Many Feng Shui books and articles contradict each other. Why?

I have read a few articles and books on feng shui; they appear to contradict each other

The Chinese, ancient and modern, has a tradition of lineage families or societies. The feng shui practise knowledge and skills are passed down by verbal instruction from generation to generation. The handing down of the knowledge is the training of an artisan – very practical, step by step instruction, thorough and usually lasting ten years. The training is personal and individual. As a result, very few people are trained.

In many cases, the training is of a very high standard as the aim of the trainer (Master) is to get the students (disciple) to do better than himself. It is the Chinese tradition of leaving a "good name" – an honourable and lasting legacy.

In ancient China, it was only the scholars who could read and write. The artisans were very reluctant to share their knowledge with anyone as it would affect their "rice bowl" or livelihoods. They avoided scholars. It was known for scholars to document what they heard and claim credit for the knowledge. This traditional knowledge has been left undocumented as it is passed down by verbal instruction. A check of the instruction is a rhythming couplet.

As a result of this information vacuum, there were groups of feng shui enthusiasts who marketed themselves as practitioners or teachers and provided an alternative view of the practice. Also, it was not uncommon for experts who were familiar with the basics of Chinese Philosophy like BaZi (destiny analysis) and other systems to apply their knowledge to the environment and then call it "feng shui".

Contradictions arose as the information came from different sources. Also, there were different interpretations of the same rule. These documents did not make any claims of validation. Rigorous testing would have determined whether the method worked and what are the correct interpretations. 

Modern authors, teachers and trainers have been relying on these ancient documents as their "source material". It is not surprising that contradictions have arisen from this wide variety of sources.

I have discussed this issue. I spent about five years trying to understand the "true practice" of feng shui. We live by the feedback so that we know whether we are on the right track or not. In most of the published feng shui methods that I have encountered, it is a set of instructions. There is no way to test or validate the interpretation. In other Chinese philosophies, for example – BaZi (destiny analysis), you can check whether the method works by the confirmation or the correct prediction. You build up your confidence by the experience of trial and error.

However, this does not happen with most practices of feng shui as feedback is not available. It took me a long time (more than a decade) to be able to have the ability to get feedback when using traditional (lineage) feng shui. With constant practice, I have improved my ability based on this feedback and client reviews.

My final point is:

There are essentially two types of feng shui books.

To make Feng Shui simple – This is to attract the new reader to the article or book.

To make feng shui complex – This is to show the feng shui enthusiast the complexity of feng shui and show how authoritative the author is. These are expensive limited-edition publications.

However it is presented, the text relies on the information from the same – ancient texts.

Feng shui is about the accumulation of energy in the property.

There better the outcome for the people in the property when:

1. The greater the quantity of energy
2. The better the quality of energy.

The consultant uses traditional (lineage) feng shui works to get the best available quantity and quality accumulated into the property with the minimal amount of leakage. This is for the benefit of the residents.