Feng Shui as Cultural Heritage

This episode delves into global heritage conservation, as producer Willa Seidenberg talks with recent grad Haowen Yu about his thesis, Examining Feng Shui as Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Many Americans consider Feng Shui primarily an approach to arranging space. Yet it’s a far more complex system of knowledge, practice, and tradition that has spanned more than a millennium. Feng Shui underlies virtually the entire built environment of China, but it hasn’t (yet) been designated as a form of cultural heritage. Haowen discusses why he’s not so sure it should be, and how Feng Shui has been viewed in China and around the world.

Transcript

A typical cemetery located in the hills of contemporary China. Photo by H. Yu.
A typical tomb in contemporary China; a ceremony to memorialize the past (partly obscured to protect privacy). Photo by H. Yu.
Structural references in Feng Shui writings.
Commonly seen ornaments related to Feng Shui in an Asian restaurant. Photo by H. Yu.

Black and white image of Haowen You — Haowen Yu

Haowen Yu earned his Master of Heritage Conservation degree and Master of Planning from USC in 2022. He currently works as an urban planner, designer, and conservationist at Chongqing Architectural Design Institute in China. He also the manager of the Chongqing “community planner, architect, and engineer” program. He currently lives in Chongqing, China and he is an enthusiast of the sport of fencing.

Podcast producer Willa Seidenberg teaches audio journalism and podcasting at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, while pursuing a Master of Heritage Conservation degree at the USC School of Architecture.

A 20-year broadcast journalist and an inaugural fellow with USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Willa founded Annenberg Radio News, the university’s radio news operation; and Intersections South LA, a reporting lab and community website for South Los Angeles.

With photographer William Short, Willa created two oral history/photo projects: A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War and Memories of the American War: Stories From Viet Nam.