was born in the zodiac zodiac hierarchy system in the Mesopotamia , and was a brilliant astronomical achievement achieved by the ancient Babylonians around the 4th millennium BC. In addition, they also established twelve constellations north of the zodiac, ten constellations south of the zodiac, and so on.
To be precise, the horoscope system of Babylonian is more in line with the astrology of vernal equinox and Autumnal equinox around 3200 BC.
In ancient India, different star groups were called "moon stations", which were different stations where the moon landed. There were twenty-eight, similar to China's "Twenty-Eight Constellations".
So, some people once believed that China's "Twenty-Eight Constellations" came from Babylonian constellations, and even came from India.
However, as scholars deepen their research on ancient Chinese astronomy, including earlier and more archaeological discoveries involving ancient astronomy, it proved that the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" was an independent creation of ancient Chinese ancestors.
clam shell astrological graphics in the ancient tomb of Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan prove that this creation can be extended to at least 6,500 years ago.
In the ancient tomb of Xishuipo, the ancients had accurately measured the "merid line" and the "mao and You line". The direct face of " meridian " is mapped to celestial sphere , which is what the ancients called the "celestial sphere equator"; the "mao and You line" is mapped to the celestial sphere, which is what the ancients called the "zodiac".
(restored picture of Xishuipo ancient tomb)
It can be seen that the ancestors at that time had already divided the celestial sphere into four quadrants . In these four quadrants, there are stellar "star signs" determined by ancestors.
On the east side of the tomb owner, there is a " Qinglong " pattern made of clam shells; on the west side, there is a " White Tiger " pattern made of clam shells; on the south side, there is a "flying bird"; on the north side, there is a "running deer".
This is the difference between the later " Four Symbols ", and the only difference is "Beigong Xuanwu". The formation of "Xuanwu" is the result of the ancients' understanding of 's transformation into , so we can not explain it in detail. It is certain that 6,500 years ago, the ancient Chinese had basically formed the concept of "Twenty-Eight Constellations".
Academic Affairs Committee Member Feng ShiProfessor team believes that at the latest, the ancient Chinese had independently formed the cognitive system of "zodiac" and "twenty-eight constellations" before 5,500-5,000 years ago.
"Twenty-Eight Constellations" are the twenty-eight star clusters near the "ecliptic" observed by the ancients. "The Notes on Spring and Autumn" says: "It is a common star" and is a very good reference system.
"Twenty-Eight Constellations" are divided into "Four Symbols" according to the four celestial quadrants. Specifically, it is -
" Oriental Canglong " Seven Constellations: Kok, Kang, Di, Fang, Heart, Tai, Ji.
"Beigong Xuanwu" seven constellations: Dou, cow, girl, empty, dangerous, room, and wall.
"White Tiger in the West Palace" seven constellations: Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, Bi, Ju, and Shen.
"Nangong Zhuque" seven constellations: well, ghost, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, Zhen.
"Twenty-Eight Constellations" is a great creation of the astronomical observation of ancient Chinese ancestors, marking the perfect establishment of the ancient Chinese "time and space system" and becoming an important source of later Chinese civilization.
Why did the ancestors insist on determining the "twenty-eight constellations", "eighteen constellations", "thirty-eight constellations" or other numbers?
cannot.
Obviously, the ancients initially determined the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" to measure the movement rules of the moon. In modern terms, it was established for the purpose of measuring "star moon".
At a certain stage, the ancestors combined the two "city" of "room" and "wall" into one "city", which became the "twenty-seven constellations". Later, the ancients were likely to find more accurately that the length of the "star moon" was longer than twenty-seven days and shorter than twenty-eight days. However, it is impossible to set up a constellation that measures "half-day" and thus recognize the measurement method of the "Twenty-Eight Constellations".
Insert a sentence, "Star Moon" refers to the period when the moon moves back to the same star's apparent position, and the actual length is 27.32 days.
"Lüshi Chunqiu·Yuandao" says: "The moon is chán (chán) twenty-eight constellations, and the shank and horn belong to the circle. "
However, the ancients did not just use the "twenty-eight constellations" to measure "stars and moon".It should be soon, the ancients began to use the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" to observe the sun and the "Five Stars", which are what we now call the orbits and rules of the five planets, "Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth".
The ancients called Jupiter "-year-old star ". According to the characteristics of its operation in a stable cycle of twelve years, the "twelve times" to observe its trajectory was established. The observation of Jupiter and the establishment of the "twelve times" must be completed based on the coordinates of the "Twenty-Eight Constellations".
"Lunheng·Tantian": "The twenty-eight constellations are sun and moon houses, and there is a post pavilion on the ground, which is the chief official's house."
"Twenty-eight constellations", also known as "Twenty-eight constellations", its meaning is the twenty-eight "stations" and "dormitories" of the sun, moon and stars. Through these "stations" and "dormitories", the movement and trajectory of the sun, moon and stars can be accurately measured. The statement
is indeed very similar to the Indian term "Twenty-Eight Constellations" as "Moon Station". However, the ancient Indian calendar included "six seasons" in total "winter, spring, summer, rain, autumn, and dew", which was obviously inconsistent with the "four seasons" represented by the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" in China. The only explanation is that the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" was introduced from China. Moreover, the astrological signs presented by the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" in India are at least 2,000 years later than the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" in China in the 5th thousandth century BC.
Persian , Arabic and Egyptian have the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" star system. If you think carefully, it is not difficult to find that these systems were all introduced to India by China's "Twenty-Eight Constellations" and then to them.
Did the Chinese ancestors just observe the sun, moon and stars through the "Twenty-Eight Constellations"?
is not yet.
"Twenty-Eight Constellations" are compatible with the "Four Palaces", "Four Directions", "Four Seasons" and "Four Colors". They not only form a complete "Star Knowledge" system, but also determine the time and seasons on earth and earth, and the "division" and "star astrology" system of "harmony between man and nature".
"Four Palaces" are the "East Canglong", "West White Tiger", "South Vermillion Bird", and "North Xuanwu" mentioned earlier.
In the ancients, in addition to the above-mentioned "four palaces", there is also the "central palace" where "Bei Diu" is located, also known as "Ziwei Palace" or "Ziweiyuan", which is added together to "Five Palaces". "Central Palace" also becomes "position", that is, "Four Palaces and Five Positions".
" Zhonggong " occupies a very important position in the cognition of the ancients - "Zhonggong" has both "yin" and "yang", which is the center of the movement of heaven and earth, and it is also the residence of the Emperor of Heaven.
The philosophy of "yin and yang are easy to change and turn around" was born.
"Four-sided" means accurately calibrating the directions between east, west, south and north. "East Palace" and " West Palace " are the benchmark points for determining "East" and "West". The north and south map the "meridian" on the ground to the "celestial equator", thus establishing the reference line for heaven and earth measurement. From a modern perspective, this seems not difficult. The "celestial equator" is nothing more than a "big circle" formed by the plane of the earth's equator extending outward and intersecting with the "celestial sphere" imagined by the ancients. But in ancient times, it was very, very difficult to draw such an accurate conclusion.
"Four Seasons", the ancients simply determined the "four palaces" of the "twenty-eight constellations", namely "the east palace masters spring", "the west palace masters autumn", "the south palace masters summer", and "the north palace masters winter". The specific reason is not detailed.
In the Zhou Dynasty, especially in the Warring States Period, to the Han Dynasty, the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" were given more contents of "dividing" and "axons", which were closer to people and things, good and bad luck on earth and on earth. There are detailed records in "Records of the Grand Historian·Book of Heaven and Officials" and "Book of Han·Astronomy", so I will not go into details.
In particular, the earliest ancient star map painted on pottery was discovered in the small hill site of Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, 7,000 years ago. The main star and the Beidou in the north and south palaces in the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" are both present.
With the explosive progress of archaeological discoveries in recent years, more surprising results may be released soon.
