"we are told that in the year 378, as the result of the coming of these foreign (Buddhist) priests, the city of P'yeng-Yang was laid out as a great ship. To us this sounds strange. It is not easy for us to realize a city was regarded as a great ship and that a mast was erected in its midst, aparently in order that the sails of prosperity might waft the ship to good fortune and success. Outside the city were stone posts to which the ship was to be tied up, and for many years it was forbidden to dig wells in the city because it was feared that if a well were dug, the boa would spring a leak and the whole place would be foundered. ...I am not sure if such ideas are connected with buddhism, or whether they only form a part of that old gomantic philosophy whic has so greatly influenced Chins, Korea, and Japan through centuries....Old masts are scattered all over Korea, here and there, sometimes in quite inaccessible places; built of wood, they rise to a great height, and are sheathed with metal, which may bear an inscription and date. Many other places that P'yeng-Yang were thought of as great ships - temples, cities, entire valleys.
below from http://fengshui-harmony.net/blog/korean-geomancy-fengshui-korea/
below from http://fengshui-harmony.net/blog/korean-geomancy-fengshui-korea/
In 1929 Japanese researcher Murayama Chijun collected 174 different names of geomantic landscapes in Korea. However, looking closer some names have not been recorded at the time, so the estimate must be even higher.
These personified landscape systems function to accumulate and manifest vital landscape to the occupier. Similar to Chinese fengshui the aim is to live in harmony with the surrounding and to enhance its own dwellings with an abundancy of auspicious qi. In Korea however, the geomantic landscapes are taken a step further.
In the geomantic landscape of a sailing boat for example, the Korean believe that to dig wells are equal to putting a hole put into the bottom of the boat. So places declared as the geomantic landscape of a sailing boat hence do not allow people to dig wells for fresh-water supply but instead the people rely on rivers and lakes nearby which are often contaminated and not very clean.
In the opposite direction, if the landscape seems to be missing a sail mast or anchor, these are artificially created by the local people so that the geomantic landscape picture can be fully applied. The anchor for example is very important as otherwise the sailing boat and its auspicious qi could travel away.
If the landscape resembling a sailing boat features helm, sail mast and anchor the place is very auspicious. If it has none than the site is regarded as the boat being instable and it may capsize or sink.
An example for this type of landscape formation is Haeinsa Buddhist Temple in the slope of Kayasan Mountain.
Haeinsa Temple in Korea
The ecological links concerned with this landscape image are as follows:
- no digging of wells (equals a hole in the boat, so it would sink)
- restricted numbers of dwellers (otherwise the boat would sink or capsize)
- providing a mast (by erecting a mast)
- floating the boat in water (by creating a water feature if it is not naturally given by a lake or river)
- stabilising the boat
- anchoring the boat (as otherwise it might move to another area)
Hence the idea of the geomantic landscape is very different in approach to the Chinese one. Even though there seems to be the one or other folk story on similarily described landscape in China, this type of approach to Feng Shui has not been recorded in any of the classics nor is it commonly used nowadays. It is a very specific Korean approach to geomancy.
