What elements does good feng shui contain?

To obtain excellent feng shui, three types of inspectionsphase qi, phase layout, and phase formneed to be carried out to fundamentally acquire a house or residence that is livable and prosperous in terms of both wealth and population.

 I. Qi: Terrain and Environment
The siteselection of a yang residence also emphasizes the concepts of dragon, acupoint, sand, and water to define qi.
A spacious and comfortable surrounding environment is preferred. The mountains should come in a magnificent and broad manner. The ground for building the house should be regular and flat, with an appropriatelysized frontal mountain in front and the Dragon and Tiger mountains on the left and right for protection.
The feeling of "dense and gathered yang qi" is one of neatness, cleanliness, tranquility, dryness, and a harmonious atmosphere, without any uncomfortable situations such as narrowness, oppression, dampness, messiness, or filth.
Let's explain this in terms of cities, villages, and mountainous areas respectively:
**In cities**: The buildings in the front, back, left, and right are neatly planned, and there are no significant differences in building styles and heights. There is a bustling flow of people, indicating strong human qi.
**In villages**: Households should be clustered together to form a village. It is not advisable to have a singlehouse dwelling. There should be no withered trees in the vicinity, and everything should appear vibrant.
**In mountainous areas**: It is required that the mountains encircle and the water embraces, with an open and sunny layout. It is not suitable for the mountains to seem scattered and the water to rush away. The frontfacing high mountains should not be narrow and oppressive. In mountainous areas, there should be a dragonshaped mountain ending, and in flatlands, there should be a waterending. Only when both the dragon (mountain) and water coexist can it be considered perfect. If there is no dragonshaped mountain in mountainous areas or no water in flatlands, the population and wealth will surely not thrive. Even if they seem prosperous for a while, it will not last long.
Complying with these principles, with a good internal layout configuration and external landscape environment, regardless of the yuanyun (time period in feng shui), peace, health, and sufficient population and wealth can be ensured.

 II. Layout: Corresponding to Water
The phaselayout mainly refers to the water around the house. Therefore, there is a saying of "establishing a layout based on water": When there is obvious water around the residence and the water is within twenty steps of the house, the role of the "layout" should be emphasized.
When the water is in the south, it is a "Kan layout"; when the water is in the north, it is a "Li layout"; when the water is in the east, it is a "Dui layout"; when the water is in the west, it is a "Zhen layout"; when the water is in the southeast, it is a "Qian layout"; when the water is in the southwest, it is a "Gen layout"; when the water is in the northwest, it is a "Xun layout"; when the water is in the northeast, it is a "Kun layout". If there is water on all four sides and the distances are equal, it is a "Zhonggong layout".
If the water twists and turns, and there is water on two sides, for example, if the water flows from the east through the south and then turns to the west and north, if it is closer to the south and farther from the west, it is a "Kan layout"; if it is closer to the west and farther from the south, it is a "Zhen layout". If it is in the southwest and the distances of the water from the south and the west are equal, it is a "Gen layout". When two waters intersect, the situation is judged based on the confluence point, and the principle is the same.
If there is water in both the front and the back, it is a "combined layout".
"Whenever there is an opening, it is the incoming qi; once there is an obstruction, it is the stopping qi."
This means that one must clearly identify the "incoming qi" and "stopping qi" of the water and roads to understand the true mechanism of the residence's "absorbing qi" and "releasing qi".
Once the house layout is determined, the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the house becomes clear. Then, based on the rise and fall of the yuanyun, further judgments can be made.
If the distance between the residence and the waterroad is within twenty steps, more attention is paid to the layout than the house itself; if the distance is more than twenty steps, more attention is paid to the house than the layout.

 III. Form: Orientation and Shape
In addition to phaseqi and phaselayout, phaseform also needs to be considered.
Only by taking all three aspects into account can a auspicious residence be built.
The residence should be tall and thick, and lowlying and damp conditions are most to be avoided. The surrounding shape should be square and complete, and slanting, missing, or broken shapes are highly undesirable. For slightly irregular oddshaped plots, the corners should be cut off instead of being used to build houses.
In front of the house, it should be flat and unobstructed. Obstruction, oppression, and direct impact are to be avoided. Inside the house, it is advisable to be lower in the front and higher in the back, and the opposite situation (higher in the front and lower in the back) as well as both the front and the back being low are to be avoided.
It should be wellproportioned in height and balance in weight. Having one side high and the other side low, or having a wingroom on one side but not on the other are to be avoided.
It is advisable to be slightly longer in the frontback direction. It is not advisable to be as wide as a horizontal line or to be too long and narrow. A frontwidebacknarrow shape is to be avoided, while a frontnarrowbackwide shape is less of a concern.
It is advisable that the middle part is as narrow as the front and the back. A situation where the front and the back are wide but the middle is narrow, or vice versa, is to be avoided.
The frontback orientation should be consistent. Different orientations such as the front and the back being slightly offset to the left or right are to be avoided. For example, if the house is facing from Chou (in the compass) to Wei, and the frontfacing orientation is XinChou (Chou with a slight bias towards Gen, to the east), and the backfacing orientation is DingChou (with a slight bias towards Gui, to the north), the front and the back of the house are not straight, and the qi absorbed by the front and the back is different, resulting in a chaotic and impure situation.

The interior and exterior should be in alignment. Pillars that are offset to the left or right and crossshooting are to be avoided.
The size, length, and position of the subsidiary houses should be neat. Irregularities and defects are to be avoided, especially when there is a long shed attached to the side of the main house at the back, and a small house is built at the end of the shed, looking like a kickingfoot shape.
If there are several main rooms, and a shedlike room is built on one side under the eaves, or if there are rafters on the wall with a ridge but no backbone, or a small house is added outside the house for passage, looking isolated, or even without a main house but with wingrooms on both sides at the back, it is called "pushing a cart". If there are wingrooms on both sides in the front and the back but no main house in the middle, it is called "carrying a sedanchair". If the back road is narrow and pointed, and the side shed is slanting, it is called "a trailing tail of Mars". If the house is deep and long with a straight shed on one side, it is called "a wingdrooping of Jupiter". If the wingroom at the back is higher than the main hall, it is called "a wingrolling of Venus"… All these are inauspicious shapes.
All kinds of inauspicious shapes should be avoided.
If all parts of the residence are wellconfigured, and the layout and the yuanyun are favorable, the residence will naturally become more prosperous day by day. If there are subsidiary houses attached to the main house, they should also be proportionate in height, with a clear distinction between the main and the secondary, and the form should be compact; a scattered or overbearing situation is to be avoided.