Tracing the Origin of the Concept of Chinese "Feng Jing"

Liu Binyi, Zhao Yan

The original concept of "Feng Jing" in China is different from the "Scenery" derived from ancient Greek and Roman theater scenes, and from the"Landscape" created in the eyes of Dutch painters and extended through multiple disciplines. We found that the Chinese concept of "Feng Jing" originated in the comprehensive understanding of the objective world and from beginning to end to explore the relationship between heaven, earth and human beings. From the initial need for the survival of the living environment of human beings to the symbolic meaning of cultural structure that gradually becomes a custom, it comes from the scientific cognition of two natural elements, "Feng" (風(fēng)) and "Jing" (景).The concept of "Feng", "Jing" and "Feng Jing", which the Chinese people have been accustomed to since ancient times, has a comprehensive and diversified meaning from the very beginning and transcends the concepts of "Scenery" and "Landscape". Just because of the modern and contemporary Western analysis tradition and the trend of scientific analysis,the original intention is lost.

1 "Feng ", "Jing" Concept

1.1 "Feng"

"Feng" (風(fēng)) is one of the earliest natural things perceived by ancient people. The character "風(fēng)" is connected with "鳳" (phoenix) in oracle-bone inscriptions, and then "風(fēng)". The direct experience of the monsoon in mainland China and the long history of agriculture made the ancients regard the wind as the messenger of heaven and earth. "氣" (Qi) in the oracle-bone inscriptions on the topside horizontal to indicate the heaven, the underside horizontal to indicate the earth, the short horizontal to indicate the role, meaning "Qi" filled in between the heaven and the earth. From the interactive movement of heaven and earth, the ancient people realized that"Qi" is the foundation of life. According to the sound of the monsoon, the "Equal Temperament" were found, and it were corresponded with the observed equinox and solstice gradually. Formed "four winds"and "four directions" and "four seasons" mutually tethered space-time thinking. This pursuit of time division corresponds to space division, and space division as far as possible to maintain a formal correspondence with space division. It lays a foundation for the formation of Chinese traditional concept of time and space. The inner connection between "wind" and "sound", "note" and "music"at the level of "Equal Temperament" makes "Feng"have the cultural function of conveying emotion and enlightening popularity. With the help of "music", the"Feng" of ethical emotion can spread the "truth" and"morality" contained in "harmony between heaven and man" through "sentiment".

1.2 "Jing"

In the times of identify the season by observing astronomical phenomena, the ancient people's perception and understanding of time were determined by the changes of the positions of the sun, moon and stars in the sky. "In ancient China,there were systematic sundial observation activities at least 5,000 years ago." Through long-term observation, the ancestors felt that the direction and length of the projection of all things would change regularly with the passage of the sun's apparent movement, that is, time. The light (sun,moon, star), object and shadow are inseparable and interconnected. This thinking of "unification of everything" promotes the establishment of a set of mathematical models that are highly abstract and can be accurately measured, and applied to the determination of direction, solar terms and time.This is the theoretical technology and method later known as "Li Biao Ce Jing". Gradually formed by the sun azimuth angle 60° at the equinox and solstice,and "nine-five days" and "Equal Temperament"matching spatial quantitative control law.

2 "Feng" - "Jing" Concept and "Jingfeng"

2.1 "Feng" - "Jing"

The discovery of the ancient observation platform and lacquer pole of the Taosi ruin in Shanxi proves that the length of the summer solstice as the standard central value was inherited by the rulers in the Yao era 4,000 years ago. Therefore,to distinguish the direction and seek the center becomes the traditional continuation of holding the symbol of the royal power. In the hilly environment of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the settlement siting method of "wang-Jingguan-bo" formed by the use of the vertical bar survey technology is comprehensively adopted.This method also became the magic weapon for the emperors in the later dynasties to choose the capital, and then became the basis and core for the development of "Feng Shui" technique after Wei and Jin Dynasties. With the perfection of the social and political system in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the law of the system based on the concept of "Feng"and "Jing" became the basis of length, capacity and weight. The core value orientation of the concept of"Feng" and "Jing" was passed down and solidified through the establishment of the system of rites and music, and became the cultural elements and genes that permeated all aspects of social life. It had a profound impact on the site selection, form and pattern of ancient Chinese settlement space as well as the shaping and development of poetry, painting,architecture and garden art.

2.2 "Jingfeng"

The Western Han Dynasty emphasized "heaven and man induction" and advocated "heaven,earth, human beings and harmony". Among the"eight winds", the wind in the south of the summer solstice, was formerly known as "kai wind" and"mighty wind". Consciously changing the name of the wind in the south of the summer solstice to"Jingfeng" is just the concrete embodiment of the thought of "verifying heaven and earth". The name change should be no later than the Warring States period. "45 days after the qingming wind" is the summer solstice, because at this time the yang qi begins to fall, the yin qi starts to rise, and the sun shadow is the shortest. Therefore, "Jingfeng" is also known as "neutral air" and "auspicious wind"."Jingfeng" has become an important indicator for judging whether the four seasons are harmonious and favorable or not. Only "eight winds keep their promises" can "lead to Jingfeng". Otherwise, the emperor needs to reflect and adjust the way of governing the country. In the Han Dynasty, the concept of "Jingfeng" was adopted as the standard and system to judge whether the social operation was harmonious or not and was deeply rooted in people's minds. The association and practice of subjective mountain and river aesthetics as well as the excellent travel behavior and festivals laid the ideological foundation and conditions for the formation of the concept of "Feng Jing" in the future.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, metaphysics prevailed. It is also an important period for the formation of Chinese landscape poetry and landscape painting. In the era of Jian'an in the late Han Dynasty, the literati's life of traveling and banquets expanded the custom of marching in natural beauty. Confucius's thought of "inside and outside the Jing" promoted the understanding of "inside and outside the Jing"; the introduction of Buddhism and the further ferment of Lao Zhuang's thoughts made the word "Feng Jing" appear frequently in the literature, thus the concept of "Feng Jing" in China was further mature and perfected. Liu Xie combined "Feng Jing" and"shape and likeness" to summarize the era ethos of advocating the beauty of landscape and scenery and seeking the refinement of physical objects in the poetry of the Southern Dynasties, which became an echo of the aesthetic art practice of the Southern Dynasties. Therefore, in the cross development of landscape poetry, landscape painting and landscape garden, the concept of"Feng Jing" has been further mature and enriched,and finally opened up a new aesthetic and value pursuit of humanized nature.

3 Conclusion

This is an era in which the Sestern analytical and fragmented thinking mode prevails and the comprehensive and holistic world view is extremely lacking. Landscape architecture, which is derived from the comprehensive view of the whole, has long been faced with the dilemma of "internal" and"external". Therefore, the traditional, overall view of the world, and planning and design synthetically is diminishing, and excellent traditional genetic chains rupture, mutate and lose. At the same time, it is also an era where the analytical thinking cannot solve the fundamental problems of human beings while the whole world is looking for a way out. The dawn has always been there. This is China's unique,integrated, coordinated world view and methodology that has continued for thousands of years. Chinese"Feng Jing" concept is a typical representative.

In the first stage, "Feng" and "Jing" are the rules of scientific understanding and model abstraction of natural elements such as wind and sunshine through continuous observation and statistics. It is a creative scientific exploration and practice in pursuit of "the ideal of life". In the second stage, "Feng" and "Jing" are not only the basic methods to establish the legitimacy of kingship in"looking for the world center", but also the basis for the establishment of feudal "rites and music"system. At the same time, "Jingfeng" is used to verify the harmony of social operation, and it has become the evaluation standard and governance means to realize the "political ideal" of national security and people's happiness. In the third stage with the development of philosophical thinking such as "Jing has two parts inside and outside", and"Conversation between the Shadow", landscape poetry and painting began to sprout in the Wei, Jin,Northern and Southern dynasties. "Feng Jing" bears a marked brand of the "survival ideal" and "political ideal", opened up the value pursuit of humanized nature, become an "aesthetic ideal" entertainment leisure carrier and the heart of image projection.Therefore, the three stages and their connotation of the origin and evolution of Chinese "Feng Jing" view almost comprehensively cover all the ideals and pursuits of human beings from ancient to modern times, reflecting the eternal value of life in the process of human civilization.

We have entered a "new era". Compared with realizing the dream of "green hills and clear waters",the temporary success or failure is nothing. Tracing the original intention of the Chinese concept of"Feng Jing", from the dream of China's ideal human habitat to the dream of landscape garden, from praying for "good weather" to "peaceful life", from advocating "harmonious coexistence of all things"to "great unity under heaven", from the dream of our ancestors "Feng Jing world" to our pursuit of"beautiful China" in the new ear, and as an excellent,vital and eternal world view and value pursuit of all mankind, China's "Feng Jing" concept is bound to play an increasingly important role.