刘老师, in my dorm, my Chinese roommate always says the bed shouldn’t face the door, and they even put a small mirror on the desk. Is that feng shui?

Yes, that is indeed a feng shui idea. Do you find it strange? Actually, feng shui isn’t entirely superstition—many principles make a lot of sense. For example, if the bed faces the door, someone walking by at night can disturb your sleep.

I see! I also heard there are rules about office seating too—like having your back against a wall and facing the door?

Exactly! That’s called “having a backer.” From a psychology perspective, having support behind you makes you feel safer, and facing the door helps you keep track of what’s going on around you, so you can focus better at work.

So in that sense, feng shui is really experience and lessons the ancients summed up from observing daily life?

You’ve got it! The core of feng shui is “harmony between people and the environment.” Some explanations do sound mysterious, but the idea of pursuing a balanced, comfortable living space is still well worth learning from.

We have similar ideas in Vietnam too. It seems East Asian cultures share common wisdom about the relationship between environment and daily life!

Exactly! Cultural exchange is about discovering those common points. You can try arranging your dorm to be more comfortable—whether you call it feng shui or not, the most important thing is that you’re happy living there.