Twenty-Eight Constellations
The Twenty-Eight Constellations are a major creation of ancient Chinese astronomy. They divide the stars that continuously pass through the southern sky into twenty-eight groups, each with a Named by characters: Jiao, Kang, Shi, Fang, Xin, Wei, Ji, Dou, Niu, Nv, Xu, Wei, Shi, Bi, Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Xi, Shen, Jing, Gui, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, Zhen.
The twenty-eight constellations are divided along the ecliptic and the equator; since ancient times, people have determined the twenty-four solar terms throughout the year based on their appearance and mid-heaven time. The ancients classified the twenty-eight parts into four major star regions and named them: Eastern Qinglong, Northern Xuanwu, Western White Tiger, and Southern Vermilion Bird, each with seven constellations.
For the so-called left Qinglong, right white tiger, front Suzaku, and back Xuanwu, this means sitting north to south; if you sit south to north, just the opposite, it means left white tiger and right Qinglong , Xuanwu in front and Suzaku in the back; because Qinglong belongs to wood in the east, White Tiger belongs to gold in the west, Xuanwu in the north belongs to water, and Suzaku in the south belongs to fire, this is inevitable. Regardless of whether the magician is east, west, north or south, he always opens his mouth with the green dragon on the left and the white tiger on the right. It's just a habit.
In order to facilitate the observation of the movement of the sun, moon and the five planets (metal, wood, water, fire and earth?#123;), people in ancient times selected 28 constellations near the ecliptic and the equator. Each of them is used as a symbol, collectively called the twenty-eight constellations, or the twenty-eight constellations, and their names are, angle, Kang, Shi, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji. [These seven constellations form the image of a dragon and appear in the east during the spring equinox. Therefore, it is called "Eastern Qinglong Seven Constellations", which appear in the northern sky during the spring equinox: Dou, Niu, Nv, Xu, Wei, Shi, and Bi. "So it is called "Northern Xuanwu Seven Constellations", Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Zui, Shen [these seven constellations form the image of a tiger and appear in the western sky during the vernal equinox", so it is called "Western White Tiger Seven Constellations" Constellations?#123;, well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, Yi, Zhen [these seven constellations form the image of a group of birds, appearing in the southern sky during the vernal equinox", so it is called "Southern Suzaku Qisu?#123; The image of an animal composed of the above seven constellations is collectively called the Four Elephants, [Four Dimensions, Four Beasts]. Ancient people used these four images and the appearance and arrival time of each of the twenty-eight constellations to reach the zenith. To determine the key methods of the seasons, the five elements of the twenty-eight constellations in the "Compass", a tool used by modern Kanyu masters, are determined from here. From the above information, it can be proved that the twenty-eight constellations are the changes of the five elements in a year, not that of modern farmers. Regarding the use of the twenty-eight solar terms used in the calendar, the ancients resigned themselves to fate and looked toward the south to see the directional solar terms, so the image of the green dragon in the left east, the white tiger in the right west, the basalt in the back north, and the red bird in the front south resulted.
Xingxiu (xiu), in ancient times, the constellations were called stars. "Fan Jinzhongju": "Now that I have become a master, I am the stars in the sky." "The stars in the sky cannot be beaten." The ancients believed that people with fame in the world were born from the stars in the sky. This is a superstitious statement.
Twenty-eight constellations are also called twenty-eight houses or twenty-eight stars. They are the twenty-eight star regions divided by the ancients for observing the movements of the sun, moon, and five stars. They are used to explain the movements of the sun, moon, and five stars. to the location. Each nakshatra contains several stars. The names of the twenty-eight constellations, arranged from west to east, are: the seven constellations of Canglong in the east (jiao, Kangkang, didi, room, heart, tail, and Ji); the seven constellations of Xuanwu in the north (dou, ox, female, empty, dangerous, room, and wall). ); the seven constellations of the white tiger in the west (Kui, Lou, Wei, Pleiades, Bi, XinzT, and shen); the seven constellations of the red bird in the south (well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, Yi, Zhenzhen). Wen Tingyun's "Taiye Pond Song" of the Tang Dynasty: "In the late night, the Silver Han leads to the cypress beams, and the twenty-eight nights lead to the Yutang." It exaggerates the scene of bright stars shining on the palaces and palaces. Wang Bo's "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion": "The natural treasures are beautiful, and the dragon's light shines on the ruins of the bullfighting." It means that the products are gorgeous and there are natural treasures, and the sword light of the Longquan shines directly on the stars of Dou and Niu. Liu Yuxi's poem: "The drums and drums are heard at night, and the wild geese are frightened, and the banners are moving at dawn and the ginseng stars are seen." It describes the earth-shattering scene of the heroic troops marching out, and the ginseng star is Ritel.
For the four images, please refer to the article "Twenty-Eight Constellations". The ancients imagined the seven constellations in each of the four directions of east, north, west and south as four animal images, called the four images. The seven places in the east are like giant dragons flying in the night sky in spring and early summer, so they are called Dongguan Canglong; the seven places in the north are like snakes and turtles appearing in the night sky in summer and early autumn, so they are called Beiguan Xuanwu; the seven places in the west are like tigers leaping out. In the night sky in late autumn and early winter, it is called Xiguan White Tiger; in the south, Qisu looks like a flying redbird, appearing in the night sky in cold winter and early spring, so it is called Nanguan Zhuque.
In order to use changes in celestial phenomena to divine fortunes and misfortunes in the world, ancient astrologers mapped areas in the sky to countries and states on the ground, which are called divisions. Specifically, a certain star is regarded as the boundary of a certain feudal country, and a certain star is regarded as the boundary of a certain state, or conversely, a certain country is regarded as the boundary of a certain star, and a certain state is regarded as the boundary of a certain star. For example, Wang Bo's "Preface to Tengwang Pavilion": "The old county of Yuzhang is the new mansion of Hongdu. The star is divided into Yizhen, and the ground is connected to Henglu." This means that Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, is located within the boundaries of Yisu and Zhensu. Li Bai's "The Road to Shu is Difficult": "I went to Lijing, looked up and breathed, and sat down with my hands on my head and sighed." Risu is the division of Yizhou (now Sichuan), and Jingsu is the division of Yongzhou (most of today's Shaanxi and Gansu) , the Shu Road crosses the two states of Yi and Yong.
Mencanlijing means that the road to Shu is on the very high mountains of Yi and Yongzhou, and people have to look up and touch the stars in the sky to get there.
The distinction between the twenty-eight constellations and the country is as follows
The fourth constellation of the seven constellations of the White Tiger in the West of the Pleiades is composed of seven stars, also known as the head (meaning the flag head). Li He's poem of the Tang Dynasty "Seeing the Yangtou in Qiu Jing", the Yangtou refers to the Pleiades. A Wei Xiang poem from the Tang Dynasty reads, "The old general from Liaodong has snow on his temples, and he still looks towards his head every night." The head also refers to the Pleiades, and the poem shows a veteran general who is highly vigilant and defensive attentively.
Ginseng refers to Rigel among the seven constellations of the White Tiger in Xiguan, and Shang refers to the heart of the seven constellations of Canglong in Dongguan, which is another name for the heart. Rigel is in the west and Antarctica is in the east. They appear and disappear in the starry sky, so they are often used to describe people who are separated and cannot see each other. For example, Cao Zhi "has the speed of enjoying the scenery, but not the broadness of participating in business", and Du Fu's poem "We don't meet each other in life, but moving is like participating in business".
Bixu refers to the seventh star among the seven stars of Beiguan Xuanwu. It consists of two stars. Because it is on the east side of the room, it looks like the wall of the room, so it is also called the east wall. Zhang Shu in the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem, "The library on the east wall, the calligraphy and calligraphy forest in the west garden", describing Bisu as a library in the sky.
The flow of fire flows downward; fire refers to the big spark, which is the heart constellation among the seven constellations of Dongguan Canglong. "Book of Songs." "July": "In July, fire flows, and in September, clothes are given." July is equivalent to August in the Gregorian calendar. Flowing Fire means that the position of the big Mars has gradually dropped from the mid-heaven to the west, indicating that the summer heat has receded.
The Big Dipper, also known as the "Big Dipper", refers to the seven bright stars arranged in a bucket shape (or dipper shape) in the northern sky. The names of the seven stars are: Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang. They are arranged like a bucket, so they are called "Beidou". The North Star can be found according to the Big Dipper, so it is also called the "pole star". Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs": "If you work on Yu Hu, you will fall, and if you support the Big Dipper, you will drink cinnamon syrup." "Nineteen Ancient Poems": "Yu Heng refers to Meng Dong, how can the stars align." Yu Heng is the fifth star in the Big Dipper. . "Little Rock Pond" uses the word "fighting and folding snakes" to describe the curves of the Big Dipper.
The name of the constellation Polaris is the symbol of the northern sky. Ancient astronomers respected Polaris very much and believed that it was fixed and that all the stars revolved around it. In fact, due to the precession of the equinox, the North Star is also changing. Three thousand years ago, the Zhou Dynasty used the Emperor Star as the North Star, and the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties used Tianshu as the North Star. Twelve thousand years later, Vega will become the North Star.
Comets are commonly known as broom stars. Comets are when the light of a comet sweeps across the moon. According to superstition, it is a sign of a major disaster. For example, "Tang Ju fulfills his mission": "The husband Zhuanzhu stabbed Wang Liao, and the comet struck the moon."
The white rainbow penetrating the sun is actually a "halo", an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere. The appearance of this phenomenon is often a sign that the weather is about to change, but the ancients regarded this natural phenomenon as a sign that something abnormal was going to happen in the world. For example, "Tang Ju fulfills his mission": "When Nie Zheng stabs the Han puppet, a white rainbow pierces the sun." Zou Yang of the Han Dynasty's "Book of Shangliang King in Prison": "In the past, Jing Ke admired the meaning of Yan Dan, and the white rainbow pierced the sun, and the prince was afraid of it." Prince Dan Hou of Yan raised Jing Ke and asked him to assassinate the King of Qin. Before leaving, a celestial phenomenon appeared, but Prince Dan was afraid of him and refused to go.
The name of the constellation, the sixteenth star, is on the Five Emperors constellation, which now belongs to Cassiopeia. In the old days, there was superstition that people would have bad luck if they had the Huagai star in their destiny. Lu Xun's poem "Self-mockery": "What do you want when you are transported to the canopy? I have already met you before I dare to turn over."
The moon is the most prominently described object among the natural objects mentioned in ancient poems and articles. Its other names can be divided into:
(1) Because the first moon looks like a hook, it is called silver hook or jade hook.
(2) Because the crescent moon is like a bow, it is called jade bow or bow moon.
(3) Because the full moon is like a wheel, a disk, or a mirror, it is called a golden wheel, a jade wheel, a silver disk, a jade disk, a gold mirror, or a jade mirror.
(4) Because it is said that there are rabbits and toads in the moon, it is called Silver Rabbit, Jade Rabbit, Golden Toad, Silver Toad, and Toad Palace.
(5) Because it is said that there is a laurel tree in the moon, it is called laurel moon, laurel wheel, laurel palace and laurel soul.
(6) Because it is said that there are two palaces, Guanghan and Qingxu, in the middle of the moon, they are called Guanghan and Qingxu.
(7) Because it is said that Wangshu, the god who drives the moon, is called Wangshu, the moon is called Wangshu.
(8) Because it is said that Chang'e lives in the middle of the moon, the moon is called Chang'e.
(9) Because people often compare beautiful women to the moon, they call the moon Chanjuan.
The ancient myth of Dongxi says that the name of the sun god is Xihe, and he rides a chariot pulled by six hornless dragons across the sky. Dongxi refers to the rising sun. "Promoting Weaving": "The east ray is coming, and I lie down and feel sad." "The east ray is coming" means that the sun has risen in the east.
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. Su Shi's "Jiangchengzi" poem: "Hold the eagle bow like the full moon, look northwest, and shoot at Sirius." The allusions are all from the stars, the eagle bow points to the arc star, and Sirius is Sirius. There is also a line in Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs": "Lift the Changgang Steamed Bun and Stew the Chabao?なobituchun∈gancha?br>
Canopus is the second brightest star in the sky and the brightest star in the Antarctic constellation. A bright star. Folks call it the longevity star. If people in the north can see it, it will be auspicious and peaceful. Du Fu's poem said: "Tonight, outside the Antarctic, Gan is the old star." ”
“Altair” is Altair, also known as Altair. It is the brightest star in the summer and autumn night sky, located in the east of the Milky Way. “Vega” is the star Vega, located in the west of the Milky Way, together with Altair. The stars are opposite each other. "Nineteen Ancient Poems": "The far-off Altair star is the bright and clear river.
"The Weaver Girl Pregnant with Petunia" written by Cao Tang, a poet of the Tang Dynasty: "The beauty of the Big Dipper shed tears, and her eyes pierced her heart for the morning glory." "
The Milky Way, also known as Yinhan, Tianhe, Tianhan, Xinghan, and Yunhan, is a milky white bright belt across the starry sky, composed of more than 100 billion stars. Cao Cao's "Guan Canghai": "Xinghan Brilliant, if it comes out of it. "Chen Zi'ang's "Farewell to Friends on a Spring Night": "The bright moon is hidden in the tall trees, and the long river has no dawn sky. "Su Shi's "Yangguan Song": "The dusk clouds have gathered up and overflowed with clear cold, and the silver man turned the jade plate silently. "Qin Guan's "Magpie Bridge Immortal" poem: "The thin clouds make tricks, the flying stars spread hatred, and the silver and Han are far away in darkness. ”
One of the names of Wenqu stars. According to old superstition, Wenqu stars are the stars in charge of literary fortunes. People who write well and are hired as high officials by the court are Wenqu stars who descend to the earth. For example, Wu Jingzi’s "Fan Jinzhongju": “The master’s among them are all Wenqu stars in the sky. ”
The ancient star name Tianganggang refers to the handles of the Big Dipper. Taoism believes that there are thirty-six Tiangang stars and seventy-two earth evil stars in the Big Dipper cluster. The novel "Water Margin" was affected by this superstitious view. , the 108 leaders of various uprisings in Liangshan were attached to the Tiangang Star and the Earthly Evil Star.
The ancient superstitious saying about clouds is that when a dragon rises, it creates clouds, and when a tiger roars, it creates wind, which is the so-called "cloud dragon, wind tiger". It is also said that where the real dragon emperor is born, there are strange clouds in the sky, which can be seen by divination people. For example, "Hongmen Banquet": "I asked people to look at their auras, and they are all dragons and tigers, with five colors. This is the aura of the emperor." . ”
The lunar calendar is a traditional calendar that has been used in my country for a long time. It determines the moon based on the synodic cycle and uses leaps to make the average annual length close to the solar return year. Because this calendar arranges twenty-four Solar terms are used to guide agricultural production activities, so they are called the lunar calendar, also known as the Chinese calendar and the summer calendar, commonly known as the lunar calendar. Most of the articles written by the ancients based on the lunar calendar are based on the ordinal calendar. "A certain day in July of the year", "Shizhongshan Ji" "Ding Chou in June of the seventh year of Yuanfeng", June and July of the lunar calendar are equivalent to July and August of the Gregorian calendar.
Twenty-four solar terms It is an important part of the ancient Chinese calendar. The ancients divided the 365 and a quarter days of the year into twenty-four segments based on the changes in the position of the sun within a year and the resulting evolution of the ground climate. In twelve months, to reflect the four seasons, temperature, phenology and other conditions, each month is divided into two periods, the first of the month is called the "solar term" and the middle of the month is called the "twenty-four solar terms". The names and order are:
The beginning of spring in the first month, the awakening of insects in the second month of rain, the vernal equinox
Qingming in March, the beginning of summer in April, Xiaoman
awn seeds in the fifth month, Summer solstice, minor heat, severe heat in June
Beginning of autumn in July, white dew in August, autumnal equinox
cold dew in September, frost in October, beginning of winter and light snow
November Heavy snow, slight cold and severe cold in the winter solstice and December
In order to facilitate memory, people made up songs: "Spring rain shocks the spring and clears the valley, summer is full of awns and summer heat is connected, autumn is dew, autumn is cold and frost falls, winter is snowing and winter is light. Big cold. "Twenty-four solar terms are often used to record dates in ancient poetry and prose, such as "Yangzhou Slow": "On the solstice of Chunxi Bingshen, I passed Weiyang. "The day of the summer solstice is the longest, and the day of the winter solstice is the shortest. Therefore, the ancients called the summer solstice and winter solstice the solstices, here refers to the winter solstice.
The first yang is about the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, a period of time after the winter solstice and before the beginning of spring. This It is the time when the Yang Qi is beginning to stir, so it is called "Chu Yang". "The Peacock Flies Southeast" says: "In the past, in the year of Chu Yang, the Xie family came to your gate. ”
The four seasons refer to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. In the lunar calendar, the first month, February and March are spring, which are called Mengchun, Zhongchun and Jichun respectively; April, May and June are called summer respectively. They are Mengxia, Zhongxia, Jixia; autumn, winter and so on. Ouyang Xiu's "The Drunkard's Pavilion" says: "The wind and frost are noble, the water falls and the rocks emerge, these are the four seasons in the mountains. "
Sheri is a festival for ancient farmers to worship the God of the Earth, around the spring equinox. "Yongyu Le": "It's worth looking back, under the Temple of Buddha and Li, there is a shrine of crows and drums. "Shegu refers to the sound of drums used to worship the God of Earth on She day.
On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, there is a folk custom of begging for tricks on the Chinese Valentine's Day. Legend has it that it is the night when the Morning Bull and the Weaver Girl gather. "The Peacock Flies Southeast": “On the seventh and ninth day of the lunar month, don’t forget to play together. ”
The 19th day of each month in the lunar calendar is the day for women to gather together.
The collective name of the heavenly stems and earthly branches. Heavenly stems: A, B, C, D, E, Ji , Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui; Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. The ten stems and twelve branches match in turn to form sixty basic units. This is used as the serial number of year, month, day and hour, which is called "Stem and Branch Law". For example, "Feng Wanzhen" says: "Xianfeng Gengshen, British and French forces invaded by Baihai. "Xianfeng, the reign name of the emperor; Gengshen, the chronology of the stems and branches. The "Sixty Years" are in order:
Chronology There are four main chronology methods in ancient my country:
(1) Princes ascend the throne The year calendar is based on the number of years the prince was in power. For example, "Zuo Zhuan. The Battle of Di": "In the spring of the thirty-third year, the Qin army passed through the northern gate of Zhou. "Refers to the 33rd year of Duke Xi of Lu. "Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru": "In the 16th year of King Zhao Huiwen, Lian Po became the general of Zhao. "
(2) Year name chronology. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to have a year name. After that, every emperor who came to the throne had to change the year and use the year name to mark the year.
For example, "The Story of Yueyang Tower" "spring of the fourth year of Qingli", "The Legend of Pipa" "the tenth year of Yuanhe", "The Story of Traveling to Baochan Mountain" "a certain day in July of the first year of Zhihe", "The Story of Shizhong Mountain" "the seventh year of Yuanfeng" , "The Second Year of Shunzhi" in "Meihua Ridge", "The Second Year of Deyou" in "The Preface to the Guide", "Xiang Fu Zhong" in "Yandang Mountain" ("Xiang Fu" is the abbreviation of "Dazhong Xiang Fu", Song Zhenzong's reign) etc.
(3) Stem and branch chronology. For example, "Tombstone Notes of Five People": "I still remember that Duke Zhou was arrested in March of Dingmao." "Dingmao" refers to 1627 AD; "Preface to "The Story of the Seventy-two Martyrs of Huanghuagang": "Deaths The worst tragedy was the siege of the Guangdong and Guangxi Supervisory Office on March 29, 1911. "Xinhai" refers to the year 1911; "Books with Wife" "Xinwei March, six nights and four drums", "Xinwei". It should be Xinhai. In modern times, zodiac signs are often used to represent major historical events, such as the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Gengzi Indemnity, the Treaty of Xinchou, and the Revolution of 1911.
(4) The year number uses both stems and branches. When recording the year, the emperor's year number is placed first, and the stems and branches are listed behind. For example, "Chunxi Bingshen" in "Yangzhou Man", "Chunxi" is the reign name of Zhao Shen (shen), Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, and "Bingshen" is the year of the stems and branches; "Nuke Zhou Ji" "Apocalypse Renxu Autumn", "Apocalypse" " is the reign name of Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, "Renxu" is the year of the stems and branches; "Ji Mei Wenkuang Qianlong Dinghaidong", "Qianlong" is the year name of Aixinjueluo Hongli, Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, and "Dinghai" is the year of the stems and branches; "Meihua Ridge" is "April Yiyou in the second year of Shunzhi". "Shunzhi" is the reign name of Aixinjueluo Fulin, the ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, and "Yiyou" is the chronology of the stems and branches in ancient my country.
The ancient Chinese calendar. There are three main types of moon methods:
(1) Ordinal method of marking the moon. For example, in "Collecting Herbs": "Like the three-month flowers on the plains, there are four-month flowers in the mountains. ""In February of the second year of Dehu" in "The Preface to the Guide", "it is the fifth day of the summer of that year", and "fifth" means May. "Tan Sitong" states that in April of this year, the decree to establish the country was issued. "On the first day of the month, Yuan Shikai was summoned" and "he was executed in the city on August 13th."
(2) Earthly Branches and Monthly Method. The ancients often referred to the twelve earthly branches as twelve months, and a specific word "build" was added before each earthly branch. For example, Du Fu's poem "The Thatched Cottage": "The deserted village is built on the moon, and the old man's house is the only tree." "Jianzi Month" refers to the eleventh month of the lunar calendar according to the Zhou Dynasty's lunar calendar. Yu Xin's "Ai Jiangnan Fu": "In the year of Wuchen, the month of Jianhai, Jinling collapsed." "Jianhai" means the tenth month of the lunar calendar.
(3) The method of observing seasons and months. For example, "Nineteen Ancient Poems": "The cold weather is coming in Mengdong, and the north wind is so bitter." "Mengdong" represents the tenth month of the lunar calendar; Tao Yuanming's "Nine Pseudo-Ancient Poems" "Mid-spring Rain", "Zhongchun" represents the second month of the lunar calendar.
There are four main types of date-keeping methods in ancient my country:
1) Ordinal date-keeping method. For example, "Meihua Ridge Chronicles": "On the 25th, the city fell, and Zhonglie drew his sword and committed suicide." "Xiangjixuan Chronicles": "On the night of March 5th, the moon was half-walled. ...'March 5th" refers to the 15th day of the lunar calendar. "Preface to "The Brief Story of the Seven-Twelve Martyrs of Huanghuagang": "The most tragic deaths were the siege of the Guangdong and Guangdong Supervisory Office on March 29, 1911."
2) The method of keeping track of the zodiac signs. For example, "The War of Yao": "Xinsi in the fourth month of Xia, defeated the Qin army in Yao." "Xinsi in April" refers to the 13th day of April in the lunar calendar; "Shizhongshan Ji" "Ding Chou in June of the seventh year of Yuanfeng", That is the ninth day of the sixth lunar month; "It is the end of the month" in "The Book of Mount Tai" refers to the eighteenth day of this month. The ancients also used the heavenly stems or earthly branches to express specific days, such as "Zi Zi" in "Book of Rites·Tan ??Gong". "Mao Bu Le" and "Zi Mao" refer to evil days or unlucky days.
3) Moon phase calendar method. Refers to using "朔, 朏 (fei), Wang, Ji Wang, Hui" to express the moon phase The first day of each month is called Suo, the third day of each month is called Suo, the middle of the month is called Wang (the fifteenth day of the small month, the sixteenth day of the big month), the day after Wang is called Jiwang, and the last day of each month is called Suo. It's called Hui. For example, in "The Essay on Sisters", "It's about looking at the sun in July"; in "The Tombstone of Five People", "Looking at the third month of Dingmao"; in "Chibi Fu", "In the autumn of Renxu, looking forward to the seventh month"; "Book with Wife" "It's three to four months after the first marriage, before and after Wangri in winter."
4) The stems and branches are placed in front, and the moon phases are in the back. For example, "The Record of Climbing Mount Tai": "Wu Shenhui, Wu Gu, and Ziying were sitting in the sun-watching pavilion. ”
There are two main ways to tell time in ancient my country:
1) The way to tell time based on the color of the sky. The ancients originally divided the day and night into twelve hours based on changes in the color of the sky. , their names are: midnight, rooster crow, flat day, sunrise, eclipse time, yu (yu), day midday, day 昳 (die), afternoon (bu) time, sunrise, dusk, Rending.
2) The earthly branches method of telling time. The twelve earthly branches are used to express the changes of the twelve hours of the day and night.
The sky color method and the earthly branch method are two common methods of telling time in ancient poetry. For example, "The Peacock Flies Southeast": "The cock's crow is heard in the machine, and it cannot rest every night. "" After dusk, the lonely people settle down. "Li Su's visit to Caizhou on snowy night": "The snow is getting worse in the middle of the night... I'll forgive you for going to the city... The rooster crows and the snow stops... In the afternoon, the door is broken." "Farewell to Xin Jian at Furong Tower": "The cold rain came to Wu at night, and I saw off my guest Chu Shangu in the morning." "Pingming is another name for Pingdan. Another example is "Lost Street Pavilion": "Wei soldiers were trapped from Chen Shi to Xu Shi. "Jingyang Gang": "Guests can be taught to pass the hill at Si, noon and Wei." "Articles for Sacrifice to My Sister": "If I return home in time, you will die in time." ""The Meeting of Heroes and Chiang Kai-shek's Trap": "Killing from the beginning of time to the end of time.
"
Wu Geng In ancient my country, the night was divided into five periods, and drums were used to tell the time, so it was called Wu Geng, Wu Gu, or Five Nights. For example, "Peacocks Fly Southeast": "Look up and face each other Ming, up to the fifth watch every night. "The Meeting of Heroes and Chiang Kai-shek's Plan": "When I lay down on my pillow and listened, the military drum beat the second watch." "Li Su entered Caizhou on a snowy night": "Four drums, I am sorry that no one knows about it until it reaches the city." "The Record of Climbing Mount Tai": "Wu Shenhui, playing five drums, sat with Ziying in the pavilion watching the sun. "Books with My Wife": "In the third month of the Xin Dynasty, I recited the Four Drums for six nights and wrote it in Yidong's handwriting. ”
The star division method in ancient China
The ancient Chaldeans created the star division method, which is the constellation. Ancient my country also created its own star division system. People In order to understand the stars and observe the celestial phenomena, the stars in the sky are grouped into groups, and each group is given a name. This group of stars is called a star official. The number of stars contained in each star official varies from as few as one to as many as several. There are ten, and the scope of the sky area they occupy varies. According to preliminary statistics, there are about 38 star officials recorded in the "Historical Records and Book of Heavenly Officials" in the Han Dynasty. It is recorded in "Shu Tianwen Zhi": "There are one hundred and eighteen Chinese and foreign officials in the constant constellation of the stars, with a total of seven hundred and eighty three stars. "Lingxian" written by Zhang Heng said: "There are twenty-four Chinese and foreign officials with permanent names, three hundred and twenty with names, and two thousand five hundred with stars. However, the names of the people from the sea have not survived." ”
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Gan De, Shi Shen, Wu Xian, etc. each established their own star official system. By the Three Kingdoms period, Wu State’s Taishi Ling Chen Zhuo integrated the three families of Gan, Shi and Wu Xingguan compiled a star catalog with 1,464 stars in 283 and drew it into a star map (the star catalog and star map have long been lost). It was inherited and developed by the Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, and my country's star division system became mature. , which has been used in successive dynasties for thousands of years. The most important star officials are Sanyuan and Erbasu.
Sanyuan
The three yuan are Ziweiyuan, Taiweiyuan and Tian. Each city wall is a relatively large sky area, containing several (small) star officials (or constellations). According to "Qing Huidian", the divisions of Gan, Shi and Wu are different. Different. Each wall has the stars of the two vassals of the east and west, surrounding it on the left and right. It is shaped like a wall, so it is called "Yuan".
Ziwei Yuan is the middle wall of the three walls, located in the north. In the center, it is also called Zhonggong, or Ziwei Palace. Most of the stars are named after officials. It has the North Pole as the center, and there are fifteen stars in the east and west vassals. According to the observation records of the Emperor Huangyou of the Song Dynasty, the entire Ziweiyuan has 37 constellations, 2 satellites, 163 positive stars, and 181 additional stars. Its sky area is roughly equivalent to that of today's international sky. The constellations include Little Bear, Big Bear, Tianlong, Hound, Shepherd, Wuxian, Fairy King, Fairy Queen, Yingxian, Deer and Leopard.
Taiweiyuan is the upper wall of the Three Yuans and is located in Ziweiyuan. It is in the northeast and south of the Beidou. It occupies about 63 degrees of the sky, with the Five Emperors constellation as the center. It contains 20 constellations, 78 positive stars, and 100 additional stars. It is part of the constellations such as Leo. Taiwei means government, and star names are often named after officials. For example, the law enforcement officer on the left is Tingwei, the law enforcement officer on the right is Yushi Dafu, etc.
Tianshiyuan is the name of Sanyuan. Xiayuan, located in the southeast below Ziwei Yuan, occupies about 57 degrees of the sky, and is roughly equivalent to part of the international constellations such as Wu Xian, Giant Snake, and Ophiuchus. It contains 19 star officials (constellations), the main star 87 stars, an increase of 173 stars. It is centered on the emperor's throne and is shaped like a vassal. The Tianshi is a market. According to the "Book of Jin Tianwen Zhi": "The emperor leads the princes to enjoy the city." "Therefore, the names of stars are mostly named after the market names of goods, star tools, and business contents. For example, "Book of Jin Astronomical Chronicles" says: The throne of the emperor "stands to serve the yin and yang", Dendrobium Hedou "stands for measurement", and Dendrobium is used to measure. Solids, buckets are used to measure liquids. Listed shops are "the goods of gems and jade", which is the market specializing in gems. Car shops are "the area where many goods are sold" and are the commodity market. Market buildings are also "city halls", which are responsible for market prices and regulations. , money, pearls and jade", etc.
There is no definite conclusion about the founding age of Sanyuan. Judging from the classics, Ziweiyuan and Tianshiyuan, as star officials, were first seen in the compilation Shi Shen's work The name of Taiweiyuan first appeared in "Shi's Star Classic" in "Kaiyuan Zhanjing" in the early Tang Dynasty. The names of the star officials in Tianshiyuan East and West are all named after the country names in the Warring States Period, which is also evidence of the founding era of Sanyuan.
Twenty-eight Constellations
The main component of the star division system created by ancient China. The ancients divided the stars along the ecliptic and near the equator into twenty-eight parts of varying sizes. Each part is called a constellation, collectively known as the twenty-eight constellations, also known as the twenty-eight constellations. She or the Twenty-Eight Stars.
Originally the twenty-eight star officials were selected by the ancients to compare the movements of the sun, moon, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth as markers for observation. The meaning of "Su" is similar to the "palace" of the zodiac, indicating the location of the sun, moon and five stars. By the Tang Dynasty, the 28 constellations became the main body of the 28 heavenly regions, and these heavenly regions were still named after the 28 constellations. Different from Miyuan's situation, as a Tiandi, the twenty-eight masters are mainly to distinguish the ownership of star officials.
The twenty-eight constellations start from Spica and are arranged from west to east, in the same direction as the apparent movement of the sun and moon:
The seven constellations in the east: Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Qi;
The seven constellations in the north: Dou, Niu (morning ox), Nu (bearded girl), Xu, Wei, Shi (barracks), and the wall (east wall);
The seven constellations in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Pleiades, Bi, Xi, and Shen;
The seven constellations in the south: Jing (East Well), Gui (Yu Gui), Liu, Xing (Seven Stars), Zhang, Yi, and Zhen.
In practice, the ancients realized that the changes of seasons are related to the position of the sun. The changes of stars in the morning and evening in the four seasons reflect the movement of the sun in the sky, but the position of the sun cannot be measured directly. It was difficult to do, so the ancients came up with an indirect method, that is, calculating the position of the sun from the astrological position of the moon. The moon takes more than 27 days to orbit the earth (a sidereal month), and it passes exactly one night in one day. It can be seen that the creation of the Twenty-Eight Constellations is a great progress in the history of ancient astronomy.
Dr. Joseph Needham of the United Kingdom commented in "History of Chinese Science and Technology": "It has now been undoubtedly confirmed that ancient Chinese astronomy is by no means inferior to Egypt, Greece, and later Europe in terms of logic and practicality. Astronomy, however, is based on a very different system of thought." He added: "Once the boundaries of the twenty-eight constellations are drawn, the Chinese can know the exact position of the stars no matter how far they are from the equator. When the star group is below the horizon, you can know it by observing the constellation of stars overhead."
After the establishment of the Twenty-Eight Stars, with the development of astronomy, its role also changed. Continuously expanding, it not only played an important role in observing time and making calendars, but also played an important role in calculating and determining the positions of the sun, moon, five planets, meteors, comets, novae and even stars in the sky before the formation of modern astrometry. etc., all play an irreplaceable role. Its calculation method is that the ancients selected a star in each constellation as the calibration star, and the ancients called it the "distance star". The right ascension difference between the distance of a certain star and the distance of the neighboring star is called the equatorial distance of a certain star (referred to as the distance). The two quantities used to express the position of celestial bodies in ancient China are called extreme and octagonal degrees. "Depolarization" refers to the angular distance between the measured star and the North Celestial Pole; "octagonal degree" refers to the right ascension difference between the celestial body and its adjacent star to the west. This measurement system was established by Chinese astronomers Equatorial coordinate system.
From the above, it can be seen that selecting distance stars and measuring distances is an extremely important task, so astronomers of all ages have paid attention to actual measurements. It should be pointed out that due to the precession, the distance between the constellations changes slowly. Although astronomers did not know this important reason for the change in distance before the precession was discovered, the data measured in the past have provided modern people with It provides rare historical data for people to study the precession of equinox.
Four Symbols
The ancients divided the twenty-eight stars in the sky into four parts according to the four directions of east, north, west, south and south. Each part contains seven stars, and according to The shape composed of seven stars in each part is named after four animals that resemble it. These four parts are called four elephants or four continents. The corresponding relationship is as follows:
The seven stars in the east are like flying in the sky. The giant dragon in the night sky in spring and early summer is called Dongguan Canglong;
The seven dragons in the north look like snakes and turtles in the night sky in late summer and early autumn, so they are called Beiguan Xuanwu;
The West The Qisu resembles a fierce tiger that appears in the late autumn and early winter, so it is called the White Tiger of Xiguan;
The Qisu in the South looks like a rosefinch that appears in the sky in the cold winter and early spring, so it is called the Nanguan Zhuque.
Canglong, Xuanwu, White Tiger, and Suzaku are collectively called the "Four Symbols".
Many Chinese classics have descriptions of the Four Symbols, such as "Kao Gong Ji", "Yu Long Zi", Zhang Heng's "Ling Xian", Kong Yingda's "Shang Shu Shu", etc., among which "Ling Xian" The narrative in "Xian" is the most vivid. Zhang Heng wrote: "The blue dragon is curled up on the left, the white tiger is fiercely occupying the right, Zhu Zai is flying in front, and the turtle is circling behind."
Some of the Chinese classics The "Four Symbols" are called "Four Dimensions", such as "Historical Records Tianguan Shu", "Shishi Xing Jing", "Bo Ya" by Zhang Yi from the Wei Dynasty, "Shang Shu Tong Kao" by Yuan Huang Zhencheng, etc. These records are related to each other. Different, according to "Shi's Star Classic", it is not four elephants, but divided into several small elephants, and there are no complete images in the west and north. The book says: "Kui is a white tiger, Lou, Wei, Ang, The three sons of tiger are also: Bixianghu, Shenjialin. "Also said: "ox snake elephant, female turtle elephant". The records in "Historical Records·Tianguan Shu" are basically the same, namely: Canglong, Suzaku, White Tiger, and Xuanwu respectively represent the four seasons. The Chinese astronomer Gao Lu designed a wonderful diagram of the relationship between the twenty-eight constellations and the four phenomena based on the "Historical Records: Tianguan Shu".
As far as the modern international 88 astrology is concerned, the Eastern Canglong is probably the zodiac sign of Virgo, Hydra, Centaur, Shepherd, Libra, Scorpio, Jackal, Ophiuchus, etc. Northern Xuanwu roughly occupies the seats of Centaur, Mogai, Aquarius, Pegasus, Swan, Fairy, Two Horns, and Whale. Western white tigers approximately account for the Fairy Queen, Aries, Huangxian, Taurus, Eridanus, Orion, Lepus and so on. Southern Suzaku approximately occupies the Gemini, Charioteer, Cancer, Big Dog, Southern Ship, Lion, and Hydra.