Lecture 3. Fengshui and Mortuary Architecture

Fengshui (pungsu in Korean, literally “wind and water”) is a theory in East Asia to identify the best locations in nature for a city or a building. In China and Korea, with the belief that the fengshui of the ancestral tomb or living residence influences the fortune of the descendants and the prosperity of the family, consulting a fengshui master is important for the construction of both residential and funerary architecture. Confucianism highlights family values and venerates ancestors. As a result, mortuary architecture is among the most significant architectural types in East Asia. Confucians also believe that “the deceased ancestors should be treated as if they were alive” (shisi rushing) and the afterlife was generally imagined as in a similar fashion as that on earth, with the same spiritual and material needs.


supporting documents:

Lecture Notes

Handout