History of Constellation and Star Names

web.archive.org/web/20230714211057/http://www.members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-
24.html

The Suchow (Soochow/Su-chou) planisphere (dated 1193 CE). The Suchow planisphere
(Suzhou stele) of the Song dynasty is an all-sky star map.(Note the ball-and-link (point
and line) convention to identify constellations/asterisms. It includes the celestial equator,
ecliptic, and Milky Way. Note also the eccentric ecliptic and the curving course of the
Milky Way.) The planisphere is centred on the circumpolar seen in the small central inner
circle. These stars were associated with the emperor. The numerous unequally spaced
radial grids shown correspond to the boundaries of the Chinese lunar lodges. (The
circumpolar stars were keyed to the radial lines marking 28 unevenly divided sectors of
the sky.) Both the planisphere and its explanatory text were prepared in 1193 CE by
Huang Shang (geographer and imperial tutor) for the instruction of the heir to the Chinese
throne, who ruled as Emperor Ning Tsung (1195-1224 CE). The planisphere was carved
onto stone (to preserve it) approximately half a century later, in 1247 CE (Southern Song
dynasty, Chunyou reign), by Wang Chih-Yuan. Most of the stars in the Chinese sky are
carved quite precisely on the planisphere. Also included on the planisphere is the
supernova of 1054 CE (in Taurus). For a long time the stele on which the planisphere was

1/34
 carved was located in the Wên Miao temple (Confucian temple of Literati), originally built
in 1141 CE, in the historic garden city of Suzhou in the south of Jiangsu Province. The
planisphere is now housed in a Suchow museum (the Stone Carving Museum). (The
above star chart is an ink on paper rubbing (hanging scroll) of the stele made when it was
located at the Confucian Temple. Only 10 rubbings have been authorised.) The chart
depicts the sky visible from central China (approximately 35 degrees north latitude). The
lengthy inscription (text) accompanying the chart states there are 283 asterisms and 1565
stars. These are the ancient canonical numbers (i.e., essentially the conventional figures).
Will Rufus and Hsing-chih T'ien, in their extensive 1945 study of the chart (The Soochow
astronomical chart), identified 313 asterisms and only 1440 stars. (A valid conclusion is
all of the stars on the planisphere do not appear on the rubbing.) Though the stars are
quite accurately located there is no systematic attempt to distinguish between stars of
different brightness. The customary equatorial co-ordinate system is shown together with
the ecliptic. (The ecliptic though is incorrectly represented as circular.) The Milky Way is
also displayed on the chart. (The star chart and inscription below it (not shown above)
measures 100 cm (38.5 inches) in width and 183 cm (71.75 inches) in length.) The
illustration above is undoubtedly taken from The Soochow astronomical chart by Will
Rufus and Hsing-chih T'ien (1945). The rubbing that appeared in their book was made by
Doctor Robert Brown at the time he was the Director/Superintendent of University
Hospital in Chengtu, Szechuan Province, China (his wife Mae Willis, who he married in
1907, was Head Nurse there) and presented to the American astronomer Will Rufus (a
Methodist missionary to Korea during the early 1910s and Methodist Episcopal pastor).
(Doctor Robert Brown and his wife (both Methodist medical missionaries) died during the
course of the Chinese-Japanese War (some time post 1943) on their way back to
Chengtu when their plane was shot down by Japanese fighter planes beside the Yangtze
River. Doctor Robert Brown had been in China since circa 1918 (Director/Superintendent
of the American Methodist Mission Hospital in Wuhu, on the Yangste River near Nanking,
until 1938) with time away from China from circa 1940 to 1942 to study hospital
administration at University of Michigan Medical School.)

The earliest Western (European) authority on the history of Chinese astronomy was
Antoine Gaubil SJ (1689-1759) who resided in China from 1723 to his death in 1759. He
wrote extensively on Chinese constellations and star catalogues. The correlation of
Western star names with the names used in Chinese astronomy was done during the first
quarter of the 18th-century by Mei Wen-ni [Mei Wen-ting] (1633-1721, who wrote on
astronomy and mathematics) whose Chinese-language book - Investigation of the
similarities and differences between Chinese and Western star names - was published in
1723. Half a century later, in 1782, Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes published a
Chinese planisphere with a star catalogue. Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes (1759–
1845) was a French merchant-trader, ambassador and scholar. He was the son of French
academician and sinologue, Joseph de Guignes. He learned Chinese from his father, and
then traveled to China where he stayed for the next 17 years and returned to France in
1801. In 1819 John Reeves published Chinese Names of Stars and Constellations,
Collected at the Request of Dr Morrison for his Chinese Dictionary. Reeve's list (made at
the request of Robert Morrison) was the first listing of Chinese star names in the English

2/34
language. It is widely referred by later works, most notably William's work on Chinese
comets sightings, and Schlegel's work on Chinese uranography. According to Pierre
Dessemontet (Hastro-L, May 4, 2011) most of the Chinese star names which have made
it into our contemporary star name lists ultimately came from Reeve's list in Morrison's
dictionary, as they very often take the form which is mentioned in Morrison's dictionary.
(Morrison, Robert (1815-1822/1816-1823, Reprinted 1865) A Dictionary of the Chinese
Language.) Reeve's material for compiling his list of stars and constellations were: the
31st volume of the Book of the "Leŭh; Lëїh, Yuen, Yuen," a somewhat lengthy compilation
in one hundred volumes, published in the reign of Kang He/Kang Hi with Jesuit
assistance; Bardin family (London) 18-inch celestial globes; Johann Bode's celestial atlas,
Uranographia (1801); and 2 Planispheres constructed by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand
Verbiest (1623-1688) who was part of the Jesuit Society China mission.

Both documentary and archaeological evidence confirm the early origin and continuous
development of ancient Chinese astronomy was intended to meet both the ideological
and practical needs of a society largely based on agriculture. Archaeological evidence for
the observations of stars occur on pottery from the Neolithic period. This comprises
painted star-group patterns. Also, oracle-bone inscriptions from the Yin period mention
certain star names. Oracle-bones also record divination practices. There was a long
period when the beginning of the year, month, and season was determined by direct
observation of celestial phenomena, including their alignments with respect to the local
skyline. However, as the need for more exact study arose, new instruments for more
exact observation were invented and the system of calendrical astronomy became
entirely mathematical. All astronomical measurements primarily served the purpose of
calendar-making and astrology (based on the movements of the planets). Chinese
astrology was strictly omen-astrology which only dealt with state affairs. The real
development of the Chinese sky occurred during the Han period. China became a unified
and centrally governed empire during the Qin and Han dynasties. The Chinese sky of the
Han period is characterised by the large number of constellations. These had been
developed during a long period of history. The Chinese constellations (and indeed the
element comprising the Chinese celestial sky) was not constructed during one single
period. Star charts have been discovered on the ceilings of tombs dating back to the Han
period. However, most of them are illustrative rather than precise in their presentation of
stars. By the 5th-century BCE, the Chinese had named the 28 asterisms that formed the
basic reference points for the Chinese equatorial coordinate system. By the 1st-century
BCE, the Chinese had developed a unique system of constellations that reflected
Chinese cosmological ideas with the central theme of the correlation between Heaven
and Man. The Greek sky was constellated with mythological beings and creatures. The
Chinese sky was constellated with people, institutions and objects from the (natural)
terrestrial world. The Chinese sky is a cultural phenomenon: A celestial representation of
Chinese terrestrial society. It is not possible to understand the meaning of the Chinese
sky without knowing its astronomical, astrological, philosophical, and mythological
background. The Han period was the most important period for the
formation/development of Chinese culture. The complete system of the Chinese sky was
created during the Han period. It is indicated that the Chinese star-name system

3/34
originated independently from outside influences from Babylonia, Iran, and India. It is
indicated that the constellating of the sky in China had 2 stages of development. The first
stage comprised the development of the hsiu (or xiu) system and several conspicuous
constellations/asterisms. This was pre-Han period. The second stage comprised the
idealistic assignment Chinese society in the celestial sky. This was completed during the
Han period. The hsiu (or xiu) thus became the basis for later constellation/asterism
construction. The later constellations were an extension/explanation of the hsiu (or xiu).

Reported as a Neolithic period stone carving of the Big Dipper star formation found on
Baimiaozi Mountain near Chifeng City in northwest China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region.

In August 15, 2006, Xinhua News reported: "A neolithic stone carving of the Big Dipper
star formation has been found on Baimiaozi Mountain near Chifeng City in northwest
China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to experts. The stone carving was
discovered by Wu Jiacai, a 50-year-old researcher in literature and history with
Wongniute Banner of Inner Mongolia. Wu found a large yam-shaped stone, 310
centimeters long, onto which 19 stars had been carved. The representation of the Big
Dipper is on the north face of the stone. The stars are represented by indentations in the
stone. The biggest indentation is 6 centimeters in diameter and 5 centimeters deep, said
Wu. "The stone was carved by neolithic dwellers," said Gai Shanlin, researcher with the
Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (IMICRA) and an expert in
stone carving. The carving style proves this, said Gai. Astronomers' conjectures about the
shape of the Big Dipper some ten thousand years ago also match the carving. "Finding a
stone carving in China's desert hinterland is a rare occurrence," said Tala, director of
IMICRA, who said it might help prove how ancient celestial bodies evolved. Apart from
the Big Dipper, Wu also found some "unexplained images" on the stone. He thinks they
may depict ancient gods, such as the god of the sun and the god of horses. Further study
would be needed to determine when the pictures were painted. Many neolithic jade

4/34
articles from the Hongshan Culture - such as a dragon with a pig's mouth and a cloud-
shaped pendant - have already been unearthed around Baimiaozi Mountain. The
Hongshan Culture was an aboriginal culture that existed in northern China about 6000
years ago. Tala believes the discovery will contribute to knowledge about the origin and
spread of Hongshan Culture."

Note: Wu Jiacai likes to make these sort of claims involving the Hongshan culture. Shortly
after making the possible 'big dipper' petroglyph discovery he announced the finding of
groups of petroglyphs in Inner Mongolia which he interpreted as showing that an
intellectually advanced ethnic group, the Chifeng people of the Hongshan Culture, were
forced to leave their homeland because of a singular destructive event, perhaps comet -
or meteorite-related.

In 2006 the British astronomer Alun Salt post at his website: "A question I would ask is
how many other carvings are there in the region? If there's tens of thousands, then by
sheer chance you'd expect some carvings to look like some asterisms. There's mixed
news on this: ""Finding a stone carving in China’s desert hinterland is a rare occurrence,"
said Tala, director of IMICRA, who said it might help prove how ancient celestial bodies
evolved." If you want to be sceptical then you could ask "If the sky is important why aren't
there more carvings?" Well it could be the first to be found. Inner Mongolia isn't famous
for being well-explored and if people know roughly what they're looking for similar items
may be found. I'd take the opposite view – the lack of carvings reduces the random factor.
Though not perfectly. Apart from the Big Dipper, Wu also found some "unexplained
images" on the stone. He thinks they may depict ancient gods, such as the god of the sun
and the god of horses. Further study would be needed to determine when the pictures
were painted. This is the bit that bothers me most. If the researchers were finding
meaning in random patterns then wouldn't the result be that you could match some but
not others. The converse problem is that when they're creating artefacts people do make
mistakes and change their mind. It could well be that some of the carvings were meant to
be the Big Dipper and others were never meant to have any meaning. When you arrive at
the stone thousands of years later without the aid of written records how do you tell the
difference?"

5/34
Part of interior layout of Neolithic Period Tomb M45 at Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan Province.

6/34
 Sketch of the design and arrangement of Tomb M45 at Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan
Province.

In the 1987, an intact Neolithic tomb (now designated tomb/grave number M45) was
found at Xishuipo (a Neolithic archaeological site associated with the Yãngsháo culture)
in Puyang, Henan Province. (The tomb was found in the Yãngsháo cultural stratum.) The
site was excavated from 1987 to 1988; 186 burials were discovered at the site. The
Neolithic grave is dated to circa 5300 BCE and it is assumed to be that of a king or a
'shaman' (certainly the owner was considered an elite or divine person). (According to the
carbon 14 determination, and tree ring date-testing archeologists concluded that the tomb

7/34
was built in the Yangshao cultural period about 6,500 years ago.) The burial arrangement
suggests cosmological and astronomical significance. The tomb layout suggests a
celestial pattern is being indicated. According to some interpretations a (composite) sky
map is being depicted. The form of the grave itself is in the shape of a crown. The belief
that heaven was composed of 6 concentric circles divided by 7 curves established how
the crown shape is obtained. The adult skeleton is positioned in the centre of the
unusually large cardinally oriented grave. The adult skeleton is laid out in such a way that
the southern face above the head was round while the northern face at the foot of the
body was square. This conforms to the symbolism of Chinese cosmology which held that
Heaven was round and Earth was square. A number of astral forms keep the skeleton
company. The body of a tall adult male is flanked by two carefully laid out mosaics formed
from white mussel/clam shells, a tiger design to the right (west) and a dragon design to
the left (east). These mosaics are believed to be representations of 2 of the 4 super
constellations (the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger). In the same tomb there is also a
representation of the Big Dipper (in the form of a triangle, as it would have been far in the
past), also created from white mussel/clam shells. The Big Dipper is pointing toward the
head of the dragon. Two human bones are placed amongst the array of symbols. Three
funerary human skeletons were also found in the tomb. The burial was accompanied by
the bodies of 3 young children. Clam shell mosaics were also found in two nearby
caches. Another key claim is: The funerary skeleton on the north side of the M45 tomb
was a young boy's skeleton (estimated to be 15 years old when he died). At the estimated
time of the burial his head was pointed in the direction of the sunrise on the Winter
Solstice.

"On the Date of Astronomical Phenomena in Tomb No.45 at Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan."
by Duan Bang – Ning. Abstract: "On the basis of the proper motion of the seven stars of
Big Dipper and ecliptic precession in astronomy, through the numerical analysis and
comparison with the star maps by microcomputer, we would arrive at such a conclusion.
The date of astronomical phenomena in the tomb No.45 at Xishuipo Puyang, Henan is
about 133000±1000 years ago. The sun, at that time, was setting beyond the western
horizon during Spring Equinox. The latest limit of the date of this astronomical
phenomena is 100,000 years ago; and its earliest limit is 160,000 years ago. The ecliptic
coordinates of North Pole were at longitude 136° by celestial latitude 66.5°, and that of
Spring Equinox Point were at longitude 46° by latitude 0°. The epoch of them is 2000.0
A.C. Of course, the triangle arranged with clam shells, a copy of the four stars in the bowl
of ancient Big Dipper, is certainly the record of earliest astronomical observation. It is also
the earliest record of scientific observation in the history of mankind." (Note: This
statement in relation to the dates claimed obviously need to be treated with caution.)

The mosaics in tomb M45 are of similar design to the designs found in the Zenghouyi
tomb in Hubei Province, which was built circa 1000 BCE. The designs on the cover of a
lacquer box in the Zenghouyi tomb are the earliest written records of the 28 lunar lodges
(divisions of the sky) in China. The clam shell mosaics in tomb M45 may represent the
constellations (be evidence for a celestial map) and be evidence for a calendar.

8/34
See the informed discussion in: Pankenier, David. (2011). "The cosmic center in Early
China and its archaic resonances." In: Ruggles, Clive. (Editor). Archaeoastronomy and
Ethnoastronomy: Building Bridges between Cultures. (Pages 298-307). [Note:
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, Volume 7, Symposium S278 [Issue
278], ("Oxford IX" International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy).]

"Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the night sky into many more constellations than
the Greeks. They identified roughly 300 small star groups or 'asterisms', most of which
contained no more than five stars. They saw the celestial vault as a macrocosm of the
Chinese empire, and almost every aspect of life was represented there. Asterisms and
stars in the Purple Palace region – which always remains above the horizon – include the
Emperor, Empress and Crown Prince. Also appearing in the sky are Minister, Keeper of
the Law, Commander-in-Chief, Celestial Prison, Celestial Granary, Row of Shops and
Celestial Stable. A planet or comet entering a constellation was an omen for the terrestrial
equivalent. As an astrological treatise compiled in the 7th century AD remarks, 'When a
comet leaves (the Celestial market), alterations in the sites of market places or a change
of capital may be expected.' The most important features of the Chinese divisions of the
sky were the xiu or lunar lodges – 28 constellations circling the equatorial regions. They
had some parallels with the Western zodiac, playing a major role in astrology, and were
used to pinpoint the positions of stars in other asterisms. In 1978, a list of the names of all
28 lunar lodges was discovered in a tomb in Hubei province, inscribed on the lid of a
lacquer chest dating from 433 BC. It is these same star groups that are portrayed on the
Jiaotong star map.

The map's colours – mainly reds, blues and greens – are still quite vivid, although some
of the paint has flaked off. The lunar lodge star groups are displayed in a ring 2.9 metres
in diameter. Inside the ring are typically Taoist representations of the Sun (containing a
flying crow) and Moon (complete with hare and toad), and also cranes flying among
clouds. The ring arrangement means that the orientation of the constellations relative to
one another is not accurate, but individual constellations are clearly recognisable. About
half the lunar lodges depicted on the tomb ceiling are still well preserved. Several of these
resemble those found on later star charts. Some 80 surviving stars are depicted by white
dots of roughly equal size, joined into groups by short lines, both features which appear
on later Chinese star maps. In general, such maps make little or no attempt to distinguish
between stars of different brightness. It was the 17th century before the Western system
of stellar magnitudes, developed by Ptolemy, was first introduced to China.

When the Jesuit Matteo Ricci reached China’s capital Peking in AD 1601, he was
followed by a succession of Jesuit priests, many of whom were excellent astronomers.
Several attained the position of Astronomer Royal at the Qing court. It was the Jesuits
who introduced to China Western techniques of mapping the sky, including the division of
the stars into six classes of brightness and the first accurate knowledge of the far
southern stars. Jesuit star charts in the Chinese style include a bronze celestial globe 1.5
metres in diameter produced by Ferdinand Verbiest in 1670, and an extensive map
displaying more than 3000 stars produced by a team of Jesuits in 1752. The globe, which

9/34
weighs nearly 4 tonnes, is at the Old Observatory in Peking and is still in excellent
condition after more than 300 years in the open air.

Traditional Chinese mapping of the sky came to an end in 1903, with a celestial globe
about a metre in diameter which shows 1440 stars. This replaced the globe cast by
Verbiest which had been taken to Germany in 1900 and was not returned to China until
1921. Formal Western astronomy was adopted in 1912 with the establishment of the
Chinese Republic, but the star maps remain a unique record of the heavens of antiquity."

Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13718544-000-stargazers-of-the-orient-
a-remarkable-map-of-the-stars-has-survived-more-than-2000-years-to-give-us-a-picture-
of-how-chinese-astromomers-saw-the-sky/#ixzz6f0n2qPUi

Astronomy in ancient China was framed in polar and equatorial, rather than planetary and
ecliptic, terms. The structural basis of the Chinese universe comprised the Quintuple - 4
cardinal points of the compass and the Pole-star.

In classical Chinese astronomy, the northern sky is divided geometrically, into 5

'enclosures' (palaces) (besides the astral palaces of the quadrants, there was a 5th,
central palace, cosmically empowering the Emperor), and 28 lunar lodges along either
along the equator or ecliptic, grouped into 4 symbols of seven asterisms each. The 28
lunar lodges are one of the most important and also perhaps the most ancient structures
in the Chinese sky, attested at least from the 5th-century BCE. (Note: Also, there was a
fifth cardinal direction - the centre, representing Earth (China itself) and represented by a
5th legendary beast, Huáng-lóng, or the Yellow Dragon of the Centre.)

In ancient Chinese astronomy there are 4 great sky animals; Dragon (East), Tiger (West),
Vermillion bird (South), and Tortoise (North). The Black Tortoise, Xuan wu represents the
winter; the Blue Dragon (sometimes described as green), Qing long represents the
spring; the Red Bird, Zhu que, represents the summer, and the White Tiger, Bai hu,
represents the west and the autumn. Each of these sky animals in turn is subdivided into
7 lodges or hsiu (or xiu), also called incorrectly, by Western writers, lunar mansions/lunar
houses. In India the term nakshatra and in the Islamic empire the Arabic term manāzil
meant 'mansion.' The sinologist Nathan Sivin has explained (Granting the Seasons, 2009,
Page 90) the term hsiu refers primarily to a temporary lodging, not to one's home. (The
constellations or hsiu are grouped by the four directions.) Each hsiu has a number of
neighbouring asterisms called paranatellons.

(Note: The Rongcheng Shi manuscript recovered in 1994 gives five directions rather than
four and places the animals quite differently: Yu the Great gave banners to his people
marking the north with a bird, the south with a snake, the east with the sun, the west with
the moon, and the center with a bear.)

The system of lunar lodges was prominent in major ancient Far Eastern/Asian countries.
The system was a method for dividing a section of the sky by using 27/28 stars/asterisms
spread out in a band circling the sky (usually the celestial equator). The lunar lodges are

10/34
latitudes the Moon crosses during its monthly journey around Earth and so they serve as
a method for tracking the Moon's movement. Nathan Sivin writes (Granting the Seasons,
2009, Page 90): "The original purpose of the lunar lodges, as of the zodiac, was to allow
observers to estimate fairly accurately the position of a star or celestial phenomenon
without needing a graduated instrument."

The 2 most ancient ways in which the Chinese divided the celestial sphere, for both
cosmological and observational purposes, were: (1) the five palaces, and (2) the lunar
lodges. The lunar lodges are believed by the sinologists David Nivison and David
Pankenier to date back to the early 2nd millennium BCE.

Other (later) Chinese systems of dividing the sky were: the nine fields, the three walls, the
Jupiter stations, the fortnightly periods, and degrees. With the system of Jupiter Stations
the equator was divided into 12 equal sectors reflecting the approximately 12-year orbital
period of the planet Jupiter. The 12 Jupiter stations do not equate to the 12 signs of the
Western zodiac and the term "Chinese zodiac" is a misconception. With the system of
Fortnightly Periods the 24 fortnightly periods were nominal 15 day sub-divisions of the
tropical year. They marked out a series of sub-seasons that defined the agrarian solar
calendar for everyday use. The fortnightly periods were an average of 15.219 days each
but were counted in whole days. When necessary extra days were inserted into the
system to account for the accumulated fractional days. With the system of 'degrees' the
equator, the ecliptic, and all other celestial circles were divided into 365¼ 'degrees.' Thus
the Chinese system of celestial 'degrees' were slightly smaller than the Western celestial
degrees where a circle consisted of 360 degrees. The Chinese system of 'degrees'
remained in use until the introduction Jesuit methods into Chinese astronomy.

A lunar 'lodge' is a section of the sky whose boundaries are delineated with the aid of
27/28 stars/asterisms spread out in a band (either along the equator or ecliptic) that
circles the sky.

The term hsiu (or xiu) refers to the Chinese system of lunar lodges. The stars marking the
28 divisions were obviously selected to enable a geometrical division of the sky. They are
distributed very approximately along the celestial equator. The scheme of 28 divisions is a
convenient average for measuring the motion of the moon (i.e., the sidereal month).
However, their relation to the moon is not documented in surviving Chinese texts.
According to the British sinologist Joseph Needham the lunar lodges were derived from
the 27⅓ days of the moon' sidereal period, but anciently they were also commonly
associated with the 29½ year orbital period of Saturn approximated as 28 years.) They
served as one of the dimensions of the Chinese polar-equatorial system. The earliest
Chinese records mentioning star names deal with the hsiu (xiu). However, the origin of
the Chinese system of 28 celestial lodges remains a debated issue. It is possible the hsiu
originated from existing constellations.

Before the Han Period there did not exist any complete description of the sky. It remained
largely unconstellated. Only 38 star names or constellation names are mentioned in pre-
Han literature. These 38 stars names or constellation names were either the 28 hsiu (xiu)

11/34
or were popular stars or constellations (appearing in folklore or poems) such as Niulang
(= alpha Aquila), Zhinu (= alpha Lyra), and Beidou (= Ursa Major). (Later, the 7 bright
stars of Ursa Major were known as Yu Ya (the Chariot) and the Milky Way was known as
Tian He (Celestial River) or Yin He (Silver River).)

The 28 lunar lodges came to form the basis of the Chinese astronomical coordinate
system (i.e., reference points). Throughout the length of Chinese history the system of 28
lunar lodges was the main system for defining the position of a celestial object. The hsiu
(or xiu) constellations are constantly used throughout Chinese history as precise markers
of the positions of celestial bodies during the seasons. Each hsiu (xiu) has a triangular
patch of the sky extending up to the North Pole. (This is because the 28 lunar lodges
sliced the celestial sphere into 28 sectors similar to the sections of an orange. All lines
radiated from the "orange stem" of the north celestial pole. Each of the 28 sectors
contained one of the lunar lodges and the width of a sector was (to some extent)
dependant of the size of the constellation (lunar lodge).) As the lunar lodges were spaced
out, more or less, along both sides of the celestial equator, this coordinate system was
usually regarded as an equatorial system. Some modern researchers, however, hold that
the lunar lodges mostly followed the ecliptic. (However, Chinese astronomy generally
ignored both the horizon and the ecliptic.)

Each lunar lodge was numbered and named for a constellation or asterism. The 18th
lunar lodge was called Mao and was formed by the stars of the Pleiades, The 21st lunar
lodge was called Shen and was nearly identical to the modern European constellation
Orion.

William O'Neill (Early Astronomy from Babylonia to Copernicus (1986, Page 179) writes:
"An interesting and unique feature of the hsiu was the designation of 28 circumpolar stars
on approximately the same meridians as the hsiu stars. Thus even when a hsiu star was
below the horizon its direction could be read from its paranatellon (a star crossing the
meridian at the same time)." Since the pole star and the stars near it never set beneath
the horizon at any time during the year (whereas most stars do), the Chinese gave
greatest attention to them, and by noticing where the starts at the top of a sky segment
were, they could then precisely specify where the stars at the bottom of the same sky
segment were, even though they might be invisible beneath the horizon. The 'keying' of
the hsiu with circumpolar stars was the core of this system of dividing the sky.

The Shangshu (Book of Documents) contains a paragraph concerning 4 cardinal

asterisms and is generally agreed to record the observation of stars before the 21st-
century BCE. Also, a similar reference appears in the Records of the Grand Historian by
Sima Qian (life dates: circa 145-90 BCE, Prefect of the Grand Scribes in the Han
government, and astrologer) describing the Xia dynasty circa 2000 BCE.

A period of particular interest for the constellating of the entire Chinese sky is the Han
Period (circa 200 BCE-200 CE). Prior to the Han Dynasty the constellation system of 28
lunar lodges (presumably developed in reference to the sidereal month), and little else,
was established. The earliest description of the entire Chinese sky is given in the

12/34
Tianguan Shu (Monograph on Heavenly Officers) by Sima Qian (circa 145 BCE - 87
BCE). In this book he mentions 91 constellations (including the 28 lunar lodges) including
approximately 500 stars. It is the earliest existing book to systematically describe the
Chinese constellations. Another feature was the Chinese sky was divided into 5 palaces.

Oracle bone inscriptions mention asterisms. Some of the inscriptions on the oracle bones
(mainly fragments of turtle/tortoise shells (carapaces) and mammalian bones (i.e., the
scapulae of oxen) discovered at Anyang, and which date to the Shang Period (circa 16th-
to 11th-century BCE), contain some star names. (The fragments of carapaces or
mammalian bones were subjected to heat and the paths made by the resulting cracks
were interpreted to answer questions about current or future events.) The star names
plausibly indicate the existence of a scheme for dividing the sky along the equatorial
circle into 4 main divisions was being developed at the time. It is generally accepted that
at least 4 quadrantel hsiu were already known in China in the 14th-century BCE. The
discovery of the Shang Oracle bones makes it possible to trace the gradual development
of the system of Chinese lunar lodges from the earliest mention of the 4 quadrantel
asterisms. A turtle's shell with its domed shell and flat plastron (the nearly flat part of the
shell structure of a turtle - the belly or ventral surface of the shell) is particularly symbolic
of the dome of heaven and the flat earth below.

The Canon of Yao (comprising the first section of the Shu Ching (Classic of History),
dated circa 4th-century BCE, states that the 4 stars named Huo, Hsü, Mao, and Niao)
mark the 4 tropic times (equinoctial and solstitial points). The 4 tropic times (equinoctial
and solstitial points) correspond with the middles of the 4 seasonal quarters of the year,
not with their beginnings. (This arrangement would have been approximately true for circa
2400 BCE. See: The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and David
Kelley (2nd edition, 1969, Page 148).) Much later, during the Han Period (circa 200 BCE-
200 CE), the 4 stars Huo (the 5th hsiu), Hsü (the 11th hsiu), Mao (the 18th hsiu), and
Niao (the 25th hsiu) were identified with 4 of the 28 lunar lodges. By the Han Period the
28 lunar lodges were linked to the celestial equator. Between 2300-4300 BCE some 18-
20 of the hsiu fell wholly or partly within a belt falling 10 degrees north or south of the
celestial equator. (See: The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and
David Kelley (2nd edition, 1969, Page 149).)

The system of 28 lunar lodges of unequal sectors dates back to at least the second half
of the 5th-century BCE. (The hsiu (xiu) are quite unequal in size. The reason for this is to
make them 'key' accurately with circumpolar stars. Some of the hsiu had to be very wide
because there were no circumpolar stars to which narrower divisions could be 'keyed.'
There was, however, a tendency for approximate pairing of the widths of xius on opposite
sides of the sky. Throughout the ancient and medieval periods fixing their widths
remained a continuing problem. (The sinologist Nathan Sivin has explained (Granting the
Seasons, 2009, Page 93): "The widths of the Chinese lodges changed [partly due to
precession] gradually over the centuries.") By the start of the Christian era, the sizes of
the 28 lunar lodges were calculated as varying between 2 degrees and 33 degrees.) The
names of all the 28 lunar lodges are inscribed on a lacquer(ed) box cover (clothes chest

13/34
cover) found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. Zeng was a minor state. This is the
earliest extant list of all 28 hsiu. The tomb (located on a hillside in Hupei Province) is
dated to 433 BCE. The lacquer(ed) box is now kept in the Hupei Provincial Museum. (The
tomb was accidentally discovered in 1977 and excavated by Chinese archaeologists in
1978.)

Twenty-three hsiu (xiu) are in the Yueh Ling (Monthly Ordinances), and this content may
date back as early as circa 850 BCE. (However, the Yueh Ling (a calendar)as a
publication dates to the 3rd-century BCE.)

Due to concern to relate the heavens and the earth to each other (as belonging to the
same universe) a correspondence was drawn between the 28 lunar lodges and territorial
divisions that could be identified on earth.

Also see: Kalinowski, Marc. (1996). "The Use of the Twenty-eight Xiu as a Day-Count in
Early China." (Chinese Science, Number 13, Pages.55-81).

Note 1: Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the system of hsiu (xiù)probably
had a long history of development. In the Neolithic tomb (designated tomb/grave number
M45) excavated in 1987 at Púyáng, Henan Province, the images of a dragon and a tiger,
made of shells, were found along the sides of the body of a male in the Yãngsháo cultural
stratum dating to circa 5000 BCE. The skeleton is oriented so that its skull points to the
south. The interest in this discovery lies in the comparison with the astronomical diagram
found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (a minor state). It can be readily identified that in
both cases the dragon lies in the east and the tiger in the west. This seems to indicate
that the astronomical significance attached to the images of the dragon and tiger seen in
the astronomical diagram in the tomb (found in Hupei Province in 1978 and dated to 433
BCE) of the Marquis Yi perhaps has its origins in archaic (Neolithic) mythology. The
relationship was likely established by Neolithic skywatchers, perceiving the configurations
of the stars in the east to have the image of a dragon and those in the west to have the
image of a tiger. (In East Asia, the Neolithic goes from 6000 BCE to 2000 BCE.) Such an
origin would also account for the fact that the hsiu (xiù)are not equally spaced and that
some of the determinative stars were quite distant from the celestial equator. (See: Early
Chinese Work in Natural Science by Chen Cheng-Yīh (1996, Pages 183-184).

Note 2: "As originally conceived, the lodges did not technically constitute a zodiac, since,
with the exception of comets, novae and the like, the Sun, Moon and planets, did not
actually appear among their constituent stars; many of the latter in ancient times actually
lay closer to the celestial equator than to the ecliptic." (Astrology and Cosmology in Early
China by David Pankenier (2013; Page 8).)

The Chinese also chose the determinative stars for their lunar lodge system on the basis
of 180 degree pairing, a remarkable feat for the 4th-millennium BCE. Nathan Sivin writes
(Granting the Seasons, 2009, Page 93): "Each lodge began with a star and was named
after the constellation to which it belonged. These determinative stars ("determinatives"
for short), were not necessarily the brightest stars in their constellations; in some cases

14/34
their magnitude was as low as 4 or 5. They were far from equidistant. The width of a
given lodge - the distance from its determinative star to that of the next lodge - varied
from 0.05 tu to over 33 tu." (A tu = a Chinese degree (slightly less than a degree in
Western astronomy. A tu was subdivided into 100 parts.)

According to Kazuhiko Miyajima: "The determinative stars are mostly located near the
western end of constellations, but sometimes they are in other places. Sometimes they
are less bright. We do not know what criterion was used for their selection." According to
Nathan Sivin they were not chosen for their proximity to either the equator or the ecliptic.

15/34
One of the several ways in which the ancient Chinese sky was divided was the scheme of
the five palaces (corresponding with the emblems or symbols of the Five Phases, and
being named accordingly). This system was one of the simplest, and also one of the
oldest, divisions of the sky. In this system the Chinese sky is divided into 5 general
divisions (Wu Gong) of asterisms. These corresponded traditionally to Five Phases/Five

16/34
Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), and the 5 Chinese cardinal points, East, North,
West, South, and Middle (Centre). The 5th cardinal point, the central (middle) region or
purple palace), is the most important one and corresponds to the circumpolar region of
stars (i.e., the stars surrounding the north celestial pole) which never, for an observer in
northern China, dip below the horizon. The circumpolar stars were the key constellations
to the lunar lodges of the hsiu (xiu). Each of the 28 equatorial divisions had a circumpolar
constellation as well as an equatorial constellation. The "central palace" consisted of all
circumpolar stars within 40 degrees of the north celestial pole and was called the tzu-wei
kung, 'Palace of Purple Tenuity.

The 28 lunar lodges comprised 4 main sky divisions (also the 4 palaces). The 4 main
divisions were the Blue (sometimes Green) Dragon (east), the Black Tortoise (north), the
White Tiger (west), and Red Bird (south). By the Han era the polar region of the sky was
called the 5th celestial palace. The hsiu (xiu) were formed into 4 equal groups (segments)
or palaces (Gong) of 7 lunar lodges (in each Gong) which were called the Four Images.
The Four Images corresponded to the 4 cardinal points in the sky and to the 4 seasons of
the year. (Each of these palaces represented one of the 4 seasons.) These 4 other
regions or (non-central) palaces (that were called the palaces of North, East, South, and
West) as well as grouping the equatorial constellations into the 4 geographical directions,
were also associated with (symbolised by) an animal and a colour. East is the blue(-
green) dragon, north is the black turtle (tortoise) (or paired turtle and snake), west is the
white tiger, and south is the red bird (Vermillion bird). (Stars in these areas represented
and were named for more mundane aspects of Chinese society, such as temples,
philosophical concepts, shops and markets, farmers, soldiers, etc.)

In the Han shu (the standard history of the Han dynasty, probably compiled by Ma Hsü
sometime before 150 CE) there are 783 stars that are identified and placed within the five
palaces of the heavens.

Léopold de Saussure believed the system of lunar lodges was the origin of the system of
the five celestial palaces. According to Léopold de Saussure the system of five celestial
palaces and accompanying position of the pole and position of the solstices and
equinoxes at the centre of these five palaces have maintained their position through the
whole period of their use in Chinese history, and date to circa 2,500 BCE.

This was a similar concept to the system of the five palaces. The scheme of the nine
fields of heaven are simply an elaboration of the scheme of the five palaces. The portion
of the sky surrounding the north circumpolar stars was divided into 8 truncated sectors
(rather than 4). Each of the nine fields was allotted three (four in the case of the central
northern field) of the 28 lunar lodges. However, the lunar lodges are not actually located
in the fields to which they are assigned (which was done for astrological purposes).

An additional feature of the Chinese sky (dating from the Tang Period, 618-907 CE) is the
3-wall system. There were 3 enclosed areas (3 walled regions) in the Chinese sky. During
the Tang Period Wang Xi-Ming composed a poem to help memorise the asterisms in the

17/34
sky. In his poem, Wang Xi-Ming divided the sky into 31 regions comprising 3 enclosures
and 28 lunar lodges.

The 3 enclosed areas of the Chinese sky were Ziwei Yuan (known as the Purple
Forbidden Enclosure), Taiwei Yuan (known as the Supreme Palace Enclosure), and
Tianshi Yuan (known as the Heavenly Market Enclosure). The word yuan means wall and
it was formed by stars surrounding each enclosed area. These regions reflect the
organization of the dynastic hierarchy on earth, with the Purple Forbidden Enclosure
being the most important.

Ziwei Yuan (called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure (Zigong), also known as the
Enclosure of Purple Subtlety) comprised the circumpolar region and included 15
constellations.This circumpolar region harboured the celestial image of the emperor (and
empress, and imperial court concubines), his different court dignitaries (ministers and
military commanders), and court facilities (including the palace kitchen). The brightest star
of the constellation called the North Pole (Beiji) was called Di (the Emperor). Encircling
them is the imperial palace which is also marked by stars, including the surrounding
external walls. The Ziwei Yuan mimicked the terrestrial royal palace (i.e., was identified
with the imperial palace). It extended over the stars of the Western constellations Draco,
Ursa Major, and Cameleopardus. (Many parts of the Forbidden City and the circumpolar
region shared the same names.) The wall was formed with 15 stars. (According to Ho
Peng Yoke the region was enclosed by two chains of stars, representing the walls of the
Forbidden City.)

The Tianshi Yuan and Taiwei Yuan were located between the Ziwei Yuan and the ecliptic.

The Taiwei Yuan (called the Supreme Palace Enclosure, also known as the Enclosure of
Supreme/Purple Subtlety) included 13 constellations and the wall was formed with 22
stars. It was formed from a broad circle of 10 stars in the Western constellations Virgo
and Leo (which have the appearance of a circle) and, to the north, a cluster of 15 stars in
the Western constellation Coma Berenices (identified as the "Seats of the Court
Gentlemen" (lang-wei).) Within the enclosure, the Western star beta Leonis and 4 smaller
stars nearby are known as the "Seats of the Five Emperors" (Wu di zuo). This region was
related to the emperor, his household, and his official hierarchy.

The Tianshi Yuan (called the Heavenly Market Enclosure) included 13 constellations and
the wall was formed with 10 stars. The Imperial Throne (Di zuo) lay within this enclosure
and was identified with the Western star alpha Hercules. This region was related to the
general state of the economy in the emperor's empire.

The lunar lodges were also grouped by the four directions (divided among the 4 cardinal
directions (each of which has a descriptive symbol) - each cardinal direction holding 7
lunar lodges). Four symbols represented the 28 lodges - 1 symbol representing 7
lodgess. The 4 symbols are the Azure Dragon (= East) (The Azure Dragon of the East),
the White Tiger (= West) (The White Tiger of the West), the Tortoise (also known as the
Murky Warrior) (= North) (The Black Tortoise of the North), and the Vermilion Bird (=

18/34
South) (The Vermillion Bird of the South). These directional gods are believed by the
sinologists David Nivison and David Pankenier to date back to the early 2nd millennium
BCE.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the 3 Yuan and the 28 hsiu (xiu) became the main structure by
which the Chinese organised the stars.

There are indications that some Han Period writers identified β Ursae Minoris as being
the Pole Star.

The Chinese - at least from the Han period - believed the sky to be the other half of the
earth. They also believed the sky was a mirror of the earth. As such ancient Chinese
astronomy was a political science. Each part of the sky was subdivided to correspond to
the different regions of the earthly Chinese empire. The bureaucratic governing structure
of China was also reflected in the sky. Chinese astronomers searched the sky for celestial
changes as these were regarded as omens. The Chinese sky was intimately linked to the
symbolism of the Middle Kingdom i.e., the "Central States" along the Yellow River valley.

In the first century CE, the expansion of China into Central Asia exposed Chinese
astronomers to Hindu and Persian astronomical knowledge. Chinese documents mention
astronomers from Near Asia visiting China in 164 CE. Other Chinese documents mention
the astronomer Ho-Tsheng-Tien learning astronomy from an Indian priest. This priest
taught him, among other things, knowledge of how to determine latitude from the
meridian height of the Sun. Indian astronomy was introduced into China with the journeys
of Buddhist monks into China from the late 2nd-century to the early 11th-century CE.
During this period of about 800 years an enormous amount of Indian astronomical ideas
were introduced into China. This included the Indian system of lunar mansions, the 27
naksatras. This did not result in any great impact on the existing Chinese system of 28
hsiu's (xiu's). (David Pingree and Patrick Morrisey (1989) argue against the common
origin or even association of the 28 Chinese xiu (hsiu) with the Indian nakşatras.) Both
the Koreans and the Japanese, in part due to the political dominance of China in the
region, adopted Chinese uranography. (For Iranian mythology in Chinese mythology see:
Cults and Legends of Ancient Iran and China by J. C. Coyagee (1936), now a very scarce
book. Sir Jeyhangar Coyagee was a Bombay Parsi, and an eminent Cambridge
economist.)

According to one source a constellation was called a "palace," with the major star being
the emperor star and lesser stars being princes.

The Chinese standard lunar lodge system of 28 'lunar lodges' is attributed to the
astrologer/astronomer Shi Shin circa late 4th-century BCE. An earlier (but similar) lunar
lodge system is attributed to the scholar Liu Xiang circa 1st-century BCE. This earlier
system called the 'old degree' (gudu) system.

"In China there have been two ... systems of 28 'lunar lodges' (xiu), with variations. ...
[T]he standard lunar lodge system of the past 2000 years ... is ascribed to ... Shi Shen of
the late fourth century BC. ... But ... an eighth century AD encyclopedia of portents, the

19/34
Kaiyuan zhanjing (ch. 60-3), makes it clear, Shi Shen's system (if it is his) is actually the
later of the two. ... [Liu Xiang's earlier] system differs from Shi Shen's only in the widths of
the individual lodges, and in the fact that, when the two systems are mapped, the
beginning points - the first point of the lodge Jiao - are a few degrees apart in longitude."
(Nivison, David. (1989). "The origin of the Chinese lunar lodge system." In: Aveni,
Anthony. (Editor). World Archaeoastronomy. (Pages 276-288).)

The astronomer Bradley Schaefer has found the best estimate for the formation of the
Chinese 'lunar lodge' system is 3250 BCE with a statistical uncertainty of roughly ± 1000
years.

In their book The Chinese Sky during the Han. Constellating Stars & Society (1997, Page
96) Sun Xiaochun and Jacob Kistemaker set out that the Chinese star names can be
roughly categorised as related with:
(1) Heaven itself: sun, moon, and stars as names of constellations;
(2) Royal court and clan;
(3) Imperial bureaucracy and administration;
(4) All kinds of buildings and facilities;
(5) Military installations; armies and weapons;
(6) Traffic and transportation;
(7) Rituals, ceremonies and pictures of social life;
(8) Philosophical and religious concepts;
(9) Mythological and legendary figures;
(10) Administrative provinces and geographical features.

The Chinese perceived Heaven to be circular. In Chinese cosmology Heaven had nine
levels; each of which was separated by a gate and guarded by a particular animal. The
highest level was the Palace of Purple Tenuity where the Emperor of Heaven lived in the
constellation Ursa Major (the Big Dipper). At the centre of Heaven there was the North
Pole and the polar star. The celestial pole was a critical characteristic of Chinese
cosmology. To the Chinese, the centre was the most important geographical point
because it was the closest to Heaven. They believed that the heart of civilization lay at
the centre of the earth, and as the land spread out, the territories and their inhabitants
became more savage. The emphasis on the centre point led to the polar axis being a
pivotal aspect of Chinese astronomy. The polar axis, which ran from the polar star south
to Earth, was the pivot of Heaven. The vault of Heaven slid up and down the polar axis
while the earth itself oscillated along it to create the seasons.

Possibly the 'big dipper' was the single most important asterism in Chinese astronomy,
depicted as the celestial chariot of the emperor. The Wu Liang tomb, 2nd-century CE,
contained a stone slab of the 'big dipper' with seated royal figure.

Because the stars revolve around it the celestial Pole is seen as the center of heaven and
belonging to all directions. Dating from the Tang Period the sky surrounding Polaris
(Běijíxīng) is divided into 3 regions. These3 regions are: (1) the Purple Forbidden
Enclosure (Zǐ Wēi Yuán), (2) the Supreme Palace Enclosure (Tài Wēi Yuán), and (3) the

20/34
Heavenly Market Enclosure (Tiān Shì Yuán). These 3 regions reflect the organization of
the Chinese dynastic hierarchy on earth, the most important being the Purple Forbidden
Enclosure. The concept that earthly government is organized like that of heaven – at its
peak of important during the Tang Dynasty - gives the earthly government its structure,
and actions legitimacy, and supports the Mandate of Heaven. The Chinese belief that
there was a direct link between the celestial plan and the imperial house was one of the
fundamental factors for the continuous dynastic system with consistent heritage from era
to era. To remove ties with the heavens meant cutting the government off from legitimacy.

The constellations or Xiù are grouped by the four directions, East (dragon), West (tiger),
South (vermillion bird), and North (tortoise). The dragon occupies the East and contains
the constellations: (Jiăo) Horn, (Kàng) Neck, (Dĭ) Root, (Fáng) Room, (Xīn) Heart, (Wěi)
Tail, (Jī ) Winnowing basket. The tiger is in the West and contains the constellations: (Kuí)
Legs, (Lóu) Bond, (Wèi) Stomach, (Mǎo) Hairy Head, (Bì) Net, (Zuǐ) Turtle Beak, (Cān)
Join - Three Stars. The scarlet or vermillion bird is in the South and contains the
constellations: (Jǐng) Well, (Guǐ) Demon, (Lǐ) Willow, (Xīng) Star, (Zhāng) Growth, (Yì)
Wings, (Zhěn) Deep emotion. The tortoise occupies the North and contains the
constellations: (Dǒu) Dipper, (Níu) Ox, (Nǚ) Woman, (Xū) Emptiness, (Wēi) Danger, (Shì)
Room, (Bì) Wall.

With the Chinese calendar the equinoxes and solstices marked the center of the seasons
rather than the beginnings. The 2 oldest Chinese calendars that have come down to us
are the Hsia Hsiao Cheng and the Yūeh Ling. (According to Joseph Needham between
370 BCE and 1851 CE no less than 102 ‘calendars’ (effectively ephemerides) were
calculated and promulgated in China, generally at the beginning of particular reigns.)

The Hsia Hsiao Cheng was more of a farmer’s almanac. It was divided into twelve
months that would forecast the weather. The Hsia Hsiao Cheng (The Lesser Canon of the
Hsia) forms the calendar section of the collection of ritual notes, the Ta Tai Li (The Rites
of the Elder Tai). The calendar has nothing to do with the Hsia dynasty itself. Though
traditionally regarded as a true relic of the Hsia dynasty (circa 2000 BCE) it is dated by
modern scholars such as Joseph Needham on astronomical grounds (the hsiu) to the mid
4th-century BCE (contemporary with Shi Shen and Gan/Ghan De (Kan Te)). The
document is a farmer's calendar but also includes comments on the weather, the stars,
animal and vegetable life, all arranged under the 12 moons of the year. It was first
translated from Chinese by Robert Douglas (1838-1913), Professor of Chinese, King’s
College, London (Orientalia Antiqua, 1892, Pages 1-60), and mistakenly regarded by him
as being of great antiquity.

From their origin, Buddhists had an interest in intellectual activities which can be called
scientific activities. As well as religious beliefs, Buddhist missionaries were involved in the
transmission of astronomy and astrology from India to East Asia through Buddhism. This
can be divided into three periods. (1) Early Buddhism, (2) Mahayana Buddhism, and (3)
Tantric Buddhism.

21/34
Abstracts of recent conference papers presented by Stefan Maeder, Kokugakuin
University, Tokyo, Japan, at ICOA-7 (International Conference on Oriental Astronomy,
September 6-September 10, 2010):

"The Archaeology of the „Big Dipper“ – Some recent findings from Japan and Europe."

"The Big Dipper in Ursa Major was and is the most conspicuous asterism in the northern
sky. Furthermore it is circumpolar and could be used as a means for identifying the
apparent celestial northern pole, respectively the center of heaven, also in times when
due to precession there was no actual pole-star. This holds true for a time span from at
least the later 4th millennium B.C. until the present. Its importance for the history of
religion is recorded in various mythologies geographically ranging from ancient
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome to the Germanic sphere, India, Siberia, China,
Korea and Japan, not to mention the Americas. For 150 years there have been scattered
reports on so-called cup-marked stones showing the Big Dipper from Switzerland,
France, Germany and England. These isolated cases were regarded as coincidence and
an astronomical interpretation dismissed by most archaeologists. The author was also
inclined to regard these early reports as wishful thinking until he stumbled across two
early representations of the Big Dipper in Japan, which correspond to a finding in 2006 of
a confirmed neolithic representation on Baimiaozi-mountain, Mongolia, China. All of these
representations include an extra cup-mark/star between the upper stars of the bowl,
Megrez and Dubhe. This inconspicious star, BSC 4439, is about as bright as Alcor and is
of assistance in locating Thuban (α-draconis), which was the star closest to the pole at
around 2800 B.C.. One striking feature about the worldwide representations of the Big
Dipper is the fact that it is mostly rendered mirror-inverted. The presentation will introduce
the revised and newly found archaeological evidence from Japan and Europe by
comparing it to hitherto known representations of the Big Dipper from Mesopotamia,
Egypt, China and Korea."

"The Sword, the Snake & the Turtle - Three constellations from pre-modern China?"

"This talk is intended not as a line-up of definite results, but as a basis for discussion of
four combined motives on a Chinese coin-charm: 1. the Big Dipper, 2. the sword, 3. the
turtle and 4. the snake. The occurrence of astral symbolism on early coins made from
bronze, silver or gold has long since been corroborated by thousands of specimen from
the Greek, Celtic, Roman and of course the Chinese cultural spheres. Generally speaking
these types of currency roughly date from the 4th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. in
Europe and from the Han-period (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) through to the 19th century in
China. At least from about the 1st/2nd centuries A.D. coins were regarded as auspicious
objects in China. Non-currency types of coins displaying cosmological symbolism like e.g.
the Big Dipper, the dragon, the snake, the turtle and the tiger were constantly cast as
charms until the 19th century. The characteristic arrangement and rendering of the four
initially mentioned symbols allow for a hypothetical identification of three hitherto
unknown Chinese constellations, namely the sword, the snake and the turtle, which –
together with the big dipper - surround the pole of the ecliptic at even distances to each
other and to the pole itself. The pole of the ecliptic according to the hypothesis is

22/34
represented by the center of the coin, which was cast as an open-work square. In fact the
four symbols form a cross-shape around the center just as the one certain and the three
hypothetical constellations are aligned around the pole of the ecliptic. The sword-
constellation consists of the central stars of Cygnus (without the outer wing-stars). The
snake-constellation contains Corona Borealis as the distinct central coil, the four northern
stars of Hercules as its head and the three northern stars of Bootes as its tail. The head,
shell and tail of the turtle-constellation are accurately represented by the six major stars
of Cassiopeia, the feet by two smaller stars immediately south of the celestial W-shape.
These representations are found on a type of bronze coin that was first issued between
578 and 580 A.D. All representations are rendered mirror-inverted as is also the case with
a variety of prehistoric astronomical depictions from China and Europe."

The practice of telling the future through oracle bones is known as scapulimancy (telling
the future through the scapula, the shoulder bone, of a large animal (cow, buffalo),
plastromancy (using a turtle's plastron) or pyromancy (the use of fire). These methods all
declined when the book known as the I-Ching (a fortune-telling manual which uses
hexagrams and yarrow sticks) became more popular in the Zhou Dynasty. The oracle
bones are important primary sources on the history of the Shang Dynasty. They are the
earliest written records of Chinese civilization. Eventually the divining practice originated
the Chinese script. The symbols used in divination became words and a recognizable
Chinese script developed. Up until the discovery and analysis of the oracle bones it was
common for Western scholars to believe that Chinese language and history was relatively
late in development - that it really only commenced with the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE.
Oracle bones are the most important source of primary information about Bronze Age
China, including astronomy and celestial divination. Most of the oracle bones discovered
come from the Shang Dynasty (circa 1600-1046 BCE) but some come from the early
Zhou Dynasty (1046-226 BCE). Oracle bones continued to be used in later dynasties but
not as regularly as during the Shang.

Oracle Bones (also known as "dragon's bones") were usually the shoulder blades of oxen
or plastrons of turtles (the flat, underside of the turtle's shell) which were for divination.
The animal bones or turtle shells were heated with a hot needle until cracks appeared in
their surface. A diviner would carve (later, simply paint) symbols on the bones of the ox or
the turtle shell, apply a hot poker or fire until the bone or shell cracked, and then interpret
the direction of the cracks through their drawn symbols to predict the future. The shape of
the cracks provided prognostications used by kings to assist in affairs of state. It was the
ruler who provided the interpretation and this was usually then inscribed on the bone next
to the question. (The cracks were recorded on the same bone as either auspicious or
inauspicious.) The heat usually produced two cracks roughly at right angles: one long
crack along the grain of the bone and a shorter one across it. The prognostication was
recorded on the bone itself, together with the eventual outcome (tending to confirm that
the prognostication was correct). The same bone could be re-used several times on
different, un-cracked areas and so a bone may bear multiple inscriptions. The texts of the
oracle bones, when complete (but this is rarely the case) contain the name of the king for

23/34
whom the prognostication was made, the day in the 60-day count on which this was
done, the question asked, and the answer derived from the cracking (after heating) of the
bone.

Oracle bones were primarily used for divination purposes. Oracle bones are typically
fragments of large animal bones (cow, buffalo), most often tortoise shells, that have been
heated, cracked and then inscribed. The information inscribed variously records historical
information about the Chinese dynasties, such as the Shang Dynasty, and astronomical
information. Some of the earliest Chinese records of astronomical events are found on
divinatory oracle bones that date to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Early Chinese
astronomy was closely associated with celestial omenology. Some oracle bones relate to
astronomical events, including both solar and lunar eclipses, and form the earliest
Chinese records of such phenomena. Many significant astronomical observations and
events were recorded on oracle bones as a means of ensuring that a historical record
was kept. An oracle bone records an eclipse from 1281 BCE. An oracle bone dating prior
to 1281 BCE, mentions stars by their names. Others recorded the passing of comets and
novae. One analysis done on an oracle bone dating from the time of the Shang Dynasty
of the 14th-century BCE revealed a luni-solar calendar with intercalary months added to
it. Oracle bone inscriptions also mention asterisms. The study of oracle bone inscriptions
has revealed early, astronomical study of the stars. Both individual stars and
constellations are named. The inscriptions include the oldest observation of a nova (1300
BCE). The traditional Chinese sexagesimal system for numbering days and years was
used and the traditional Chinese calendar system with its twelve 30 or 29 day months and
an occasional leap month was already well established. A ten day week was in operation
so that three weeks conveniently fit into a month. Accurate solar observations were being
made with characters representing the solstices and eclipses. Observations were also
made of the planets, especially Jupiter.

The existence of the oracle bones only became known as late as 1899. They were first
identified by the Chinese pharmacist Wang Yirong during the course of his work grinding
bones for inclusion in traditional Chinese medicine. A collection of the diagrams of the
marks was then published by the noted Chinese scholar and politician Wang Guowei in
1903. In 1928 a full scale archaeological excavation was initiated by Chinese
archaeologists. In 1936 they found an undisturbed archive of 17,000 items including
bones strung together in bundles. About 10 percent of all the bones are inscribed. In all
over 100,000 inscribed bones have been unearthed.

The 60-Day Count: The 60-day count (sexagenary cycle) is an early system of recording
days and appears in the first Chinese written texts, the Shang oracle bones of the late
2nd-millennium BCE. Its use to record years began around the middle of the 3rd-century
BCE. The 60-day count (sexagenary cycle) is attested as a method of recording days
from the earliest written records in China, records of divination on oracle bones,
beginning circa 1250 BCE. Almost every oracle bone inscription includes a date in this
format. This use of the cycle for days is attested throughout the Zhou dynasty and
remained common into the Han period for all documentary purposes that required dates

24/34
specified to the day. Almost all the dates in the Spring and Autumn Annals, a
chronological list of events from 722 BCE to 481 BCE, used this system in combination
with reign years and months (lunations) to record dates. Eclipses recorded in the Annals
demonstrate that continuity in the sexagenary day-count was unbroken from that period
onwards. It is likely that this unbroken continuity went back still further to the first
appearance of the sexagenary cycle during the Shang period.

Appendix 12:

Source: "Science, Technology, Progress and the Break-through: China as a Case Study
in Human History." by Joseph Needham. In: Progress in Science and its Social
Conditions edited by Tord Ganelius (1986; Pages 5-22, Page 8).

Chinese Influence on Japanese Astronomy

It is not known to what extent the ancient Japanese were acquainted with astronomy
before Chinese culture reached Japan. The purpose of early circular stones as sun-dials
is disputed. It is difficult to identify early star mythology and descriptive astronomy. There
is a paucity of written records of ancient views of astronomy in Japan earlier than the 7th
or 8th century CE. The early phases of Japanese (scientific) astronomy were dominated

25/34
by Chinese influence. Japanese people learned Chinese astronomy and astrology for the
first time from Korea and then directly from from China. Both Chinese and Korean culture
were very influential on Japan - enabled by the social programs initiated by Japanese
rulers and also by Buddhist missionaries. Imported Chinese lore was adapted to native
beliefs. Knowledge of indigenous native astral/astronomical/calendrical beliefs are now
lost. Some Chinese influences on Japanese astronomy/astral beliefs included: Pole Star
worship (which was extended to the Big Dipper); use of Chinese constellations as
decorative patterns on on the hilts of swords; use of the 28 'lunar mansions' as decorative
patterns (i.e., on the cart used in the July Festival of Gion in Kyoto); use of the 4
imaginary animals drawn in cardinal directions. The Pleaides asterism, and the 3 stars of
Orion's 'belt' were also early Chinese influences. By at least the 7th-century CE the
Chinese system of 28 'lunar mansions' had become established in Japan. Some early
star charts have been found in Japanese tombs, one tomb dating to the 1st-century CE.

Gnomon Use by the Kenyah of Borneo: A Short Overview and Bibliography

The use of a gnomon for solstice measurement as an established tradition among the
Kenyah (and also the related Kayan) in Borneo appears confirmed by the academic
literature discussing the practice. A gnomon is a shadow casting natural object or surface
or culturally constructed. It has a dual use in that it can be used to tell daily time or 'yearly
time.' Estimating the time of day by the sun's shadow is in all essentials the same
technique as using the length of the sun's shadow to establish (estimate) the solstices.
People can estimate the time of day from the position and length of the shadow of a
vertical stick (even approximately established) used as a gnomon. Using the gnomon for
measuring the solstices, however, requires a more accurately established vertical
gnomon and some sort of fixed (permanent) index (or portable template) on level ground
to compare shadow-length changes throughout the year as exactly as possible. The
achievement of accuracy with solstice measurement is dependent on a number of factors.
However, descriptions agree that the Kenyah used assistive practices such as earth
calendar techniques.

There is no reason to believe that ethnologists/anthropologists have been consistently

unreliable in describing the integrated technique used. It is not indicated that everybody
has been reliant on/copying from a single source, the reports of Charles Hose in the early
20th-century; specifically his 1912 book. The fact that Charles Hose published an earlier
account in 1906 (1905?) (Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society)
indicates that we have usage at least at the close of 19th-century. Charles Hose was a
British Administrator (for the North Borneo Chartered Company) who resided in Borneo
for almost 2 decades. People are also frequently reliant on Martin Nilsson (1920) and/or
Joseph Needham (1953); who are reliant on the account by Charles Hose (1912).
However, there are multiple earlier and later sources than these. The earlier sources are
brief and likely unknown to Hose, who does not cite them.

The original publication by Dr Charles Hose describing gnomon use by the Kenyah was
published in the article "Various Modes of computing the time for Planting among the
Races of Borneo." for the Journal of the Straits Society of the Royal Asiatic Society,

26/34
Number 42, February, 1906 (1905?), Pages 5-10. Hose wrote: "the method they adopt
displays a wonderful knowledge of the precautions necessary to accuracy." This includes
a technique for ensuring it is perfectly upright. Hose also wrote: "The measuring stick
[portable template] has been notched in accordance with the experience of previous
years." (Also, the scale for reading the length of the shadow must be accurately
horizontal.) This and other assistive techniques make it clear there is not a simple
reliance on a single technique that attempts to ascertain very small and not likely
precisely measurable changes in noon shadow length.

Martin Nilsson (Primitive Time-Reckoning, 1920, Chapter XII. SOLSTICES AND

EQUINOXES. AIDS TO THE DETERMINATION OF TIME. (see page 318)) gives Charles
Hose as his source for the brief discussion of gnomon used by the Kenyah of Borneo.
(The Kayan method is discussed by Nilsson on pages 317-319.) Nilsson acknowledges
he has not seen the 1906 (1905?) article by Hose.

Source: Primitive Time-Reckoning by Martin Nilsson (1920, Page 318).

Joseph Needham gives Charles Hose as his source for the use of the photograph of the
gnomon being used in Borneo. Briefly, 'PLATE XXX' 'Fig. 111.' facing page 286 in Science
and Civilization in China by Joseph Needham (Volume 3, 1959), carries the caption "Two
Borneo tribesmen measuring the sun's shadow at summer solstice with a gnomon and a
gnomon shadow template in recent times (photo. Hose & McDougall)." This is referenced
on page 768 (BIBLIOGRAPHY C) and identifies the photograph and its interpretation
being reproduced from, The Pagan Tribes of Borneo by Charles Hose and William
McDougall (1912, 2 Volumes), Volume 1, Plate 60 "Kenyahs measuring the length of the
shadow of the As Do [pole/gnomon] at noon to determine the time for sowing Padi.",
facing page 108. Also, pages 106-109 make interesting reading.

27/34
Interestingly, a few authors who follow the solstice explanation are Richard Heinberg
(Celebrating the Solstice, 1993) and Richard Coen (Chasing the Sun, 2011). Others could
be mentioned. According to Silvio Bedini (The Trail of Time, 1994, page 8) a common use
of the gnomon is to determine the solstices (2 key days of the year). A detailed
explanation of the use of the gnomon in Borneo appears in "Cosmology in Southeast
Asia." by Joseph Schwartzberg (History of Geography, Volume 2, Book 2, 1995, Chapter
17).

The Kenyah obviously had more than one gnomon in use. But there is 'silence' in the
literature regarding the issue of how many were in use amongst the various Kenyan
villages. It is not obvious that everything was centred on one village. Obviously, most
villages were never visited by British officials of the North Borneo Chartered Company.
(North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered
Company from 1882 to 1941. In 1888, North Borneo became a protectorate of Great
Britain, but its administration remained entirely in the hands of the North Borneo
Chartered Company.) It is estimated there are now approximately 70,000 Kenyah people
in Borneo living in numerous villages. (It may be that 1000 people is a big village.) Circa
1900 the Kenyah population was much smaller. The Borneo tribesmen were not nomads
but agriculturalists and hunters. However, there is some area movement, for example, by
the Apo Kayan (who are cultivators). Apo Kayan is also the name of a region. Migration
by bands of Kenyah is not unknown.

Book and journal records show that the use of the gnomon in Borneo is much earlier than
circa 1900. In, A Mathematical Miscellany in Four Parts by Anonymous (Dublin, 1730)
reference is made on page 11 to the use of the gnomon in Borneo (and also Sumatra and
Africa). This places gnomon use in Borneo to the early 18th-century. However, the
example of gnomon use by the Kenyah of Borneo is likely some 300 years old at least. Its
use is mentioned in The Philosophical Transactions and Collections [of The Royal
Society], to the end of the year 1700.

On the issue of Kenyah gnomon use for solstice measurement there is nothing to indicate
possible poor field work and poor/confused reporting and use of historical material by
experienced ethnologists and anthropologists; especially with scholars such as Gene
Ammarell and Bernard Sellato. Their issues regarding the facts may likely reflect the
content of "Some Suggestions for Future Research in West Kalimantan." by Victor King
(Borneo Research Bulletin, Volume 6, Number 2, August, 1974, Pages 31-39).

Is the rather detailed 2008 description given by Gene Ammarell, Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, unreliable? (Ammarell,
Gene. 2008. "Indigenous Astronomical Knowledge of the Indo-Malay Archipelago." In:
Encyclopaedia of the History of Non-Western Science: Natural Sciences, Technology and
Medicine, revised edition, edited by Helaine Selin. (Volume 1, Pages 324-333).) He writes
that the gnomon used by the Kenyah involves a "permanently secured, plumbed"
hardwood pole and "a neatly worked, flat measuring stick." We know from Ammarell's
1988 article that he "draws from historical and ethnographic literature." No objections
regarding the use of the gnomon by the Kenyah for solstice measurement show sufficient

28/34
merit to persuade changes to be made to the entry in the 3rd edition (there will surely be
one). Also, there are no objections of merit for raising the issue with the multiple
specialists who support what Charles Hose has written.

It is worth noting that Gene Ammarell ("Sky Calendars of the Indo-Malay Archipelago:
Regional Diversity/Local Knowledge." Indonesia, Volume 45, 1988, Pages 84-104)
describes a sophisticated gnomon used in Java from circa 1600 to 1855. (It is also worth
noting that the higher the gnomon the more problems there are associated with ensuring
accuracy with its establishment.)

What the 2 Kenyah tribesmen are actually doing at the time of the photograph being
taken cannot be concluded to be the sole purpose of the gnomon. Hose identifies his
photograph as a solstice measurement activity with a shadow template. Some recent
criticisms made include: (1) This gnomon is really unsophisticated and the photograph is
obviously only evidence for showing it being used to judge the time of day. (2)
Describing/implying the gnomon is a hand-held, moveable, non-plumb stick; with the
suggestion it is a spear that is being used as a gnomon. As summary: The modern
photograph by Hose shows the simple use of a primitive stick-gnomon to gauge the time.
(Note: The indication of time from the position of the sun is really only suitable in the
tropics, where the sun always rises very high in the sky and the length of its daily course
is not subject to much variation.) This criticism can only be voiced by not studying the
photograph by Hose and by not reading the relevant text by Hose. The poorly framed
criticisms seem to be really questioning the accuracy of the technique rather than whether
the solstice determination technique was in place. I think it is sufficiently convincing that
the solstice determination technique technique was in place.

It is intriguing that criticisms keep coming back to the particular photograph by Hose and
what is believed can be – or can't be – seen in the photograph. However, this does not
make the description of the uses of the gnomon erroneous. The
ethnologists/anthropologists who have done field work in Borneo and mentioned gnomon
use do not construct the apparent problem that critics of the photograph have. The
photograph published in 1912 is hardly meant to be a high definition scientific/technical
photograph. Though published in 1912 the photograph was obviously taken earlier,
perhaps before the 1906 (1905?) article by Hose. Regardless, at that time ethnographic
photography was a developing technique. It was likely that glass plate photography was
used. There is nothing in the photograph contradicting Hose that it shows traditional
sophisticated use of a gnomon and shadow template. No ethnologist/anthropologist
working in Borneo after Hose has criticised Hose and his description that Kenyah
Tribesmen of Borneo are measuring the shadow cast by a gnomon, or 'tukar do' with a
measuring scale, or 'aso do.' The purpose of this measuring scale was not to determine
the time of day.

From page 713: "Cosmology in Southeast Asia." by Joseph Schwartzberg (History of

Geography, Volume 2, Book 2, 1995, Chapter 17) "The tribe in question, the Kenyah
Dayak, relies on observing the changing lengths of shadows cast by a gnomon specially
constructed for the purpose." From page 712 of the same: "FIG. 17.8. BASE OF

29/34
GNOMON EMPLOYED BY KENYAH DAYAKS. Notches [of which there are 8 on the
template] indicate times for conducting various agricultural operations. The periods when
the midday sun's shadow falls between successive notches are those that are appropriate
for specific tasks based on prior experience the seasons. These notches are calibrated
against specific lengths of portions of the arm of the professional village weather clerk
…."

Gene Ammarell, in: Encyclopaedia of the History of Non-Western Science: Natural

Sciences, Technology and Medicine, revised edition, edited by Helaine Selin. (2008,
Volume 1, Pages 324-333); writes a lengthy and detailed description of the gnomon used
by the Kenyah that includes: The Kenyah observe the position of the sun. Their
instrument is a straight cylindrical pole of hardwood, fixed vertically in the ground and
carefully adjusted with the aid of plumb-lines; the possibility of its sinking deeper into the
earth is prevented. The pole is a little longer than the outstretched arms of its maker and
stands on a cleared space by the house, surrounded by a strong fence. The observer has
further a flat stick on which lengths measured from his body are marked off by notches.
The other side has a larger number of notches, of which one marks the greatest length of
the midday shadow, the next one its length three days after it has begun to shorten, and
so on. The shadow is measured every midday. As it grows shorter after reaching its
maximal length the man observes it with special care, and announces to the village that
the time for preparing the land is near at hand. Also, in Bali and Java the seasons are
determined by the aid of a gnomon of rude construction, having a dial divided into twelve
parts.

From the above 2 descriptions it doesn't seem like an unsophisticated gnomon to me.
From Wikipedia (2015), Tropical Calendars: "In Borneo, a type of gnomon is used
consisting of an upright rod together with other rods flared out in a fan-like arrangement.
This device is called 'togallan,' after the root 'tagal,' to measure. When the togallan is
oriented North/South, the shadows of the rods unite and observer knows the Sun is in the
meridian. At this time the shadow of the Sun can be measured to determine the
declination, or it can be fixed by observation using the upright gnomon. If the togallan is
oriented East/West then sightings are made at sunrise/sunset."

The reference for clarifying the nature of gnomon use among the Kenyans of Borneo is:
"Grasping the World : Measuring and counting among the Aoheng of Borneo." by Bernard
Sellato. In: Pierre Le Roux et al (Editors). Poids et measures en Asie du Sud-Est :
Systemes métrologiques et sociéties. (2 Volumes, 2004-2008; see: Volume 1, Chapter
17, Pages 237-258). Bernard Sellato (M.Sc. in Geology and Ph.D. in Anthropology) has
spent over 20 years in Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo) researching history,
languages, and cultures. He is Director of the Institute for Research on Southeast Asia,
University of Provence. Sellato sets out the beginning of his article (page 237) that he is
only interested in establishing "traditional units of measure" prior to the influence of
"outside traders, the colonial administration [i.e., pre 1920] and in the last three decades,
the influence of world culture." He mentions the summer solstice was used by the Aoheng
of Borneo to determine the most auspicious time for sowing. Also, that the Aoheng were

30/34
influenced by the Kayans but not regarding gnomon use. Both the Aoheng and the
Kayans were agriculturalists (mainly rice farmers). Interestingly, Sellato also writes (pages
249-250) regarding gnomon use by the Kayans: "However, for one critical phase of the
agricultural cycle, the sowing, a vague notion of the time of the year was not enough. The
Busang and the Kayan, the Aoheng's eastern neighbours used a gnomon to ascertain the
day of the summer solstice – by measuring at noon day after day, the gnomon's shortest
shadow. They then determined the most auspicious time for sowing by a computation of
the moon's cycle and a particular method of weather-and-pest prognostication. The first
ritual sowing was actually started in a matter of a few days to two weeks after the
solstice."

To claim as criticism that neither the "permanently secured, plumbed hardwood pole" and
a "neatly worked, flat measuring stick" from the cited text is represented in the photograph
referenced is nonsense. (Another strange criticism is to incorrectly state that the
tribesmen have a moveable gnomon (spear?) which is held in the hand. It would appear
that only the Kayan - not the Kenyah - use a portable/moveable gnomon.) The contention
that if Sellato did not take the photograph in question (i.e., the photograph by Hose) to
document his contention then it is simply a guess on anybody's part that it shows the
solstice measurement activity and not simple the judgment of time of day, ignores book
and journal documentation before and after Hose and studies after Hose.

Measuring the solstice date with a 'stick' has problems. The sun changes so little in
declination at the time of the solstice that it is exceedingly difficult to establish the date by
non-optical shadows. The fact that the daily change in the length of the sun's shadow
around the solstice is minuscule and the edge of the shadow unfocused that determining
the date to within as little as two weeks by this method is extremely difficult, is why the
overall achievement of accuracy with solstice measurement is dependent on a number of
factors, terrestrial and astronomical. Descriptions by different ethnologists/anthropologists
across some 100 years agree that the Kenyah used assistive practices, including earth
calendar techniques. Interpolation of the actual solstice day from precise measurements
of the shadow's length on days before and after the solstice is plausible, and year after
year, the result would improve. (Note: The Arab-Islamic astronomers got it by observing
many weeks before and after and then doing a sophisticated interpolation.)

Also, it is reasonable to argued that traditional peoples, within and beyond the tropics,
have been fully aware of the changing elevation of the midday sun, and measurement of
a gnomon's shadow is a simple way to establish the relative elevation.

Is the use of the gnomon by the Kenyah still extant today? Interestingly, Yus Ngabut
(Palangkaraya University, Central Kalimantan) – who has been doing field work with the
Kenyah since at least the 1990's – writes (Social Science Research and Conservation
Management in the Interior of Borneo edited by Cristina Eghenter, Bernard Sellato, and
G. Simon Devung (2003, pages 241-257)) that the Kenyah still use gnomons. An earlier
publication also stated this. "The Kenyahs and the Kayans judge the seasons by the sun
...." See: Journal of the Straits Branch (Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland),
Issues 40-44, 1965, Page 4. This claim, however, is contradicted by another recent

31/34
source. According to The Sarawak Museum Journal, 1992: "Presently the tuken do or
gnomon is not used anymore - at least [not] in Uma Bawang and Uma Nyavieng ...." Uma
Bawang is a village located in Lirong Kawit, a settlement in the state of Sarawak,
Malaysia. The village consists of a single longhouse that is located near the Baram River
and the population in 1990 consisted of 100 Kayan people. "Uma Bawang is the result of
the amalgamation of three communities: Uma Bawang proper, Uma Daro, and Laham,
which have lived in close proximity for over a century...." (Kayan Religion: Ritual Life and
Religious Reform in Central Borneo by Jérôme Rousseau (1998, Page 48).) Uma
Nyavieng is in the Baluy area, Sarawak. It refers to a territory and group of people
(geographic group). (Another source states that the death of the practitioner/priest was a
reason recorded for its use being discontinued in one village. Jérôme Rousseau's 1998
book makes it obvious that knowledge of the proper use of gnomons for determining the
time for sowing is being lost.)

Regarding the possibility that the gnomon was introduced into Borneo. Wikipedia (2014)
will likely suffice for the possibility of diffusion from Sumatra or China: "According to
ancient Chinese, Indian and Javanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo had
become trading ports by the first millennium. In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor,
tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented
heartwood and root wood of a thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora), dragon's blood, rattan,
edible bird's nests and various spices were described as among the most valuable items
from Borneo. The Indians named Borneo Suvarnabhumi (the land of gold) and also
Karpuradvipa (Camphor Island). The Javanese named Borneo Puradvipa, or Diamond
Island. Archaeological findings in the Sarawak river delta reveal that the area was a
thriving trading centre between India and China from the 500s until about 1300 AD."

Also worth a read (excusing the title) is: "Astronomical Lore of Observational Nature
Possessed by the Vedic Aryans and Some Extremely Primitive African, Australian and
South American Tribes: a Comparison." by Kailash Chandra Varma (Annals of the
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Volume 61, Number 1/4, 1980, Pages 101-130).

Note: The most detailed modern study of the use of the gnomon for solstice
measurement among modern Kenyah and Kayan is, Kayan Religion: Ritual Life and
Religious Reform in Central Borneo by Jérôme Rousseau (1998). (See the (English-
language) book review by Robert Winzeler in The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 60,
Issue 2, May, 2001, Pages 614-615.) The book is written with reference to the early
1970s, when most of the fieldwork was done. However, the Kayan were still living lives
that were in many ways autonomous and traditional. It is basically an ethnography of
Kayan belief and practice. The book includes photographs of the gnomon at Uma
Bawang and associated activity. The use of the gnomon for determining the solstice and
time for sowing per Carles Hose is confirmed. (The sowing day is the only one
determined by astronomical method.) "Both in adat Dipuy and adat Bungan, a gnomon
sets the time of the ceremonial sowing (Chapter VI). Only a few people know how to use
it. The Chief has the authority over the gnomon, but he can delegate its observation to a
knowledgeable person." (Kayan Religion: Ritual Life and Religious Reform in Central

32/34
Borneo by Jérôme Rousseau (1998, Page 136. See also Pages 157-160). Rousseau
(1998, Page 158) also confirms that: "A plumbline is attached to the gnomon so that it is
vertical." (Jérôme Rousseau is an ethnologist/anthropologist who has spent a lot of time
in Borneo. His qualifications include: B. Sc. (Anthropology) Université de Montréal, 1968;
M.A. (Anthropology) Université de Montréal, 1969; Ph.D. (Anthropology) University of
Cambridge, 1974. He is currently (2015) a Professor in the Department of Anthropology
at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His doctoral dissertation was: The Social
Organization of the Baluy Kayan.) At the spot where the gnomon is to be established "the
ground is cleaned and levelled out; two plumblines ensure its vertical position. The length
of the shadow is measured at noon every day. The gnomon is owned and controlled by
the chief who decides when sowing is to take place. Uma Bawang's gnomon is seven
centimetres thick and its tip is 154 centimetres from the ground. It can be placed in any
convenient spot; in 1970 it was in front of the longhouse, in 1971, at the chief’s
farmhouse. Only two persons knew how to use it: Avun (the religious leader) and Lake'
Ngo Jok who had been a slave of the previous chief. The gnomon was set up in July
1971 without any ritual. (The summer solstice is on 21 or 22 June, from then on the
length of the sun's shadow at noon gets shorter.)" (Kayan Religion: Ritual Life and
Religious Reform in Central Borneo by Jérôme Rousseau (1998, Page 159). Regarding
gnomon use as a declining/disappearing skill. "In 1971, the people of Uma Bawang were
unaware of their limited understanding of astronomy, but they very conscious of their
imperfect knowledge in the use of the gnomon." (Jérôme Rousseau (1998, Page 160.)
"The maren's [= high aristocrat/ruling estate] control over the gnomon is justified by taboo
(parit): commoners may not manage the gnomon without the chief's permission." (Jérôme
Rousseau (1998, Page 161.)

Excursus 1:

Mary Barnard, in a passage in her small book, Time and the White Tigress (1986),
alluded to evidence of the high antiquity (Neolithic and Mesolithic) of attention to the
solstice. I presume this is from the blurb to the hardcover edition: "Her years of research
indicate that with simple tools such as rings, a forked stick, string, jugs of water, a stake, a
piece of level ground, and a deep well the ancient astronomers could predict celestial
movements (including the solstice and an eclipse)." Mary Barnard (1909-2001) was an
American poet. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1932 from Reed College. Her book,
Time and the White Tigress won the Western States Book Award in 1986. The 79-page
book illustrated with linocuts is a book-length poem on the subjects of time and its
measurement and mythology. In the, History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia edited by
John Lankford (1997), Barnard's book is described as fitting the "genre of astronomical-
philosophical poetry," and it was reviewed in The New York Times Book Review the year
after its publication. The bibliography runs from pages 63 to 79. (I have her book,
Mythmakers (1966) in my library. I would not deem it informative or reliable.)

Excursus 2:

33/34
The so-called Kalasasaya temple at Tiahuanaco is a very large sunken courtyard
enclosed by a low wall. According to Rolf Müller who was an astronomer at the Postdam
Observatory and between 1928 and 1929 made a study of the temple, it was constructed
and used for observing the sun at the summer and winter solstices. (His results were
published in 1931 in a 19-page pamphlet, Der Sonnentempel in den Ruinen von
Tihuanacu : Versuch einer astronomischen Altersbestimmung.) The most recent
orientation measurements were done by the astrophysicist Deterlino Urzagasti and
published in 1997 (Astronomical character of Tiwanuku ruins : observation of the solar
movement at the Kalasasaya temple. (Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, Universidad
Mayor de San Andres)). Also, in Peru, the chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616),
son of a Spanish soldier and Inca noblewoman, mentioned the use of column erected in
the middle of a square in front of sun temples, as a gnomon.

=====

Copyright © 2007-2021 by Gary D. Thompson

This Web Page was last updated on: Monday, November 22, 2021, 11:30 pm.

This Web Page was created using Arachnophilia 4.0 and FrontPage 2003.

You can reach me here by email (but first delete the obvious attempt in the email address
to foil the spammers):

34/34