Ox (Chinese constellation)
The Ox mansion (牛宿, pinyin: Niú Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise. The primary asterism of this mansion is centered on the tail of the constellation known as Capricornus in Western astronomy.[1]
Asterisms
[edit]| English name | Chinese name | European constellation | Number of stars | Representing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ox | 牛 | Capricornus | 6 | The ox hanged by the rope |
| Celestial Farmland | 天田 | Capricornus/Microscopium | 4 | Son from heaven |
| Nine Water Wells | 九坎 | Microscopium | 4 | Nine irrigation wells |
| Drum at the River | 河鼓 | Aquila | 3 | Military drums in the sky |
| Weaving Girl | 織女 | Lyra | 3 | The girl who skilled in weaving of fairy folk |
| Left Flag | 左旗 | Aquila/Sagitta | 9 | Banners in the left |
| Right Flag | 右旗 | Aquila | 9 | Banners in the right |
| Celestial Drumstick | 天桴 | Aquila | 4 | Drum at the River stick |
| Network of Dykes | 羅堰 | Capricornus | 3 | Mound for irrigation system |
| Clepsydra Terrace | 漸臺 | Lyra | 4 | Water for clepsydra |
| Imperial Passageway | 輦道 | Lyra/Cygnus | 5 | Passage for imperial chariot |
References
[edit]- ^ Soothill, William Edward; Hodous, Lewis (1977). A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms: With Sanskrit and English Equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali Index. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0319-0.