Shenzhen, China ? The life of an official in China’s closed political system can be anxious and uncertain. Anyone who doubts that should stride up the initial flight of nine steps leading into the courthouse here.

The courthouse used to have 11 steps. Two were removed.

Workers also broadened the stairway, and placed two fierce ceremonial stone lions at another entrance. The reasons for the redesign haven’t been made public. But news reports suggest that agitated officials wanted to halt a run of bad luck, including the jailing of three judges for corruption.

So they decided to feng shui their way out of the fix.

Feng shui, which translates as “wind-water” in Chinese, refers to the ancient practice of positioning objects or buildings in certain harmonious ways to affect health, energy and wealth. Under the principles of feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”), energy can be liberated or stifled by the arrangement of living and work spaces.

The renovation of the courthouse in this industrial boom city across from Hong Kong is only one of a spate of recent cases in which local officials appear to have resorted to ancient beliefs despite membership in the Communist Party, which upholds atheism and condemns feng shui and other such practices as feudal superstitions.

Low-level government officials are building bridges, moving tombs, redesigning buildings and turning to divination and talismans.

“Some party members have lost their belief in Marxism. Feng shui is close to everyday life, providing psychological and spiritual guidance, while Marxism is a theory or doctrine,” said Xu Daowen, a sociologist at Shenzhen University.

Xu said some local party cadres in official posts lacked confidence in the future.

“Officials are more susceptible to feng shui beliefs than ordinary citizens because they are faced with more uncertainties,” Xu said. “Sometimes we joke that civil servants engage in a high-risk industry since they often encounter sudden arrest for corruption.”

The Beijing News broke the story of the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court last month, saying court officials had contracted a feng shui master in Hong Kong to design renovations after the arrests last year of a deputy director and three midlevel judges. The stone lions would “instill power and prestige” to an area that’s subject to sneak attack, the Hong Kong master advised.

A gardener at the courthouse said an initial flight of outdoor stairs was altered early this year. “The number of stairs was changed from 11 to nine. Nine is a luckier number than 11,” Zeng Dehua said.