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Choice of a Noodle:
An Examination of Pasta and its Feng Shui Potential
Sergei Rzhechnyik
Recent years
have witnessed a growing interest in the ancient
art of feng shui, along with an increasing number
of advocates emerging to offer various suggestions
on improving daily life. This study attempts to
empirically support one respected author’s
theories, by using a blind placebo trial to determine
the influence of noodle variety on healthy and
happy living.
[This
paper is also available in PDF format]
Introduction
The past two decades have witnessed
the remarkable spread of Chinese influence in the
West, sparked by an interest in alternative medicines,
vegetarian lifestyles, and bubble teas. Meanwhile,
the typical North American’s desire for self-improvement
has never been higher, with a myriad of advice columns
and self-help books gaining huge followings among
the general public. Cashing in on this combined
surge in fascination with all things Chinese and
the average Joe’s long-held dream of self-betterment,
in recent years the Chinese geomancer art of feng
shui has taken the Western world by storm.
Feng shui, at least in its modern,
market-oriented reinterpretation, can be described
vaguely as “an ancient Chinese earth science
developed to bring people into harmony with nature,
time and space” (Indawind, 1987). Put in more
concrete terms, modern feng shui—or at least,
the aspect thereof that we are concerned with here—is
a system of exploiting the physical characteristics
of objects, such as their shape, colour, placement,
or very existence, for one’s own personal
gain in areas such as health, happiness, financial
well-being, job satisfaction, and human relations.
No item too big or too small will escape the watchful
eye of the feng shui “master.” From
the selection of knick-knacks we choose to display,
to the firmness and direction of the pillow we sleep
on, to the very colour of our bath towels, all can
have a crucial influence on the overall quality
of the lives we live.
Recent Literature
At the forefront of this American
feng shui invasion is the famous Chicago feng shui
adept Mofa “Clifford” Chen. His books
The Lotus and the Layaway Plan (1994) and
Find Your Fortune Cookie Future through Fine
Furnishings (1997) offer a well-crafted mixture
of Oriental wisdom and Western practicality. In
these guides, Master Chen gives frank advice and
explains the basics of how simple changes to home
décor can bring about an influx of wealth,
spark a budding romance, or cure even the most complicated
of diseases.
In his latest offering, Master
Chen tackles a subject that is very close to the
hearts—and stomachs—of most families:
the American homestyle Italian meal. In Noodle
Your Way to Health and Happiness (2004) Master
Chen provides a detailed guide to pasta noodle varieties
and explains some of the beneficial effects that
various pasta selections can have, based entirely
on the feng shui properties of their shape. From
tiny, lentil-sized cochiglie to thick-ridged, tubular
rigatoni, the benefits and characteristics of a
wide assortment of pasta are explained in clear
detail for pasta lovers and students of feng shui
alike.
This paper, therefore, attempts
to scientifically verify some of the claims put
forth in Master Chen’s most recent work, by
examining the question of whether pasta variety
can in fact influence success in or quality of life.
The method used is described below, with the results
and conclusions discussed thereafter.
Method
Four female participants were
selected from a pool of 104 survey-takers at the
Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey. All participants
were determined to be between the ages of 20 and
35, and of “average” health, happiness,
and financial standing, based on self-assessment.
The chosen participants were instructed to follow
a strict dietary regimen consisting of two pasta
meals per day, for a span of 21 days. Each meal
was to comprise of 125 grams of dried pasta accompanied
by either a basic tomato or cream sauce, with sauce
to be alternated between even and odd days. Participants
were free, however, to adjust the volume of sauce
to their liking, as well as free to supplement their
diet with fruit and/or vegetables. No bread was
allowed.
Each participant was assigned,
through a random drawing, one of the following four
“pasta” varieties, consisting of three
genuine durum wheat–based pasta noodle types,
and one rice-based pasta placebo. Subject 1 was
assigned to eat farfalle, a bow tie or butterfly-shaped
pasta variety. Subject 2 was given lumache, a snail-shaped
pasta noodle variation. Subject 3 was assigned fusilli,
consisting of long, corkscrew-like twists. Subject
4, meanwhile, was assigned “perengellio,”
a fictitious pasta variety described as being of
the Northern Italy style, and actually consisting
of tteokbokki, a popular Korean dish made of glutinous
rice cakes cut into finger-length sticks (figure
1). Note that in order to avoid any preconceived
outcomes, neither the participants nor the researcher
were permitted to read in advance Master Chen’s
2004 publication, nor were they in any way familiar
with the notions perpetrated therein.
Participants were instructed to
keep a daily journal, in which they were asked to
regularly describe their mental, physical, and emotional
state, as well as their overall well-being. In addition,
on the last day of the experiment, they were asked
to complete a brief survey (shown in table 1) regarding
all aspects of their lives, and to rate the various
aspects using the following scale: a) worsened greatly,
b) worsened somewhat, c) neither worsened nor improved,
d) improved somewhat, e) improved greatly.
Results
Results varied between all four
participants, with no clear patterns emerging. As
an indication of overall change, the level of happiness
from the beginning to the end of the experiment
for subjects 2 and 4 was found to have “improved
somewhat”; that for subject 3, “worsened
somewhat”; and that for subject 1, “neither
worsened nor improved.”
In viewing answers to specific
topics, we saw that the health of three of the four
subjects “neither worsened nor improved”
throughout the duration of the experiment, while
that of one subject (subject 3) “worsened
somewhat.” Review of this subject’s
journal revealed that in the last week of the experiment
she had caught a bad cold.
Concentration ability for all
participants remained constant, as did financial
situation, child-bearing success, and luck at cards.
Complexion “worsened somewhat” for subject
1, and “improved somewhat” for subject
2, with no clear cause and effect able to be identified.
Job satisfaction “improved somewhat”
for subject 4, after she was complimented by her
boss.
The most drastic changes were
seen in the aspect of family relations, which for
subject 3 “worsened greatly” after an
argument with her brother. Other major changes were
noted for subject 2, who claimed that her romantic
and/or sexual satisfaction “improved greatly”;
her journal entries indicate that she had experienced
a very successful date.
Conclusions
Based on the above results, it
can be concluded that no clear lines of cause and
effect can be drawn between specific pasta varieties
and improvements to particular aspects of physical,
mental, or emotion health, career success, luck,
or general happiness. Similarly, no clear distinction
can be made between the effects of a diet rich in
flour-based pasta and one primarily consisting of
rice or other carbohydrates. Further studies are
recommended to establish a possible link between
sexual gratification and consumption of lumache.
References
Chen, M. (1994). The lotus
and the layaway plan. Chicago, IL: New Light
Press.
Chen, M. (1997). Find your fortune cookie future
through fine furnishings. Chicago, IL: New
Light Press.
Chen, M. (2004). Noodle your way to health and
happiness. Chicago, IL: New Light Press.
Indawind, P. (1987). Chop suey, feng shui, and
other Asian secrets revealed. New Delhi, India:
Mughal Books.
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