A China without confidence is a China without hope. When Westerners said Feng Shui is superstition, we believed them. Now, when they begin to learn that Feng Shui might be helpful, we follow suit and begin to study Feng Shui again. Whether Feng Shui is superstition or not, it acts as a spiritual support to heal and harmonize.

Science is not omnipotent. When it creates miracles at times, it also destroys the natural environment and social harmony. But Feng Shui advocates real harmony between man and nature.

The dregs of culture

Wang Xiaoxiong (The Beijing News): When ancient musical instruments and Kunqu Opera compete for cultural heritage status, at least they have real masters and prestigious artists to present their credentials, along with a large appreciative audience. Similarly, when asked what traditional festivals mean to Chinese, just observe the mass migration each year

at Spring Festival. But where is the

evidence of Feng Shui's relation to the environment?

Additionally, the value attached to Feng Shui, based on egoism, is damaging to those seeking self-improvement. The application of Feng Shui is coincidental to a nostalgic surge in the country and some unscrupulous people are taking full advantage of its resurgence to cash in.

Zhang Jingwei (Qingdao Morning News): As we know, so-called Feng Shui bundles living space, environment and people's fate into one philosophy that makes no sense. Where is the harmony and coordination between man and nature? Instead Feng Shui brings unnecessary fears that threaten people. Those who claim to be Feng Shui masters are racketeers who deceive people in much the same way as fortunetellers do. It will be an embarrassment to apply for world intangible cultural heritage status for Feng Shui, as it will show the world the worthless aspects of Chinese culture.

China's relaxing environment allows for various public opinions, and some people are wildly advocating superstitious ideas to earn illegal profits, while some real estate developers even make use of Feng Shui to promote their business.

Qiu Lin (www.singtaonet. com): Those who deceive people in the name of science have no idea what science is all about.

For instance, some of them have incorporated Feng Shui with environmental science to "modernize" Feng Shui. Some principles of Feng Shui are common sense, for example, when ancient home dwellers became aware that a south-facing door meant getting the most sun. Is that substantial to prove Feng Shui a science?

They believe that modern science developed from wizardry in Western countries, and so does Feng Shui from traditional Chinese beliefs. It is a wrong perception of science. Throughout history, science has progressed through a process by which people fight against blind worship to gradually select the essential and discard the dross, retaining the true and dropping the false, to eventually shape a knowledge system and way of thinking. Today's fight against Feng Shui is natural social filtering.

Zhou Shijun (Guangming Daily): The opposition to Feng Shui being superstitious emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of man and environment. Feng Shui postulates that the earth, sky and man are part of one whole. But Feng Shui that cannot be proved by modern science or that contradicts modern science should not be preserved or protected in the name of an intangible cultural heritage.