The Luo Pan compass (sometimes referred to as a Lo Pan) has been developed in China over the last 2,000 years. As every traditional Feng Shui master of note has added his knowledge and experience to the Luo Pan during this time, it contains the sum total of Feng Shui knowledge to date and is therefore invaluable to a Feng Shui professional. Just like any other magnetic compass, the Luo Pan is a direction finder. However, unlike most compasses, a Luo Pan needle points towards the south magnetic pole. A conventional compass normally only shows four or eight directions and although it can be used for Feng Shui purposes, a Luo Pan shows the full 360 degrees, the twenty four directions known as the "Twenty Four Mountains", as well as various formulas relating to the direction. These all allow the practitioner to be extremely accurate as to the orientation of the building and the specific energy of the direction. Entitled: "Fung Shui dial."Image taken from page 91 of A String of Chinese Peach-Stones. Sketches of village life in central China by William Arthur Cornaby, 1895.