Chinese constellation

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Chinese constellations are different from the western constellations, due to the independent development of ancient Chinese astronomy. Ancient Chinese skywatchers divided their night sky in a different way, but there are also similarities. The Chinese counterpart of the 12 western zodiac constellations are the 28 "Xiu" (宿) or "mansions" (a literal translation). The 12 western zodiac is based on the movement of the Sun. Sun moves over one zodiac each month and it takes 12 months to complete a cycle or a year. The Chinese 28 "Xiu" is based on the movement of the Moon. Moon will occupy one "Xiu" each day and a lunar month normally consists of 28 days.

The zodiac was divided into four regions, or four symbols (四象), with 7 Xiu in each one of them. The Xiu cover varying amounts of the sky when taken as constellations - some astrological systems use the actual extents, while others split each quadrant into 7 equal portions. Since there are totally 28 Xius, some believe these Xius were used to track the cycle of the Moon.

The zodiac is listed below,

note: all translations of the names of the Xiu are done literally, they may not be the true and original meaning note 2: the name following the tranlations are the approximate location of the Xiu on the western skymap
four symbols (四象)	"Xiu" (宿)
	name	pinyin	lit. translation	vicinity in western sky
The Azure Dragon of the East (東方青龍)	角	Jiao	Horn	Spica (alpha vir)
	亢	Kang	Neck	Virgo
	氐	Di	Root	Libra
	房	Fang	Room	Libra
	心	Xin	Heart	Antares
	尾	Wei	Tail	Scorpius
	箕	Ji	Winnowing-basket	Sagittarius
The Vermillion Bird of the South (南方朱雀)	井	Jing	Well	Gemini
	鬼	Gui	Ogre/Demon	Cancer
	柳	Liu	Willow	Hydra
	星	Xing	Star	Alphard
	張	Zhang	Growth	Crater
	翼	Yi	Wings	Corvus
	軫	Zhen	Sadness/Weep	Corvus
The White Tiger of the West (西方白虎)	奎	Kui	Legs	Andromeda
	婁	Lou	Bond	Aries
	胃	Wei	Stomach	Aries
	昴	Mao	Hairy head	Pleiades
	畢	Bi	Net	Taurus
	觜	Zi	Turtle beak	Orion
	參	Shen	Three stars	Orion
The Black Tortoise (or Xuan Wu) of the North (北方玄武)	斗	Dou	Dipper	Sagittarius
	牛	Niu	Ox	Capricornus
	女	Nü	Girl	Aquarius
	虛	Xu	Emptiness	Aquarius
	危	Wei	Danger	Aquarius/Pegasus
	室	Shi	Room	Pegasus
	壁	Bi	Wall	Algenib Pegasus

Mythology

It was believed that the heavens were governed by these four or five symbols. If there is a fifth symbol (to complete the elemental cycle of the five Chinese elements), the fifth is at the centre and is a Golden Dragon that binds the universe together. The associations with the Chinese elements were: the Azure Dragon with wood, the Vermilion Bird with fire, the White Tiger with gold/metal, the Black Tortoise with water, and the Golden Dragon with earth. This belief extended from China to Korea and Japan. In Japan, the Four Symbols are referred to as Seiryuu (Azure Dragon), Suzaku (Vermilion Bird), Byakko (White Tiger), and Genbu (Black Tortoise), while in Korea, they are known, respectively, as Cheong-Ryong (청룡), Ju-Jak (주작), Baek-Ho (백호), and Hyun-Mu (현무).

References

The Twenty-Eight Xiu is a recurring motif in Asian culture and mythology, often cropping up in elements of popular culture such as Japanese anime and manga.

• Beyblade - The four male leads (later five) all possess powerful spirits in their Beyblades, each one based on one of the Four Guardians.
• Fushigi Yūgi - The "Universe of the Four Gods" (Shi Jin Tenchi Sho) is a land where four priestesses (Miaka Yûki (Suzaku), Yui Hongo (Seiryû), Takiko Okuda (Genbu), and Suzuno Oosugi (Byakko)) are destined to summon one of the four gods.
• Digimon - In Season III (and some of season II), the four Sovereign Digimon are based on the Four Gods (Azulongmon/Qianlongmon - Azure Dragon, Zhuqiaomon - Vermillion Bird, Baihumon - White Tiger, and Ebonwumon - Black Tortoise). Also, in Digimon World 2003 (PlayStation game) four of the first cities you come to are Seiryuu, Byakko, Suzaku and Genbu. The cities are placed in the same geographical order as the traditional reference. Later, Huanglongmon was introduced in the card game. He represents the Gold Dragon.
• Yu Yu Hakusho - Four of Yusuke's enemies are named after the Four Gods
• Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars - The 28 "root clans" of the Abh are named after the "Baronhized" Japanese mark of 28 Chinese constellations. For example, Spaurh (Spool) is named after "Subaru" (昴, Pleiades), and Biboth is named after "Miboshi" (箕, Sagittarius).
• Getbackers - The four strongest fighters in Amano Ginji's former gang in the Infinity Fortress in Shinjuku, the Volts, were referred to collectively as the Four Lords, though none of the four was assigned a specific beast. However, it can be assumed that Ginji, the Lightning Lord, was the Golden Dragon.
• Cromartie High - The leaders of one of Cromartie's many rival schools are known collectively as the Four Lords...although there are five of them.

• In the videogame (Nexus TK) - The four Totem gods are the Korean versions of the deities.

circumpolar constellations

Some additional constellations near the Zenith were considered to be in the center of the sky. In contrast to other civilizations, these constellations were studied extensively because they are used to fortell events in the emperor's court. When these additional constellations are taken into account, constellations in the sky can be grouped into five divisions,

• 中宫（紫宫）Central Division
• 东宫（房心）Eastern Division
• 南宫（权衡）Southern Division
• 西宫（咸池）Western Division
• 北宫（虚危）Northern Division

Interestingly, the Central Division has a name related to purple but not the missing color yellow.

External links

• [Chinese Zodiac Chart] Find your Chinese Zodiac sign based on your date of birth.
• http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/astronomy.html
• http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~sproston/sstar9.htm
• http://www.ld.nbcom.net/shiji/shu/shu005.htm

See also

• Four Symbols
• lunar mansion
• Five elements (Chinese)
• Nakshatra

needs work

 

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