As development grows, feng shui is now one of the hottest subjects to study in Vietnam.
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| Books on Feng shui theory are very popular now. |
After a quick Internet search, numerous information on feng shui training courses appears on the screen. The information can be found on every advertisement column in newspapers. Long-term or short-term courses, classic classes, tutoring or modern online-training courses, there is everything you need if you want to study Feng Shui, a “most-wanted” subject for many people in Vietnam now.
A popular subject
In Hanoi, there are numerous feng shui courses advertised everywhere. After seeing one ad, I visited a class on Xuan Thuy Street, which was advertised as one of the best feng shui classes in Hanoi.
This training centre had only one classroom, owned by teacher Nguyen Trung V, a retired architect. V has run it for two years and now he has three classes which keep him busy all the time. When we came, he was teaching a class of around thirty students. They were mostly construction engineers, architects and real estate dealers who must know about this theory as part of their job. Many of his other students are housewives, retirees or small traders who learn just so they can arrange and decorate their houses or shops in the right way. Some were even unemployed people who hope to find appropriate work after the course.
According to a young construction engineer, Phan Hoang Hien, feng shui is a necessity for people working in the construction industry like him.
“Construction in Vietnam is now developing really fast,” Hien said. “People are also paying more attention to feng shui for their houses and offices, so I must study it to do to make my work better.”
Another student named Truong Dinh Quang, has also followed this class for a month. Quang had graduated from Hanoi University of Technology three years ago but his present job is not so good. He decided to arrange time to study feng shui to seek other work opportunities. “Some people in this class also have the same purposes,” Quang revealed. “For example, Mrs. Hoa is a hairdresser and Mr. Quan is working as a xe-om driver and they are all hoping to find a better job after graduating from this course.”
To invest in opportunities, Quang and his classmates are paying nearly VND 4 million for a three-month course. There are also 2-week crash courses at VND 2.5 million or advanced 4 to 5 month- courses at VND 8-10 million for people to choose from.
One rotten apple
Feng shui has never been more necessary than it is now. Taking advantage of this situation, feng shui training classes and centres are blossoming, especially in Vietnam’s two biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Many people have earned large profits from feng shui teaching and consulting services and this job is becoming more attractive than ever.
According to Tran Van Diep, a well-known architect who has been teaching feng shui for many years in Ho Chi Minh City, it is a scientific theory about the influence of wind and water on people’s life. It helps people choose the right direction for their houses, their offices and arrange their living and working places in harmony with the surrounding environment in order to have a good life. However, this theory can only improve people’s life but cannot change it.
Unfortunately, trust and appreciation for feng shui has created opportunities for many bad consultants to abuse their power.
Following the advice of a feng shui consultant, Pham Thi Trang, in Hanoi’s Lieu Giai Street, decided to build a small goldfish pond inside her house. For three years, it has not brought any wealth or harmony to her home as the consultant promised. On the contrary, Trang and her husband quarrel a lot because the pond encourages so many mosquitoes.
According to an architect at Phong Dien Design and Construction Company in Ho Chi Minh City, nearly 90% of their customers ask them about feng shui when they order a design plan. “After the construction is nearly completed, many invite a feng shui consultant who asks them to change something. Sometimes this causes a lot of problems for us.”
“Some ten years a go, we never applied feng shui in design or consultancy for customers,” he added. “But today, it is one of the things that decide the success of our contracts.”
