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N: Chinese Constellations
24: Early constellations in China
The Suchow (Soochow/Su-chou) planisphere (dated 1193 CE). 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 Wên 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 who was the Superintendent of University Hospital in Chengtu, Szechuan, China (his wife was Head Nurse there) and presented to the American astronomer Will Rufus. (Doctor Robert Brown and his wife died during the course of the Chinese-Japanese War (circa 1942) on their way back to Chengtu when their plane was shot down by Japanese fighter planes beside the Yangtze River.)
The term hsiu (or xiu) refers to the Chinese system of lunar 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. 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.
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). 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 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 a 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)."
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 Niao, Huo, Hsü,, and Mao) mark the 4 tropic times. The 4 tropic times correspond with the middles of the 4 seasonal quarters of the year, not with their beginnings. Much later, during the Han Period (circa 200 BCE-200 CE), the 4 stars Niao, Huo, Hsü, and Mao were identified with 4 of the 28 lunar mansions.
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 fit accurately with the 12 zodiacal signs.) The names of the 28 lunar lodges are inscribed on a lacquered box cover found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. Zeng was a minor state. The tomb (located on a hillside) is dated to 433 BCE. (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.)
The Chinese sky is divided into 5 general divisions (Wu Gong) of asterisms. These corresponded traditionally to the 5 Chinese cardinal points, East, North, West, South, and Middle. The 5th cardinal point, the central (middle) region or purple palace), is the most important one and corresponds to the circumpolar region (i.e., surrounds the north celestial pole). 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.
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 palaces (that were called the palaces of North, East, South, and West) as well as grouping the equatorial constellations into the 4 geographical directions, also associated with an animal and a colour. East is the blue dragon, north is the black turtle (tortoise), west is the white tiger, and south is the red 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.)
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 in the Chinese sky. The 3 enclosed areas of the Chinese sky were Ziwei Yuan, Taiwei Yuan, and Tianshi Yuan. The work yuan means wall and it was formed by stars surrounding each enclosed area. Ziwei Yuan 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. It was called The Purple Palace (Zigong) and was also known as the Enclosure of Purple Subtlety. It 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 was known as the Enclosure of Supreme Subtlety and 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 was known as the Heavenly Market Enclosure and 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.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the 3 Yuan and the 28 hsiu (xiu) became the main structure by which the Chinese organised the stars.
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.
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.
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