Triangulum Australe in Chinese astronomy

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The modern constellation Triangulum Australe is not included in the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions system of traditional Chinese uranography because its stars are too far south for observers in China to know about them prior to the introduction of Western star charts. Based on the work of Xu Guangqi and the German Jesuit missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell in the late Ming Dynasty, [1] this constellation has been classified as one of the 23 Southern Asterisms (近南極星區, Jìnnánjíxīngōu) under the name Triangle (三角形, Sānjiǎoxíng).

Triangulum Australe constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

Triangulum Australe is a small constellation in the far Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name is Latin for "the southern triangle", which distinguishes it from Triangulum in the northern sky and is derived from the almost equilateral pattern of its three brightest stars. It was first depicted on a celestial globe as Triangulus Antarcticus by Petrus Plancius in 1589, and later with more accuracy and its current name by Johann Bayer in his 1603 Uranometria. The French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille charted and gave the brighter stars their Bayer designations in 1756.

Twenty-Eight Mansions moon mansions in chinese astrology

The Twenty-Eight Mansions, hsiu, xiu or sieu are part of the Chinese constellations system. They can be considered as the equivalent to the zodiacal constellations in Western astronomy, though the Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon through a sidereal month rather than the Sun in a tropical year.

Xu Guangqi Ming Dynasty Chinese politician, scholar and lay Catholic leader

Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i, also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat, Catholic convert, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician under the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and assisted their translation of several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of Euclid's Elements. He was also the author of the Nong Zheng Quan Shu, a treatise on agriculture. He was one of the "Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism". His current title is Servant of God. On April 15, 2011, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi announced the beatification of Xu Guangqi.

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The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 南三角座 (nán sān jiǎo zuò), meaning "the southern triangle constellation".

Stars

The map of Chinese constellation in constellation Triangulum Australe area consists of :

Four SymbolsMansion (Chinese name)RomanizationTranslationAsterisms (Chinese name)RomanizationTranslationWestern star nameChinese star nameRomanizationTranslation
-近南極星區 (non-mansions)Jìnnánjíxīngōu (non-mansions) The Southern Asterisms (non-mansions)三角形SānjiǎoxíngTriangle
γ TrA [2] 三角形一 Sānjiǎoxíngyī1st star
β TrA [2] 三角形二Sānjiǎoxíngèr2nd star
α TrA [2] 三角形三Sānjiǎoxíngsān3rd star
δ TrA 三角形增一Sānjiǎoxíngzēngyī1st additional star
ε TrA 三角形增二Sānjiǎoxíngzēngèr2nd additional star

See also

Chinese astronomy

Astronomy in China has a long history, beginning from the Shang Dynasty. Chinese star names later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions have been found on oracle bones unearthed at Anyang, dating back to the middle Shang Dynasty, and the mansion (xiù:宿) system's nucleus seems to have taken shape by the time of the ruler Wu Ding.

Chinese constellations groupings used in traditional Chinese culture to organize the stars

Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials".

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The modern constellation Aquila lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North, and Three Enclosures that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Auriga lies across two of the quadrants symbolized by the White Tiger of the West and the Vermillion Bird of the South, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Boötes lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Azure Dragon of the East, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Cancer is located within the southern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Vermilion Bird of the South.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Canes Venatici is located in Three Enclosures

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Canis Minor is located within the southern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Vermilion Bird of the South.

The modern constellation Carina lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Vermillion Bird of the South and The Southern Asterisms, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Cassiopeia lies across two of the quadrants symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North, The White Tiger of the West and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Centaurus lies across two of the quadrants symbolized by the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermillion Bird of the South, and the Southern Asterisms.

The modern constellation Cepheus lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Columba lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the White Tiger of the West and the Vermillion Bird of the South, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Corvus is located within the southern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Vermilion Bird of the South.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Crater is located within the southern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Vermilion Bird of the South.

The modern constellation Draco lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Eridanus lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the White Tiger of the West, and The Southern Asterisms, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Hercules is located in Three Enclosures

The modern constellation Leo lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Vermilion Bird of the South, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The modern constellation Orion lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the White Tiger of the West and Vermilion Bird of the South, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Triangulum is located within the western quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎).

The modern constellation Virgo lies across one of the quadrants symbolized by the Azure Dragon of the East, and Three Enclosures, that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

References

  1. ↑ Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin, ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 910. ISBN   0-7923-4066-3.
  2. 1 2 3 (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 29 日
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