Feng Shui Feng shui is an ancient Chinese system that governs the arrangement and orientation of objects in a room, in relation to the flow of energy called chi or qi. The flow of chi in a room or building may have beneficial or undesirable effects on a persons' feelings and inner harmony. Each feeling is associated with an element: fire, water, wood, earth and metal. These elements are used to describe the colours and shapes in the surroundings. For example fire could be represented as a candle for many reasons; the flame, warmth generated from the flame and red colour.