing face. In addition, these impersonal cosmic rules help regulate local jealousies over wealth and prestige. As early as the Tang dynasty , the Chinese state recognized the disruptive power popular expressions of feng shui had over government authority. At the community level, feng shui could play an important role in community mobilization and political protest. By elevating

1961-402: The living and the dead to achieve shū fú . The primary underlying value was material success for the living. According to Stuart Vyse , feng shui is "a very popular superstition." The PRC government has also labeled it as superstitious. Feng shui is classified as a pseudoscience since it exhibits a number of classic pseudoscientific aspects such as making claims about the functioning of

2014-438: The management of qi, an imagined form of cosmic "energy." In situating the local environment to maximize good qi , one can optimize their own good fortune. Feng shui holds that one's external environment can affect one's internal state. A goal of the practice is to achieve a "perfect spot", a location and an axis in time that can help one achieve a state of shū fú ( 舒服 ) or harmony with the universe. Traditional feng shui

2067-551: The marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals: The diagrams are also linked with the sifang (four directions) method of divination used during the Shang dynasty. The sifang is much older, however. It was used at Niuheliang, and figured large in Hongshan culture 's astronomy. And it is this area of China that is linked to Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) who allegedly invented

2120-459: The name for Hong Kong , although the town eventually took the name of its island. Under the terms of the 1841 Treaty of Nanking , it was ceded to the British together with Hong Kong Island . It was sometimes known as Taplichan , Taplishan , &c. from an alternative name for the island. The island had a largely uneventful history under British rule . In 1968, Hongkong Electric opened

2173-491: The power station were relocated to Lamma Island , and the old power station is still demolishing to this day. The nearby site was re-developed into the South Horizons residential area, with the addition of some land reclaimed from the sea. Ap Lei Chau was named after the shape of the island, which resembles the tongue of a duck. Ap means duck , Lei means tongue , and Chau means island. The northern part has

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2226-424: The shape of the environment, such as mountains, rivers, plateaus, buildings, and general surroundings. It considers the five celestial animals (vermillion phoenix, azure dragon, white tiger, black turtle, and the yellow snake), the yin-yang concept and the traditional five elements ( Wu Xing : wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). The Form branch analyzes the shape of the land and flow of the wind and water to find

2279-482: The six bus termini on the island to various places on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon : Green minibuses and taxis are available. Red minibuses are prohibited from entering the island. There is a regular sampan service running between Ap Lei Chau Main Street and Aberdeen. (Service hours: 6am-12am) The MTR South Island line opened on 28 December 2016 links Admiralty of Hong Kong Island to Ap Lei Chau by

2332-521: The south-pointing spoon (see compass ). Traditional feng shui is an ancient system based upon the observation of heavenly time and earthly space. Literature, as well as archaeological evidence, provide some idea of the origins and nature of feng shui techniques. Aside from books, there is also a strong oral history. In many cases, masters have passed on their techniques only to selected students or relatives. Modern practitioners of feng shui draw from several branches in their own practices. The Form Branch

2385-407: The south-western waters of Hong Kong. These islands belong to respective districts depending on their locations. Below is a partial list of the peninsulas of Hong Kong and the districts they belong to: Below is a partial list of the islands of Hong Kong and the districts they belong to: The following is a list of the largest islands of Hong Kong, sorted by area (km ): Leung Shuen Wan

2438-458: The temple also houses Kwan Tai , Tin Hau , Chai Kung and Wong Tai Sin . Ap Lei Chau and Hong Kong Island are connected by the four-lane Ap Lei Chau Bridges . Opened in 1983, it originally only had two lanes, and was widened to four in 1994 with a duplicated bridge to the northwest of the original one. Buses are the main form of transport for the residents in Ap Lei Chau. Bus routes depart from

2491-417: The time when the airport was open the size of the island was cited to be 1,248 hectares. Feng shui Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Feng shui ( / ˈ f ʌ ŋ ˌ ʃ uː i / or / ˌ f ʌ ŋ ˈ ʃ w eɪ / ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy ,

2544-552: The traditional branches, and focus mainly on the use of the bagua . The Eight Life Aspirations style of feng shui is a simple system which coordinates each of the eight cardinal directions with a specific life aspiration or station such as family, wealth, fame, etc., which come from the Bagua government of the eight aspirations . Life Aspirations is not otherwise a geomantic system. San Yuan Method , 三元派 (Pinyin: sān yuán pài) San He Method , 三合派 (environmental analysis using

2597-631: The universe. In 4000 BC, the doors of dwellings in Banpo were aligned with the asterism Yingshi just after the winter solstice —this sited the homes for solar gain . During the Zhou era, Yingshi was known as Ding and it was used to indicate the appropriate time to build a capital city, according to the Shijing . The late Yangshao site at Dadiwan (c. 3500–3000 BC) includes a palace-like building (F901) at its center. The building faces south and borders

2650-459: The world which are not amenable to testing with the scientific method . It has been identified as both non-scientific and pseudoscientific by scientists and philosophers, and has been described as a paradigmatic example of pseudoscience. Qi ( 气 , pronounced "chee") is a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in feng shui. The Book of Burial says that burial takes advantage of "vital qi ". The goal of feng shui

2703-451: Was built at the end of the 19th century and is a Grade III historic building . The temple site is adjacent to the site of the former Aberdeen Police Station. Clearly chosen for its fung shui , the superior dragons were seen as being protection from the 'threat of the tiger's jaw' from the police station. Although the police station has now been demolished, the dragons are still present and seen as enduring feng shui guards. Apart from Kwun Yum,

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2756-475: Was connected to the mainland in the 1970s to form the High Island Reservoir . It historically had an area of 8.511 km and was in 1960 the 4th largest island of Hong Kong. At that time, the airport platform had not yet been built and the area of Tsing Yi increased later as a consequence of land reclamation. The original Chek Lap Kok had an area of 3.02 km (other sources mention 2.8 km ). By

2809-561: Was used for feng shui since its invention. Traditional feng shui instrumentation consists of the Luopan or the earlier south-pointing spoon ( 指南針 zhinan zhen )—though a conventional compass could suffice if one understood the differences. Not to be confused with the South-pointing chariot which was used for navigation. A feng shui ruler (a later invention) may also be employed. After the Song dynasty, divination began to decline as

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