Hulu (Feng Shui)
Hulus ( Chinese 葫 盧 / 葫芦 , Pinyin húlu - " bottle gourd ") are an aid in Chinese Feng Shui . They are made from the hollowed out and dried shell of a double-bellied bottle gourd.
Traditionally, such vessels were used in China as a storage place for medicinal tinctures and are considered in Taoist folk belief as containers for the magical life-extending elixirs of the Taoist magicians and sages.
According to the ideas of the Chinese Feng Shui system, one can collect and harmonize the life energy Qì in rooms with the help of the Hulus . Although rather unknown in the western version of Chinese Feng Shui (Neo-Feng-Shui), Hulus are among the classic and very common Feng Shui tools in China. According to the Feng Shui doctrine, the (bad) Qi penetrates through an opening near the handle of the calabash into the belly of the vessel and is harmonized there in the two chambers.
According to the system of the flying stars , Hulus are used when black star 2 (the monarch of disease) is to be neutralized in one place.
In addition to the hulus traditionally made from pumpkin fruits, double-bellied pumpkin replicas made from other materials are also used as cult devices. These have a different Feng Shui effect depending on the material properties. They are often made of porcelain or ceramic and thus correspond to the (Chinese) element earth. Hulu replicas are also made from metal and jade .