     He is part priest, part scientist and part interior designer.  He will 
will work for anyone from the humblest hawker to the grandest millionaire.  
There are centuries of tradition behind his art.  And as technology makes 
more inroads into modern living, even the feng shui master, a seemingly 
tradition-bound figure, is moving with the times.
     The modern practitioner is more likely to be wearing a Versace suit 
than traditional robes.  He will carry a portable phone in one hand and his 
compass, or lo p'an in the other.  And for many masters a computer is al-
most as important for calculations and analysis as his "ten-thousand-year 
calendar".  The ancient art is getting a facelift.
     Skeptics may dismiss it as hocus-pocus but feng shui (literally 
wind-water), or geomancy, is a thriving multimillion dollar business.  
Property developers pay homage--not to mention hundreds of thousands of 
dollars--to the art of balancing physical and spiritual forces, as do the 
businessmen and other believers.  Even the Hong Kong Government is prag-
matic about its existence--the 1994 report by the Director of Audit 
revealed that HK$515,000 (US$67,000) was paid out for two tun fu ceremonies 
because local villagers were upset that construction projects in the New 
Territories had unbalanced the feng shui.
     British retailer Marks and Spencer also subscribes to the principles 
and practice of geomancy.  Lucky gold coins are buried is strategic 
positions beneath the floors of all Marks and Spencer stores in Hong Kong.  
Floor plans are drawn up in consultation with geomancy experts to ensure 
that the buildings are feng shui friendly, which in turn will promote a 
continuous ringing of the cash registers.
     The design of Hong Kong's five-star Regent Hotel was governed by feng 
shui.  Proponents of the art believed that the hotel was blocking the path 
of the nine dragons of Kowloon as they made their way from the mountains to 
the sea for their morning bath.  To counter this, a fountain was construct-
ed at the main entrance of the hotel and floor-to-ceiling windows replaced 
the solid walls at the side of the building facing the waters.
     The rationale was that the dragons would be lured to the hotel by the 
fountain, which symbolised a pearl.  Having snatched the pearl, the 
creatures would march through the hotel lobby and through the windows to 
the sea, but only after making generous deposits of wealth at the hotel 
reception.
     For the unbeliever these are fanciful notions.  But support for the 
idea of feng shui comes from the most prosaic organizations.  Secretary-
general of the International Urban Development Association, Michael 
Sudarkis, says:  "The cultural element of feng shui has a sound principle, 
which is to try to accommodate man and nature.  This is one of the lessons 
we [the West] could learn.  The Chinese have a cultural instinct for living 
in the community and, therefore, to organize space, but alway with nature.  
Indeed, the first settlement in the world to have a master plan was a town 
in China."
     Lai Kar-fai, who works in the science department of a Hong Kong Uni-
versity would be expect to have an explanation for all natural phenomena.  
Yet he, too, is a believer.  When family pressure mounted on him to get 
married, he ignored the small ads and introductions by friends and went 
straight to the feng shui man instead.
     "I believe in destiny and it mutability," he says.  "I don't believe 
that we are born with a defined destiny and I wanted to know what could be 
done to find a wife."
     Not content to let the augur do his job, Lai installed a program in 
his computer which checked the compatibility of potential brides.  By 
marrying the ancient art with new tech he is echoing a trend in feng shui.  
Scores of Taiwanese computer software companies have designed various 
programs for feng shui and astrology buffs.  Instead of shunning such 
devices as gimmicks, many feng shui masters have incorporated technology 
into their repertoire.  After all, most younger practitioners are computer-
literate and would be lost without the modern necessities of life, such as 
a mobile telephone.
     "Technology can help us up to a point," says Kwong Wai-hung, a feng 
shui and divination master.  "There are various calculations which can be 
performed more accurately and faster using a software program, but I would 
never trust a computer to perform any type of analysis because it is not a 
living entity.  Prediction depends upon the experience of years.
     "It is easier to use the software, especially if I have to prepare a 
number of horoscopes.  It saves time and reduces the human error factor 
because you just plug in the necessary information and the computer comes 
up with the numbers."
     One of Kwong's clients is a prominent textile magnate heading his own 
consortium.  His group's profits began sliding and Kwong was called in to 
fix the problem.  Here, he points out, is the quintessential case of 
experience and tradition winning over technology--the site of the textile 
magnate's office was facing a massive land reclamation and construction 
project and that was disturbing the feng shui.  Kwong told the businessman 
that he would have to relocate his entire head office.  The tycoon moved to 
a new office with sweeping views of the harbour.  Profits began to rise 
again.
     Despite the convenience of computer software, Kwong still swears by 
his traditional ten-thousand-year calendar.  The calendar not only helps 
him calculate the four numbers of a client's birth date but also allows him 
to analyse them, something which the computer cannot do--yet.  For absolute 
accuracy, Kwong seeks help from another scientific source--the local 
observatory--for precise information on astronomical positions at an 
person's time of birth.
     Kwong will use technology when it helps him but he is no slave to it.  
He insists that all mobile telephones and pagers be switched off while he 
is working on a reading--the vibrations generated by electronic and tele-
communications equipment could affect the accuracy of his geomancer's 
compass, the lo p'an.
     For feng shui master Chan Ho-yan it is a case of have lo p'an will 
travel.  Chan regards the compass as an essential tool and is never without 
it.  But in a bow to technology, he acknowledges he has used software for 
ascertaining the four birth reference points.  He has also incorporated the 
use of crystals in his practice--this new age addition is prompted by the 
belief that crystals possess various beneficial properties.
     When called to perform feng shui calculations, Chan usually packs 
instruments to measure electromagnetic signals and, in one case, levels of 
radiation.
     "Modern technology has affected the art of feng shui," he says.  "We 
are dealing with invisible forces.  A satellite TV receiver receives 
signals--that affects feng shui.  So I use other instruments to check 
before using the lo p'an to ensure as accurate a reading as possible."
     Not all feng shui and divination masters have taken to technology.  
Eschewing the trend is Lam Ping-Nam who studied with successive masters in 
China before setting out on his own.  He is a proponent of the traditional 
(if somewhat slower) methods of augury.  Lam maintains that any feng shui 
master worth his salt uses his experience to compensate for any incorrect 
readings arising from disturbances in natural forces.  "I do not use soft-
ware programs to calculated horoscopes.  I do not believe that it is any 
faster than using the traditional calendar.  I just use the compass when 
looking at feng shui," he says.
     Just as today's seers have changed with the times by adopting and 
adapting to technology, it is now rare to find a feng shui master dressed 
in the traditional robes.  More often than not, feng shui masters are clad 
in a designer suit.
     Audrey Norton, an aficionado of feng shui, recalls how disappointed 
she was when a feng shui master turned up to check her new apartment.  He 
was dressed like a bank executive.  "The fellow was in a business suit and 
spent half of the time taking readings with his compass and the other half 
talking on his mobile telephone.  I was expecting more ceremony so it was 
all rather disappointing," she says.
     "I think that employing technology in this area goes a long way to de-
mystifying everything.  In a way it is good because it puts modern science 
to work with something which many believe has no scientific basis but it 
also takes the fun out of it."
     Advertising professional Sally Chow also misses the mysticism.  
Software programs are too scientific, she observes.
     "The ability to read feng shui is like second sight, a gift which one 
has or one hasn't," she says.  "It's intuitive.  I would be very skeptical 
about a feng shui man who used a software program to run his readings.  I'd 
want a second opinion."
     But for a growing number of followers the ancient art needs a shot of 
youth.
     "Why not use computers or whatever type of technology is available so 
that predictions can be more precise?" says 78-year-old grandmother Chan 
Lai-Keun.  "That way I can be better informed as to what the new year holds 
and can make appropriate arrangements."
