Feng Shui history is an ancient one and covers over 3,500 years.

It is even older than the discovery of the magnetic compass. A main portion of its origins may originate from traditional astronomy. The astronomic history of Feng Shui is clear in the traditional instruments that were developed in its practice. The earliest known Feng Shui instrument might have been what is perceived as the gnomon. This instrument was employed together with making an attempt to circumpolar the stars to establish the north and south axis. This was essentially employed in laying down early Chinese settlements. The traditional Yangshao and Hongshan cultures in China provide the earliest evidences of the practice of feng shui. As early as four thousand BCE, doors from Banpo dwellings were aligned to the star called Yingshi just following the winter solstice. This authorized the houses to be sited for better solar gain. During the Zhou time, the star Yingshi was known as Ding and had a great influence in trying to pinpoint the acceptable time to build their capital town.

This is according to records on the Shijing. This actual grave contains mosaics of the stars called Dragon and Tiger with the Beidou, known in the Western world as the Massive Dipper constellation. The mosaics appear to be orientated along the north to south axis. The presence of round and square shapes were also found at the Puyang tomb as well as at the Hongshan cultural ceremonial centers and the previous Longshan settlement. These evidences suggest the practice of gaitian astronomy ( belief in a round earth and a square earth ) was present in the traditional Chinese society. One of the oldest instruments used in traditional feng shui were the liuren astrolabes. These traditional instruments consist of a lacquered, two-sided board provided with astronomic sightlines. These traditional astrolabes show the cord-hook diagram and some those found even include the sorcery square of three.

The markings on these instruments stayed unchanged, from the traditional astrolabe down to the 1st magnetic compasses. Ancient structures in China including its palaces in the capital towns are all influenced by feng shui in their design and layout.

The guidelines that were followed got written in the Zhou age on the "Kaogong ji", or the "Manual of Crafts". The magnetic compass was at first invented for the practice of feng shui and has been used since its invention. Standard feng shui instruments include the Luopan or the earlier south-pointing spoon or the zhinan zhen. This shows the size of feng shui history and its long standing practice in traditional Chinese history.