The Twenty-eight Mansions (Chinese: 二十八宿; pinyin: Èr Shí Bā Xiù<), hsiu, xiu[1] or sieu[2] are part of the Chinese constellations system. They can be considered as the equivalent to the zodiacal constellations in the Western astronomy, though the Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon in a lunar month rather than the Sun in a solar year. Another similar system, called Nakshatra, is used in traditional Indian astronomy.
Overview[]
Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the sky ecliptic into four regions, collectively known as the Four Symbols, each assigned a mysterious animal. They are Azure Dragon (青龍) on the east, Black Tortoise (玄武) on the north, White Tiger (白虎) on the west, and Vermilion Bird (朱雀) on the south. Each region contains seven mansions, making a total of 28 mansions. The mansions or xiù are latitudes the Moon crosses during its monthly journey around Earth and serve as a way to track the Moon's progress.
List of mansions[]
The names and determinative stars of the mansions are:[3][4]
| Four Symbols
(四象) |
Mansion (宿) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name (pinyin) | Translation | Determinative star | Abbreviation | |
| Azure Dragon
of the East] (東方青龍) Spring |
1 | 角 (Jiăo) | Horn | Spica | α Vir |
| 2 | 亢 (Kàng) | Neck | Kappa Virginis | κ Vir | |
| 3 | 氐 (Dĭ) | Root | Alpha Librae | α Lib | |
| 4 | 房 (Fáng) | Room | Pi Scorpii | π Sco | |
| 5 | 心 (Xīn) | Heart | Sigma Scorpii | σ Sco | |
| 6 | 尾 (Wěi) | Tail | Mu Scorpii | μ Sco | |
| 7 | 箕 (Jī) | Winnowing Basket | Gamma Sagittarii | γ Sgr | |
| Black Tortoise
of the North (北方玄武) Winter |
8 | 斗 (Dǒu) | (Southern) Dipper | Phi Sagittarii | φ Sgr |
| 9 | 牛 (Niú) | Ox | Beta Capricorni | β Cap | |
| 10 | 女 (Nǚ) | Girl | Epsilon Aquarii | ε Aqr | |
| 11 | 虛 (Xū) | Emptiness | Beta Aquarii | β Aqr | |
| 12 | 危 (Wēi) | Rooftop | Alpha Aquarii | α Aqr | |
| 13 | 室 (Shì) | Encampment | Alpha Pegasi | α Peg | |
| 14 | 壁 (Bì) | Wall | Gamma Pegasi | γ Peg | |
| White Tiger
of the West (西方白虎) Fall |
15 | 奎 (Kuí) | Legs | Eta Andromedae | η And |
| 16 | 婁 (Lóu) | Bond | Beta Arietis | β Ari | |
| 17 | 胃 (Wèi) | Stomach | 35 Arietis | 35 Ari | |
| 18 | 昴 (Mǎo) | Hairy Head | Electra | 17 Tau | |
| 19 | 畢 (Bì) | Net | Epsilon Tauri | ε Tau | |
| 20 | 觜 (Zī) | Turtle Beak | Lambda Orionis | λ Ori | |
| 21 | 參 (Shēn) | Three Stars | Zeta Orionis | ζ Ori | |
| Vermilion Bird
of the South (南方朱雀) Summer |
22 | 井 (Jǐng) | Well | Mu Geminorum | μ Gem |
| 23 | 鬼 (Guǐ) | Ghost | Theta Cancri | θ Cnc | |
| 24 | 柳 (Liǔ) | Willow | Delta Hydrae | δ Hya | |
| 25 | 星 (Xīng) | Star | Alphard | α Hya | |
| 26 | 張 (Zhāng) | Extended Net | Upsilon1 Hydrae | υ¹ Hya | |
| 27 | 翼 (Yì) | Wings | Alpha Crateris | α Crt | |
| 28 | 軫 (Zhěn) | Chariot | Gamma Corvi | γ Crv | |
References[]
- ^ Gary D. Thompson chapter 11-24
- ^ Richard Hinckley Allen in Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning
- ^ "The Chinese Sky". International Dunhuang Project. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ^ Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin. ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 517.ISBN 0-7923-4066-3 (HB). Retrieved 2011-06-25.