When selecting a site to build a new house, or attempting to find good location to move to, it pays to take note of the landscape surrounding the property. 

In rural locations this will be in the form of hills and water courses; and in urban areas, the surrounding buildings and roads.  Ancient Chinese texts determine suitable sites by looking at the landscape to the rear, on either side and in front of a property. 

Each of these positions is given a name which describes the ideal configuration of hills (or buildings) which surround it.  They are known as the Green Dragon, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise and the Red Phoenix.

The names are taken from the Chinese view of the sky, which divides astronomically into four large constellations - the Green Dragon to the East, the White Tiger to the West, the Black Tortoise to the North and the Red Phoenix to the South. 

When applying the animal positions to a home other than one facing due south, ignore the compass positions.  When standing in front of a property, locate the Tortoise to the rear, the Tiger on the left, the Dragon on the right and the Phoenix in front.

In an ideal site, there will be a tall hill behind the property offering it support. On either side of it, there will be two hills, slightly overlapping, with the Dragon side being slightly larger than the Tiger.  This configuration is known as "Dragon and Tiger in an embrace". 

To the front, perhaps some distance away, will be a small hill, possibly defining the boundary of the land.  In an urban area, surrounding buildings, trees or fences marking plot boundaries serve as the animals.

To the rear, the animals offer support - from prevailing winds, or a neighbouring enemy tribe.  An open space to the front of the the property enables a farmer to grow crops on dry land watered by a river fed by Water channels from the mountains. 

A famous Sung Dynasty painter, Kuo Hsi, suggested that

"Watercourse are the arteries of a mountain; grass and trees its hair, mist and haze its complexion."

Experts will trace the Dragon in the hill formations and identify its shape and energy pulses, which determine where to build. 

To cut or pierce a Dragon's veins is considered to bring bad luck, as the British discovered when they first attempted to build roads and erect a telegraphic pole in Hong Kong. 

Practically, redirecting and damming rivers causes environmental damage.  In urban areas, surrounding buildings offer protection, while a pleasant open area in front of building, enables the building to breathe and energy to gather. 

Properties can be affected where roads - the modern equivalent of Dragon veins - are blocked or where traffic is diverted.  There is always a logical explanation.

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