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Ancient Chinese constellations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2011

Junjun Xu
Junjun Xu*
Affiliation:
Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Room 424, Apartment 20, No. 37 Xueyuan Street, Beijing, China email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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China, a country with a long history and a specific culture, has also a long and specific astronomy. Ancient Chinese astronomers observed the stars, named and distributed them into constellations in a very specific way, which is quite different from the current one. Around the Zodiac, stars are divided into four big regions corresponding with the four orientations, and each is related to a totem, either the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger or the Murky Warrior. We present a general pattern of the ancient Chinese constellations, including the four totems, their stars and their names.

Keywords

Chinaconstellationsmansions
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S260: The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture , January 2009 , pp. 107 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

Chen, J. 2005, Ancient Chinese Constellations Decoding (Beijing: Qunyan Publisher)Google Scholar
Sun, X. & Kistemaker, J. 1997, The Chinese sky during the Han: Constellating Stars and Society (Leiden: Brill)CrossRefGoogle Scholar