The Broom Star (), also called Sao Ba Xing (), is a traditional Chinese term for a comet and, by extension, a person believed to bring bad luck. The name refers to the appearance of a comet's tail, which was compared to a broom. In Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi), the Broom Star is also the divine title given to Ma Shi (马氏), the former wife of Jiang Ziya. The term is also used in modern Chinese as a pejorative expression for a person considered unlucky.
The broom also appears in Chinese New Year customs, including taboos against sweeping on the first day of the lunar New Year and customs associated with sweeping away poverty on the fifth day.
Astronomical origins
Traditional Chinese astronomy used several names for comets. Hui xing (彗星) is also called saozhou xing (掃帚星), or "broom star". The term refers to the tail of a comet. The term bo xing (孛星) also appears in historical Chinese astronomical records of comet-like objects.
The Spring and Autumn Annals records an astronomical observation in 613 BCE of a star with a tail entering the Northern Dipper. The observation is generally identified as a comet.
Chinese historical records contain numerous observations of comets. In traditional Chinese belief, comets were regarded as inauspicious celestial phenomena and were associated with disasters and war.
Figurative meaning
Saozhou xing (掃帚星) is also used figuratively for a person believed to bring bad luck. The Ministry of Education's Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary defines saozhou xing both as another name for a comet and as a term for a person who brings bad luck.
Ma Shi in Investiture of the Gods
In Investiture of the Gods, the Broom Star is the divine title given to Ma Shi (马氏), the former wife of Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya marries Ma Shi after descending from Kunlun Mountain. Ma Shi urges him to make a living through trade, but he is unsuccessful. When Jiang Ziya leaves for Xiqi, Ma Shi refuses to accompany him and asks him for a divorce. They separate, and Ma Shi later lives with Zhang Sanlao.
After the Zhou conquest, Ma Shi learns that Jiang Ziya has become a powerful and wealthy official. She regrets leaving him and later hangs herself. At the end of the novel, Jiang Ziya assigns divine titles to the dead. Ma Shi is named the Broom Star (掃帚星). The title appears in the same list as the Great Calamity Star (大禍星), the Five Poverties Star (五窮星), and the Desolation Star (荒蕪星).
Folk customs
The broom is associated with several Chinese New Year customs. In some traditions, people avoid sweeping the house on the first day of the lunar New Year because it is believed that sweeping will remove wealth and good fortune from the household.
The fifth day of the lunar New Year is known as Po Wu (破五). In some regional customs, the day is associated with song qiong (送穷), or "sending away poverty". One custom involves making a paper figure and using it to sweep household dirt into a bag, which is then taken outside and destroyed with firecrackers. This custom is also called song qiong tu (送穷土).
See also Investiture of the Gods Comet Chinese astrology
References