When constructing a house or building, there are various building protocol that must be observed, and learning about the building standards specific to your region or country is very important.For the Ancient Chinese, there was one very important protocol to observe, that of Feng Shui.
In Western culture, all that most people know about feng shui would be some sort of idea that they get from the various ying yang symbols that adorn martial arts centers and necklace charms.
But Feng Shui, besides affecting every aspect of life for the Ancient Chinese, also affected how they built their house, as all the five Chinese elements had to be kept in balance throughout the whole structure, thus perhaps accounting for the unique design of ancient Chinese homes.
Link: The Concept of Feng Shui (feng shui); Spiritual and Met