Twenty-Eight Mansions

The twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese astronomy

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 Western astronomy, though the Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon through a sidereal month rather than the Sun in a tropical year. The lunar mansions were in use in other parts of Asia, including ancient Japan; the Bansenshukai, written by Fujibayashi Yasutake, mentions the system several times and includes an image of the twenty-eight mansions.^[3]

Another similar system, called Nakshatra, is used in traditional Indian astronomy.^[4]

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. These mansions or xiù correspond to the longitudes along the ecliptic that the Moon crosses during its 27.32-day journey around the Earth and serve as a way to track the Moon's progress. In Taoism they are related to 28 Chinese generals.^[5]

List of mansions

The names and determinative stars of the mansions are:^[6][7]

See also

• Lunar mansion
• Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)
• Three enclosures

References