Peter
Louis' balancing act
Page 2
grandfather was a renowned feng shui master in the small town of Taishan in southern China. Louis spent most of his childhood there, but – unlike most family disciples – he began learning feng shui with great suspicion.
Louis inherited from his father a healthy dose of scientific skepticism. After heated debates in which he argued against the practice with his grandparents, he began to read ancient books about feng shui and fortune telling. "I was just trying to prove them wrong!" he recalls, "But I became so infatuated that I started to learn it."
Louis majored in architecture at Yunnan University in southeast China before the Communist takeover of 1949, where he learned to combine feng shui theories with architectural design. Returning to Hong Kong in the 1950s, he was quickly swept up by the development boom and established his own company, Taylor Construction.
His most ambitious project was the Hoover Theatre, completed in 1954. Designed by the famous architect Robert Fan, the 12-story building was the largest movie theatre in Hong Kong at the time – and feng shui played a role. According to the Hong Kong building code of the time, buildings were required to have steps leading into them, as a measure against floods during the monsoon season. After inspection, however, Louis realized that steps would be disastrous for the feng shui of the theatre.
"A
step, be it one inch high, symbolizes a mountain, which would impede the
flow of chi," says Louis. At last Louis found an alternative, replacing
the steps with a long ramp. He justified this to the authorities by saying
that in the event of an emergency, steps would impede the escape of the
audience. It worked and the theatre opened with its unique ramp entrance.
Business became more difficult in the 1960s and 1970s however, By 1980, Louis had declared bankruptcy and decided to move to the United States, settling in the Bay Area, which he says has the best feng shui in the country.
With the persistent encouragement of some old friends, Louis started his own business, Good Fortune Feng Shui Design. The fact that he could not speak English did not seem to hurt business, even as he expanded his clientele beyond the Chinese community. Today, he lives comfortably in a large house constructed according to his own feng shui design, and is planning to write a book on his practice of the ancient art.
Louis' success in the U.S. has been a surprise to even him. But as he notes, recalling his decision to follow fate and move to the U.S.: "Be charitable and follow the practice of feng shui, and you will have a happy life."
Pius
Lee
Political star
Phoebe
Man
21st century artist
Martin
Yan
Celebrity chef
Coming soon
In
late May, journalism students from
UC Berkeley will travel to
Hong Kong. Watch for their reports.