Screen Wall 影壁
Also called ‘mirroring/reflecting wall’ (zhaobi照壁), more accurately called ‘shadow wall’. I.e. a defensive barrier to counter poor fengshui conditions, usually erected in front of gateways or doors to shield an entrance in traditional Chinese architecture. There are three types of shadow walls, (1) yi-shaped shadow wall (shaped like the Chinese character for the numeral one, i.e. one long line) (yixing yingbi一字型影壁), (2) ba-shaped shadow wall (shaped like the Chinese character for the numeral eight) (baizixing yingbi八字形影壁), and (3) mountain-shadow wall (shan yingbi山影壁).
The Chinese believe that there exist evils intent on causing harm. There are also ghosts who do not have anyone who will offer sacrifices for them and, as a consequence, will try to create calamities and disasters for a family. Ghosts like to travel in straight lines and a ‘shadow wall’ requires them to go around to gain entrance to an interior room. It is also believed that a ghost approaching a ‘shadow wall’ will see its own image or shadow on the wall and be scared away.
-From Li Shifu’s, abbot of Five Immortals Temple, Fengshui notes, endnotes
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