How to Know the Chinese Constellations

Understand the basic divisions. Chinese astronomers divided the night sky into 31 sections or regions: three Enclosures, encompassing the stars in the polar region, and 28 mansions, roughly corresponding to the progression of the Western zodiac. As in international astronomy today, the Chinese grouped stars into asterisms or clusters, and named individual stars with a letter and a number corresponding to their asterism.

Recognize the Three Enclosures. These are known as the Supreme Palace, the Purple Forbidden and the Heavenly Market. The stars in these three circumpolar regions can be seen year-round.

Know that the 28 Mansions are divided among the four cardinal directions, each of which has a descriptive symbol. The Black Tortoise of the North includes Mansions, or constellations, known as the Ox, the Girl and the Emptiness. The Azure Dragon of the East contains constellations known as the Winnowing Basket, the Horn and the Heart, among others. In the realm of the White Tiger of the west you will find Mansions known as Hairy Head and Turtle Beak. And constellations like the Ghost, the Willow and the Chariot call the Vermilion Bird of the South home.

Look at the early Chinese constellations on star maps. These include the Chinese Dunhuang manuscript, which is the oldest existing portable star map dated around 940 CE. It depicts over 1345 stars grouped in 257 asterisms. Another 23 asterisms were added later, when Chinese astronomers began including constellations of the southern polar region.

Learn other Chinese designations for stars and sky regions. Corresponding to the I Ching, the sky can be divided into Nine Regions, the central polar region surrounded by the eight divisions of the ba gua. Individual stars may be known by names drawn from folklore, as with the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, the immortalized lovers whose story is celebrated on the Night of Sevens.