According to some historians, about 3,000 years ago, Indian vastu practitioners (typically monks) crossed through Tibet and into China. The Chinese adopted and adapted Vastu principles, which evolved into the various schools of feng shui.
Most scholars agree that feng shui originated as a method of burial that evolved over time. There is even some evidence of feng shui principles in prehistoric Europe -- Stonehenge,.
Long before the Chinese learned to write, the ancient wise people used the most original and basic form of "Yin" and "Yang" to reason the events of the world around them. The process of prediction and validation had been going on for several thousand years, before the wisest of all called FuXi (pronounced "ph-she") put it in writing. This form is called Ba-Gua. Although legend uses "he, him, his' or as 'father of...', 'king of....' when they refer to FuXi, the archaeologists and historians believe FuXi were a group of women. This group of women were advisers to the chief of the ancient matriarchy tribe and lived in what is, today, the northwest part China, called FuXi. The Ba-Gua then developed into a system of 'right timing' and 'right behavior', which became the I Ching (pronounced "E Ching"). Though it is not known when.
Thus through the combining the I-Ching and Geomancy Feng Shui was developed. The application was originally applied for choosing burial sites, for the wealthy, and palace locations for the royalty.
Feng Shui continue to be developed through centuries of research, analysis and experimentation and new findings were recorded and old theories refined.
Feng Shui remained popular during the Ming (1368 - 1644 AD) and Ching (1644 - 1911) dynasty.
However after the fall of the Ching dynasty, China attempted to catch up with the modernization and industrialization of the west and many non-scientific practices like Feng Shui were marginalized.
When the Communist government took power in 1949, more efforts were made to discredit such practices. Despite this, practitioners continue to practice their trade. However the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976 took its toll on Feng Shui and many such books and paraphernalia were destroyed.
Many practitioners fled with their knowledge to Hong Kong, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese community. It is today alive and widely practiced in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia (which has a significant Chinese minority), Singapore and the other expatriate Chinese communities such as London, San Francisco and Vancouver.
Feng shui made its earliest tangible leap to the United States in the 1980s and has been growing steadily ever since. In recent years, interest in feng shui's architectural and design elements has greatly expanded in North America, Europe and Australia.
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