A Place for Everything
Feng shui is catching on around the world 風水之說流行全世界
As any real estate agent will tell you, the cost of a house depends on a range of factors. Size, layout and location are all key considerations. But the se days, especially in California, a house’s feng shui may also be figured into the price. In fact, feng shui is so big on the west coast, that a homeowner may tear down walls or even relocate an entire building to improve a home’s asking price.
就如所有房地產中介會跟你說的，房子的價格取決于眾多因素。大小、格局和地點都是重要的考慮項目。但現在，特別是在加州，一幢房子的風水也會被算進價錢里面。事實上，風水在西海岸相當風行，房屋擁有者可能會拆除墻壁，甚至遷移整棟建筑，以提升房子的要價。
The expression“feng shui”is often translated as“Chinese geomancy”in English. But geomancy means divination according to geographic features, so the translation is not entirely correct. A better way to describe feng shui might be to say it is about aligning one’s surroundings in order to enhance natural energy flow. According to feng shui principles, if the surroundings are harmonious with nature, the person in the surroundings will be in harmony with nature also.
“風水”這種說法在英文中通常被翻譯成“中式土占”。但是土占意指根據地理特征來占卜，所以這個翻譯并非完全正確。一個比較好的形容風水的方法可能要這樣說，風水是為了校準某人的周遭環境以提升自然能量流。根據風水原則，如果周遭環境與自然協調，處于其中的人也會與自然協調。
How do you know if the feng shui in your home is good or not? Many people bring in a“feng shui master”to tell them. This expert may advise the placement of mirrors in certain areas, tell you where water should flow and where it shouldn’t, and change the position of your bed. Sometimes he will suggest even more radical changes, such as the relocation of your front door.
怎么才知道你家的風水好不好？很多人找“風水大師”來告訴他們。這位專家可能會建議在某些地方放置鏡子，告訴你哪里該有流水、哪里不該有，還叫你改變你的床位。有時他會建議做更徹底的改變，例如改變你家前門的位置。
“I was pretty skeptical at first,”said Tom Martins, a freelance writer in San Francisco, whose wife hired a feng shui master to look at their home.“He told me to change my office layout, and I did it, mostly to humor my wife. But it had an almost immediate effect on my work. Not only was I better able to concentrate, but I suddenly started getting more work than I could handle.”
“一開始我很懷疑。”舊金山的一位自由作家湯姆·馬汀斯這樣說，他的太太聘請了一位風水師來看他們的家。“他要我改變辦公室的格局，我照做了，多半是為了迎合我太太。但是這幾乎馬上對我的工作就產生了影響。我不僅更容易專心做事，還突然開始接到很多工作，多到我無法應付。”
