Our disappearing heritage: Hong Kong's fung shui woodland

Abstract

This dissertation is about an important area in the discipline of architectural conservation, and it is cultural Landscape, defined as the combination of built and natural heritage resources. The understanding of the concept of “cultural landscape” is relatively new to Hong Kong, having been formally introduced by Dr. Ken Nicolson in 2002 as part of the syllabus of the postgraduate curriculum of HKU’s Architectural Conservation Programmes (ACP). Today, the people of Hong Kong are more aware of cultural landscape, and the term now appears in government documents. However, the concept has been with Hong Kong for a long time, expressed in the principles of fung shui. Many of Hong Kong’s cultural landscapes are influenced by fung shui and a common feature is fung shui woodland, which will be the focus of this dissertation. Fung shui is a belief system and a traditional form of landscape planning, and villages in Hong Kong and their woodlands are sited according to the principles of fung shui. The purpose of fung shui is clearly described in Yoon (1980). He stated that the aim of Fung Shui, is to maximize the wellbeing of human by maintaining the harmony between human and the nature. It is believed that all matter on the earth; both living and non-living things carry Qi or cosmic breath, which are responsible for ensuring posterity and vitality. Either insufficient or excessive Qi would result in decline and misfortune. In “Venturing Fung Shui Woods (2004)”, it is mentioned that some of the oldest fung shui woodlands in Hong Kong date back to more than 300 years. Fung shui woodland is an important element of rural Hong Kong cultural landscapes representing our traditional belief system and high cultural significance. The author also describes fung shui woodlands as like a living herbarium or plant museum, offering valuable resources for both academic research and nature conservation. A review of the recent literature on fung shui woodland, in Fung Shui View (2012), the authors explain the value of the fung shui woodland is not only in terms of ecological, but also social. From the above publication, it is clear that the fung shui woodland is one of the important cultural landscape elements in Hong Kong, which illustrates our tradition cultural beliefs and the important value of original village settlements.