Fung shui masters are giving their traditional image a modern makeover
Fung shui masters and Chinese almanac producers want to appeal to a new generation, writes Elaine Yau
Thierry Chow Yik-tung is determined to bring fung shui into the 21st century, by doing away with the traditional Chinese art’s association with superstition and dowdy customs. The daughter of famed fung shui master Chow Hon-ming, she has been busy recently designing hip talismans, creating social media accounts to boost business, and writing a book that offers quirky fung shui tips.
Chow, 26, studied fine arts in Canada before returning to Hong Kong in 2010 to help her father with his business. She says the image of fung shui needs a makeover to attract a younger generation. “The reason horoscopes and tarot card readings are popular with young Chinese is because they have a modern, hip image. Youngsters will pay a tarot card reader HK$300 to ask only one question. To reach young people, we have to do away with fung shui’s staid and antiquated image,” Chow says.
“After a consultation with a fung shui master, he will suggest the client acquire tools such as ancient copper coins, a golden clock, a copper statue and carpet to decorate the home for a change of fortune. But those tools are in drab colours and the design is dowdy. I come from a design background, and I am creating a line of modern-looking talismans that include necklaces and rings.
“When I go on home visits to provide fung shui and interior design advice, I take pictures whenever I see an auspicious home layout or beautiful furnishings like a gleaming fish tank. I post the pictures on Facebook and Instagram,” she says.
Chow’s first bilingual almanac – Boom Party Almanac 2014 – will be published this month. The almanac will provide an offbeat take on the dos and don’ts for the Year of the Horse. One section, complete with maps, even teaches bar hoppers the best place to stand in a club to boost romantic luck.
Another part focuses on physiognomy, and features illustrations which denote different facial features. It tells readers how to distinguish between a virgin and a crazy woman, and how to avoid a promiscuous male philanderer.
Now working independently of her father – who can command HK$100,000 for a detailed fortune-telling session – Chow provides face- and palm-reading services, and conducts fung shui home visits.
