Geomancy and Walled Fortifications in Late Eighteenth Century China

In the late eighteenth century, an advisor to China’s Hunan governor, Yan Ruyi, tendered a proposal to build fortifications in the west Hunan area of Pushi as, among other advantages, this would improve the regional geomancy (divination by figures or lines, known in Chinese as fengshui). This essay explores why a reference to fengshui is found in a Qing dynasty defense report and, in this context, what relationship geomancy had to military arts in China’s imperial history. As will be seen, Yan’s readers would not have found the reference odd. Chinese fengshui and military arts share an environmental focus and key concepts (qi and shi), as well as a long history of the use of fengshui methods in intelligence-gathering, sabotage, and walled fortification. This compatibility made geomantic considerations significant to both imperial military planning and “militarized” middle Qing culture.