A court in Shenzhen has denied media reports alleging its building is being renovated with the help of a Hong Kong fengshui master in order to purge it of bad luck.

"It's ridiculous," said Li Rujian, spokesperson of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. "We have reported the accusations to the Supreme People's Court in Beijing."

A story concerning the court's alleged dealings with the fengshui master was picked up over the weekend by Chinese newspapers and almost all of the country's leading portal Web sites, some with sensational headlines criticizing the court's move as "A slap in its own face."

"We did renovate the steps outside the building, but that was for safety purposes," stated Li. "The old steps were so narrow that some people were missing them and falling."

The court building, first completed in 1999, underwent renovation work during the Chinese New Year holiday period, with the number of steps up to its eastern entrance reduced from eleven to nine -- regarded by Chinese as a lucky number.

Media reports speculated on the reasons behind the change, linking the renovation with reports last year that five of the court's judges were under investigation on suspicion of graft. The reports claimed that, believing the scandal was down to bad fengshui, the court had obtained the services of the fengshui master in a bid to rid the building of bad luck.

In addition to the stairway alterations, the fengshui master also reportedly directed builders to erect a pair of human-sized stone lions to "ward off evil" at the eastern gate of the courthouse, and was invited to inspect the entire building, redesigning the offices of top court officials.

Li refuted these reports as "vicious denigration" of the people's court. "The lions were put there for decorative purposes," he said. "We have never invited a fengshui master to inspect our offices."

Li also stated that no reporter had ever come to the court with a request for an interview with court officials about the renovations. "As far as I know, the same author wrote a story last year claiming that our court was under surveillance by the Political and Law Committee of the Communist Party of China Guangdong Provincial Committee - that was one of the top 10 fabricated stories of the year."

The author in question, Tian Jiagang, is a reporter with the Guangzhou bureau of the Beijing-based newspaper Democracy and Law.

Tian claimed that the court had turned down three requests for an interview. "The security guards didn't allow me to enter the building," he said. "And officials answering the phone always said nobody was available for interview."
He insisted that he had not written the story out of resentment and that all information had been obtained from insiders.

Fengshui, which translates as "wind and water," is an ancient Chinese discipline of geography, architecture, ethics and prophecy, based on the Taoist principle that the earth, sky and humankind are part of one whole. According to fengshui theory, the arrangement, style and location of a building would affect the fate of the persons who live in it.
Traditionally, fengshui practitioners are consulted before a building is constructed or renovated.

Editor: Donald