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N: Chinese Constellations
24: Early constellations in China
The Suchow (Soochow/Su-chou) planisphere (dated 1193 CE). (Note the ball-and-link (point and line) convention to identify constellations/asterisms.) The numerous unequally spaced radial grids shown correspond to the boundaries of the Chinese lunar mansions. Both the planisphere and its explanatory text were prepared in 1193 CE by Huang Shang (geographer and imperial tutor) for the instruction of the heir to the Chinese throne, who ruled as Emperor Ning Tsung (1195-1224 CE).. The planisphere was carved onto stone (to preserve it) approximately half a century later, in 1247 CE (Southern Song dynasty, Chunyou reign), by Wang Chih-Yuan. Most of the stars in the Chinese sky are carved quite precisely on the planisphere. Also included on the planisphere is the supernova of 1054 CE (in Taurus). For a long time the stele on which the planisphere was carved was located in the W�n Miao temple (Confucian temple of Literati), originally built in 1141 CE, in the historic garden city of Suzhou in the south of Jiangsu Province. The planisphere is now housed in a Suchow museum (the Stone Carving Museum). (The above star chart is an ink on paper rubbing (hanging scroll) of the stele made when it was located at the Confucian Temple. Only 10 rubbings have been authorised.) The chart depicts the sky visible from central China (approximately 35 degrees north latitude). The lengthy inscription (text) accompanying the chart states there are 283 asterisms and 1565 stars. These are the ancient canonical numbers (i.e., essentially the conventional figures). Will Rufus and Hsing-chih T'ien, in their extensive 1945 study of the chart (The Soochow astronomical chart), identified 313 asterisms and only 1440 stars. Though the stars are quite accurately located there is no systematic attempt to distinguish between stars of different brightness. The customary equatorial co-ordinate system is shown together with the ecliptic. (The ecliptic though is incorrectly represented as circular.) The Milky Way is also displayed on the chart. (The star chart and inscription below it (not shown above) measures 100 cms (38.5 inches) in width and 183 cms (71.75 inches) in length.) The illustration above is undoubtedly taken from The Soochow astronomical chart by Will Rufus and Hsing-chih T'ien (1945). The rubbing that appeared in their book was made by Doctor Robert Brown at the time he was the Director/Superintendent of University Hospital in Chengtu, Szechuan Province, China (his wife Mae Willis, who he married in 1907, was Head Nurse there) and presented to the American astronomer Will Rufus (a Methodist missionary to Korea during the early 1910s and Methodist Episcopal pastor). (Doctor Robert Brown and his wife (both Methodist medical missionaries) died during the course of the Chinese-Japanese War (some time post 1943) on their way back to Chengtu when their plane was shot down by Japanese fighter planes beside the Yangtze River. Doctor Robert Brown had been in China since circa 1918 (Director/Superintendent of the American Methodist Mission Hospital in Wuhu, on the Yangste River near Nanking, until 1938) with time away from China from circa 1940 to 1942 to study hospital administration at University of Michigan Medical School.)
Introduction
The system of lunar mansions/houses/lodges was prominent in major ancient Far Eastern/Asian countries. The system was a method for dividing a section of the sky by using 27/28 stars/asterisms spread out in a band circling the sky (usually the celestial equator).
The 2 most ancient ways in which the Chinese divided the celestial sphere, for both cosmological and observational purposes, were: (1) the five palaces, and (2) the lunar lodges/mansions.
Other (later) Chinese systems of dividing the sky were: the nine fields, the three walls, the Jupiter stations, the fortnightly periods, and degrees. With the system of Jupiter Stations the equator was divided into 12 equal sectors reflecting the approximately 12-year orbital period of the planet Jupiter. The 12 Jupiter stations do not equate to the 12 signs of the Western zodiac and the term "Chinese zodiac" is a misconception. With the system of Fortnightly Periods the 24 fortnightly periods were nominal 15 day sub-divisions of the tropical year. They marked out a series of sub-seasons that defined the agrarian solar calendar for everyday use. The fortnightly periods were an average of 15.219 days each but were counted in whole days. When necessary extra days were inserted into the system to account for the accumulated fractional days. With the system of 'degrees' the equator, the ecliptic, and all other celestial circles were divided into 365� 'degrees.' Thus the Chinese system of celestial 'degrees' were slightly smaller than the Western celestial degrees where a circle consisted of 360 degrees. The Chinese system of 'degrees' remained in use until the introduction Jesuit methods into Chinese astronomy.
The Lunar Lodges/Mansions
A lunar 'mansion' ('lodge') is a section of the sky whose boundaries are delineated with the aid of 27/28 stars/asterisms spread out in a band (either along the equator or ecliptic) that circles the sky.
The term hsiu (or xiu) refers to the Chinese system of lunar lodges/mansions. The stars marking the 28 divisions were obviously selected to enable a geometrical division of the sky. They are distributed very approximately along the celestial equator. The scheme of 28 divisions is a convenient average for measuring the motion of the moon (i.e., the sidereal month). However, their relation to the moon is not documented in surviving Chinese texts. According to the British sinologist Joseph Needham the lunar lodges/mansions were derived from the 27⅓ days of the moon' sidereal period, but anciently they were also commonly associated with the 29� year orbital period of Saturn approximated as 28 years.) They served as one of the dimensions of the Chinese polar-equatorial system. The earliest Chinese records mentioning star names deal with the hsiu (xiu). However, the origin of the Chinese system of 28 celestial lodges remains a debated issue. It is possible the hsiu originated from existing constellations.
Before the Han Period there did not exist any complete description of the sky. It remained largely unconstellated. Only 38 star names or constellation names are mentioned in pre-Han literature. These 38 stars names or constellation names were either the 28 hsiu (xiu) or were popular stars or constellations (appearing in folklore or poems) such as Niulang (= alpha Aquila), Zhinu (= alpha Lyra), and Beidou (= Ursa Major). (Later, the 7 bright stars of Ursa Major were known as Yu Ya (the Chariot) and the Milky Way was known as Tian He (Celestial River) or Yin He (Silver River).)
The 28 lunar mansions came to form the basis of the Chinese astronomical coordinate system (i.e., reference points). Throughout the length of Chinese history the system of 28 lunar mansions/lodges was the main system for defining the position of a celestial object. The hsiu (or xiu) constellations are constantly used throughout Chinese history as precise markers of the positions of celestial bodies during the seasons. Each hsiu (xiu) has a triangular patch of the sky extending up to the North Pole. (This is because the 28 lunar mansions sliced the celestial sphere into 28 sectors similar to the sections of an orange. All lines radiated from the "orange stem" of the north celestial pole. Each of the 28 sectors contained one of the lunar mansions and the width of a sector was (to some extent) dependant of the size of the constellation (lunar mansion).) As the lunar mansions were spaced out, more or less, along both sides of the celestial equator, this coordinate system was usually regarded as an equatorial system. Some modern researchers, however, hold that the lunar mansions mostly followed the ecliptic. (However, Chinese astronomy generally ignored both the horizon and the ecliptic.)
Each lunar mansion was numbered and named for a constellation or asterism. The 18th lunar mansion was called Mao and was formed by the stars of the Pleiades, The 21st lunar mansion was called Shen and was nearly identical to the modern European constellation Orion.
William O'Neill (Early Astronomy from Babylonia to Copernicus (1986, Page 179) writes: "An interesting and unique feature of the hsiu was the designation of 28 circumpolar stars on approximately the same meridians as the hsiu stars. Thus even when a hsiu star was below the horizon its direction could be read from its paranatellon (a star crossing the meridian at the same time)." Since the pole star and the stars near it never set beneath the horizon at any time during the year (whereas most stars do), the Chinese gave greatest attention to them, and by noticing where the starts at the top of a sky segment were, they could then precisely specify where the stars at the bottom of the same sky segment were, even though they might be invisible beneath the horizon. The 'keying' of the hsiu with circumpolar stars was the core of this system of dividing the sky.
The Shangshu (Book of Documents) contains a paragraph concerning 4 cardinal asterisms and is generally agreed to record the observation of stars before the 21st-century BCE. Also, a similar reference appears in the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (life dates: circa 145-90 BCE, Prefect of the Grand Scribes in the Han government, and astrologer) describing the Xia dynasty circa 2000 BCE.
A period of particular interest for the constellating of the entire Chinese sky is the Han Period (circa 200 BCE-200 CE). Prior to the Han Dynasty the constellation system of 28 lunar lodges (presumably developed in reference to the sidereal month), and little else, was established. The earliest description of the entire Chinese sky is given in the Tianguan Shu (Monograph on Heavenly Officers) by Sima Qian (circa 145 BCE - 87 BCE). In this book he mentions 91 constellations (including the 28 lunar mansions) including approximately 500 stars. It is the earliest existing book to systematically describe the Chinese constellations. Another feature was the Chinese sky was divided into 5 palaces.
Some of the inscriptions on the oracle bones (mainly fragments of turtle/tortoise shells (carapaces) and mammalian bones (i.e., the scapulae of oxen) discovered at Anyang, and which date to the Shang Period (circa 16th- to 11th-century BCE), contain some star names. (The fragments of carapaces or mammalian bones were subjected to heat and the paths made by the resulting cracks were interpreted to answer questions about current or future events.) The star names plausibly indicate the existence of a scheme for dividing the sky along the equatorial circle into 4 main divisions was being developed at the time. It is generally accepted that at least 4 quadrantel hsiu were already known in China in the 14th-century BCE. The discovery of the Shang Oracle bones makes it possible to trace the gradual development of the system of Chinese lunar mansions from the earliest mention of the 4 quadrantel asterisms.
The Canon of Yao (comprising the first section of the Shu Ching (Classic of History), dated circa 4th-century BCE, states that the 4 stars named Huo, Hs�, Mao, and Niao) mark the 4 tropic times (equinoctial and solstitial points). The 4 tropic times (equinoctial and solstitial points) correspond with the middles of the 4 seasonal quarters of the year, not with their beginnings. (This arrangement would have been approximately true for circa 2400 BCE. See: The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and David Kelley (2nd edition, 1969, Page 148.) Much later, during the Han Period (circa 200 BCE-200 CE), the 4 stars Huo (the 5th hsiu), Hs� (the 11th hsiu), Mao (the 18th hsiu), and Niao (the 25th hsiu) were identified with 4 of the 28 lunar mansions. By the Han Period the 28 lunar mansions/lodges were linked to the celestial equator. Between 2300-4300 BCE some 18-20 of the hsiu fell wholly or partly within a belt falling 10 degrees north or south of the celestial equator. (See: The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and David Kelley (2nd edition, 1969, Page 149.)
The system of 28 lunar mansions (lunar lodges) of unequal sectors dates back to at least the second half of the 5th-century BCE. (The hsiu (xiu) are quite unequal in size. The reason for this is to make them 'key' accurately with circumpolar stars. Some of the hsiu had to be very wide because there were no circumpolar stars to which narrower divisions could be 'keyed.' There was, however, a tendency for approximate pairing of the widths of xius on opposite sides of the sky. (The Chinese also chose the determinative stars for their lunar mansion system on the basis of 180 degree pairing, a remarkable feat for the 4th-millennium BCE.) Throughout the ancient and medieval periods fixing their widths remained a continuing problem. By the start of the Christian era, the sizes of the 28 lunar mansions (lunar lodges) were calculated as varying between 2 degrees and 33 degrees.) The names of all the 28 lunar lodges are inscribed on a lacquer(ed) box cover (clothes chest cover) found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. Zeng was a minor state. This is the earliest extant list of all 28 hsiu. The tomb (located on a hillside in Hupei Province) is dated to 433 BCE. The lacquer(ed) box is now kept in the Hupei Provincial Museum. (The tomb was accidentally discovered in 1977 and excavated by Chinese archaeologists in 1978.)
Twenty-three hsiu (xiu) are in the Yueh Ling (Monthly Ordinances), and this content may date back to circa 850 CE. (However, the Yueh Ling as a publication dates to the 3rd-century BCE.)
Due to concern to relate the heavens and the earth to each other (as belonging to the same universe) a correspondence was drawn between the 28 lunar mansions (lunar lodges) and territorial divisions that could be identified on earth.
The Five Palaces
One of the several ways in which the ancient Chinese sky was divided was the scheme of the five palaces (corresponding with the emblems or symbols of the Five Phases, and being named accordingly). This system was one of the simplest, and also one of the oldest, divisions of the sky. In this system the Chinese sky is divided into 5 general divisions (Wu Gong) of asterisms. These corresponded traditionally to Five Phases/Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), and the 5 Chinese cardinal points, East, North, West, South, and Middle (Centre). The 5th cardinal point, the central (middle) region or purple palace), is the most important one and corresponds to the circumpolar region of stars (i.e., the stars surrounding the north celestial pole) which never, for an observer in northern China, dip below the horizon. The circumpolar stars were the key constellations to the lunar mansions of the hsiu (xiu). Each of the 28 equatorial divisions had a circumpolar constellation as well as an equatorial constellation. The "central palace" consisted of all circumpolar stars within 40 degrees of the north celestial pole and was called the tzu-wei kung, 'Palace of Purple Tenuity.
The hsiu (xiu) were formed into 4 equal groups (segments) or palaces (Gong) of 7 lunar mansions (in each Gong) which were called the Four Images. The Four Images corresponded to the 4 cardinal points in the sky and to the 4 seasons of the year. (Each of these palaces represented one of the 4 seasons.) These 4 other regions or (non-central) palaces (that were called the palaces of North, East, South, and West) as well as grouping the equatorial constellations into the 4 geographical directions, were also associated with (symbolised by) an animal and a colour. East is the blue(-green) dragon, north is the black turtle (tortoise) (or paired turtle and snake), west is the white tiger, and south is the red bird (Vermillion bird). (Stars in these areas represented and were named for more mundane aspects of Chinese society, such as temples, philosophical concepts, shops and markets, farmers, soldiers, etc.)
In the Han shu (the standard history of the Han dynasty, probably compiled by Ma Hs� sometime before 150 CE) there are 783 stars that are identified and placed within the five palaces of the heavens.
L�opold de Saussure believed the system of lunar lodges/mansions was the origin of the system of the five celestial palaces. According to L�opold de Saussure the system of five celestial palaces and accompanying position of the pole and position of the solstices and equinoxes at the centre of these five palaces have maintained their position through the whole period of their use in Chinese history, and date to circa 2,500 BCE.
The Nine Fields
This was a similar concept to the system of the five palaces. The scheme of the nine fields of heaven are simply an elaboration of the scheme of the five palaces. The portion of the sky surrounding the north circumpolar stars was divided into 8 truncated sectors (rather than 4). Each of the nine fields was allotted three (four in the case of the central northern field) of the 28 lunar mansions/lodges. However, the lunar mansions/lodges are not actually located in the fields to which they are assigned (which was done for astrological purposes).
The Three-Wall System
An additional feature of the Chinese sky (dating from the Tang Period, 618-907 CE) is the 3-wall system. There were 3 enclosed areas (3 walled regions) in the Chinese sky. During the Tang Period Wang Xi-Ming composed a poem to help memorise the asterisms in the sky. In his poem Wang Xi-Ming divided the sky into 31 regions comprising 3 enclosures and 28 lunar mansions.
The 3 enclosed areas of the Chinese sky were Ziwei Yuan (known as the Purple Forbidden Enclosure), Taiwei Yuan (known as the Supreme Palace Enclosure), and Tianshi Yuan (known as the Heavenly Market Enclosure). The word yuan means wall and it was formed by stars surrounding each enclosed area. These regions reflect the organization of the dynastic hierarchy on earth, with the Purple Forbidden Enclosure being the most important.
Ziwei Yuan (called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure (Zigong), also known as the Enclosure of Purple Subtlety) comprised the circumpolar region and included 15 constellations. This circumpolar region harboured the celestial image of the emperor, his different court dignitaries, and court facilities. The brightest star of the constellation called the North Pole (Beiji) was called Di (the Emperor). Encircling them is the imperial palace which is also marked by stars, including the surrounding external walls. The Ziwei Yuan mimicked the terrestrial royal palace (i.e., was identified with the imperial palace). It extended over the stars of the Western constellations Draco, Ursa Major, and Cameleopardus. The wall was formed with 15 stars.
The Tianshi Yuan and Taiwei Yuan were located between the Ziwei Yuan and the ecliptic.
The Taiwei Yuan (called the Supreme Palace Enclosure, also known as the Enclosure of Supreme/Purple Subtlety) included 13 constellations and the wall was formed with 22 stars. It was formed from a broad circle of 10 stars in the Western constellations Virgo and Leo (which have the appearance of a circle) and, to the north, a cluster of 15 stars in the Western constellation Coma Berenices (identified as the "Seats of the Court Gentlemen" (lang-wei).) Within the enclosure, the Western star beta Leonis and 4 smaller stars nearby are known as the "Seats of the Five Emperors" (Wu di zuo).
The Tianshi Yuan (called the Heavenly Market Enclosure) included 13 constellations and the wall was formed with 10 stars. The Imperial Throne (Di zuo) lay within this enclosure and was identified with the Western star alpha Hercules.
The lunar mansions were also grouped by the four directions. Four symbols represented the 28 mansions - 1 symbol representing 7 mansions. The 4 symbols are the Azure Dragon (= East), the White Tiger (= West), the Tortoise (also known as the Murky Warrior) (= North), and the Vermilion Bird (= South)
Since the Tang Dynasty, the 3 Yuan and the 28 hsiu (xiu) became the main structure by which the Chinese organised the stars.
The Pole Star
There are indications that some Han Period writers identified β Ursae Minorus as being the Pole Star.
Chinese Political Cosmology
The Chinese believed the sky to be the other half of the earth. They also believed the sky was a mirror of the earth. As such ancient Chinese astronomy was a political science. Each part of the sky was subdivided to correspond to the different regions of the earthly Chinese empire. The bureaucratic governing structure of China was also reflected in the sky. Chinese astronomers searched the sky for celestial changes as these were regarded as omens. The Chinese sky was intimately linked to the symbolism of the Middle Kingdom i.e., the "Central States" along the Yellow River valley.
Diffusion of Indian Astronomy Into China
In the first century CE, the expansion of China into Central Asia exposed Chinese astronomers to Hindu and Persian astronomical knowledge. Chinese documents mention astronomers from Near Asia visiting China in 164 CE. Other Chinese documents mention the astronomer Ho-Tsheng-Tien learning astronomy from an Indian priest. This priest taught him, among other things, knowledge of how to determine latitude from the meridian height of the Sun. Indian astronomy was introduced into China with the journeys of Buddhist monks into China from the late 2nd-century to the early 11th-century CE. During this period of about 800 years an enormous amount of Indian astronomical ideas were introduced into China. This included the Indian system of lunar mansions, the 27 naksatras. This did not result in any great impact on the existing Chinese system of 28 hsiu's (xiu's). Both the Koreans and the Japanese, in part due to the political dominance of China in the region, adopted Chinese uranography. (For Iranian mythology in Chinese mythology see: Cults and Legends of Ancient Iran and China by J. C. Coyagee (1936), now a very scarce book. Sir Jeyhangar Coyagee was a Bombay Parsi, and an eminent Cambridge economist.)
Appendix 1:
According to one source a constellation was called a "palace," with the major star being the emperor star and lesser stars being princes.
Appendix 2:
The Chinese standard lunar lodge system of 28 'lunar lodges' is attributed to the astrologer/astronomer Shi Shin circa late 4th-century BCE. An earlier (but similar) lunar lodge system is attributed to the scholar Liu Xiang circa 1st-century BCE. This earlier system called the 'old degree' (gudu) system.
"In China there have been two ... systems of 28 'lunar lodges' (xiu), with variations. ... [T]he standard lunar lodge system of the past 2000 years ... is ascribed to ... Shi Shen of the late fourth century BC. ... But ... an eighth century AD encyclopedia of portents, the Kaiyuan zhanjing (ch. 60-3), makes it clear, Shi Shen's system (if it is his) is actually the later of the two. ... [Liu Xiang's earlier] system differs from Shi Shen's only in the widths of the individual lodges, and in the fact that, when the two systems are mapped, the beginning points - the first point of the lodge Jiao - are a few degrees apart in longitude." (Nivison, David. (1989). "The origin of the Chinese lunar lodge system." In: Aveni, Anthony. (Editor). World Archaeoastronomy. (Pages 276-288).)
Appendix 3:
The astronomer Bradley Schaefer has found the best estimate for the formation of the Chinese 'lunar mansion/lodge' system is 3250 BCE with a statistical uncertainty of roughly � 1000 years.
Appendix 4:
In their book The Chinese Sky
during the Han. Constellating Stars & Society (1997, Page 96) Sun Xiaochun
and Jacob Kistemaker set out that the Chinese star names can be roughly
categorised as related with:
(1) Heaven itself: sun, moon, and stars as names of constellations;
(2) Royal court and clan;
(3) Imperial bureaucracy and administration;
(4) All kinds of buildings and facilities;
(5) Military installations; armies and weapons;
(6) Traffic and transportation;
(7) Rituals, ceremonies and pictures of social life;
(8) Philosophical and religious concepts;
(9) Mythological and legendary figures;
(10) Administrative provinces and geographical features.
Appendix 5:
The Chinese perceived Heaven to be circular. In Chinese cosmology Heaven had nine levels; each of which was separated by a gate and guarded by a particular animal. The highest level was the Palace of Purple Tenuity where the Emperor of Heaven lived in the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Dipper). At the center of Heaven there was the North Pole and the polar star. The celestial pole was a critical characteristic of Chinese cosmology. To the Chinese, the centre was the most important geographical point because it was the closest to Heaven. They believed that the heart of civilization lay at the centre of the earth, and as the land spread out, the territories and their inhabitants became more savage. The emphasis on the centre point led to the polar axis being a pivotal aspect of Chinese astronomy. The polar axis, which ran from the polar star south to Earth, was the pivot of Heaven. The vault of Heaven slid up and down the polar axis while the earth itself oscillated along it to create the seasons.
Appendix 6:
With the Chinese calendar the equinoxes and solstices marked the center of the seasons rather than the beginnings. The 2 oldest Chinese calendars that have come down to us are the Hsia Hsiao Cheng and the Yūeh Ling. (According to Joseph Needham between 370 BCE and 1851 CE no less than 102 ‘calendars’ (effectively ephemerides) were calculated and promulgated in China, generally at the beginning of particular reigns.)
The Hsia Hsiao Cheng was more of a farmer’s almanac. It was divided into twelve months that would forecast the weather. The Hsia Hsiao Cheng (The Lesser Canon of the Hsia) forms the calendar section of the collection of ritual notes, the Ta Tai Li (The Rites of the Elder Tai). The calendar has nothing to do with the Hsia dynasty itself. Though traditionally regarded as a true relic of the Hsia dynasty (circa 2000 BCE) it is dated by modern scholars such as Joseph Needham on astronomical grounds (the hsiu) to the mid 4th-century BCE (contemporary with Shi Shen and Gan/Ghan De (Kan Te)). The document is a farmer’s calendar but also includes comments on the weather, the stars, animal and vegetable life, all arranged under the 12 moons of the year. It was first translated from Chinese by Robert Douglas (1838-1913), Professor of Chinese, King’s College, London (Orientalia Antiqua, 1892, Pages 1-60), and mistakenly regarded by him as being of great antiquity.
The Yūeh Ling, which was more detailed (longer) than the Hsia Hsiao Cheng, came to be incorporated in the Hsiao Tai Li Chi (Record of the Rites of Tai the Younger) dated to the 1st-century CE. The Yūeh Ling is dated to circa the 3rd-century BCE (and may even be earlier, circa 5th-century BCE. It contains not only monthly divisions and observations, but also set out the various sacrifices and instructions on how to perform them. The Yūeh Ling gives the astronomical characteristics of the (lunar) months with details of the appropriate musical notes, and sacrifices, etc. The bulk of each chapter describes the imperial ceremonies to be performed, the prohibitions of various activities, and warnings of what will occur if the proper/prescribed rites are not followed.Copyright � 2007-2010 by Gary D. Thompson
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