COMPASS

SCREENSHOTS

DESCRIPTION

The Cathay Compass by Bluefir is a link to ancient China’s mysterious system of divination called feng shui, as well as a stylish, well-designed compass app for your phone. One of the 4 great inventions of ancient China was the compass, while the other 3 were papermaking, gunpowder, and printing. The modern day compass, however, bears little resemblance to the original Chinese compass invented during the Warring States period of 476 to 221 BCE. The ancient Chinese compass is called sinan (司南), which literally translates to “south pointer”. Originally the sinan was used in feng shui divinations, with the navigational benefits of a south pointing device only later realised for trade and military applications.
The Chinese compass sinan is made from a single piece of mineral magnetite carved in the shape of a large spoon, or ladle. The ladle is placed atop a brass plate with engravings based on feng shui and the I Ching. The I Ching is also called the Book of Change and is regarded as one of the six Confucian Classics. These markings indicate the harmonious directions for different objects and activities. For the south pointing function of the sinan, the ladle rotates until the handle points due south, with the mouth pointing north.

“In the past, the Chinese compass for feng shui was made of tiger bones and was hand-painted. Nowadays, however, the sinan is made up of a brass base plate and a magnetic spoon showing designs such as Ten Heavenly Stems, Twelve Earthly Branches, and the Four Divinatory Symbols. These designs indicate the twenty-four directions and positions and are attached to a beautiful rosewood platform. The use of the Chinese compass for feng shui is basically to give information on the favorable and unfavorable parts of a location or building.”