The Twenty-Eight Mansions (), also called Gary D. Thompson chapter 11-24 or , 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. Each mansion is roughly a day of the month.

The lunar mansion system was in use in other parts of East Asia, such as ancient Japan; the Bansenshūkai, written by Fujibayashi Yasutake, mentions the system several times and includes an image of the twenty-eight mansions.

A similar system, called nakshatra, is used in traditional Indian astronomy.CBETA T21 No. 1299

Overview

Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the sky ecliptic into four regions, collectively known as the Four Symbols, each assigned a mysterious animal. They are Azure Dragon () on the east, Black Tortoise () on the north, White Tiger () on the west, and Vermilion Bird () on the south. Each region contains seven mansions, making a total of 28 mansions. These mansions or correspond to the longitudes along the ecliptic that the Moon crosses during its 27.32-day journey around the Earth and serve as a way to track the Moon's progress. In Taoism they are related to 28 Chinese generals.

List of mansions

The names and determinative stars of the mansions are: Four Symbols() Mansion )NumberName (Pinyin)TranslationDeterminative starAzure Dragonof the East( - )Spring 1 () Horn α Vir 2 () Neck κ Vir 3 () Root α Lib 4 () Room π Sco 5 () Heart α Sco 6 () Tail μ¹ Sco 7 () Winnowing Basket γ SgrBlack Tortoiseof the North( - )Winter 8 () (Southern) Dipper φ Sgr 9 () Ox β Cap 10 () Girl ε Aqr 11 () Emptiness β Aqr 12 () Rooftop α Aqr 13 () Encampment α Peg 14 () Wall γ PegWhite Tigerof the West( - )Fall 15 () Legs η And 16 () Bond β Ari 17 () Stomach 35 Ari 18 () Hairy Head 17 Tau 19 () Net ε Tau 20 () Turtle Beak λ Ori 21 () Three Stars ζ OriVermilion Birdof the South( - )Summer 22 () Well μ Gem 23 () Ghost θ Cnc 24 () Willow δ Hya 25 () Star α Hya 26 () Extended Net υ¹ Hya 27 () Wings α Crt 28 () Chariot γ CrvYellow Dragonof the Center( - ) — () Body α Leo

The Twenty-Eight Mansions are matched with Day of the week and animal to calculate a person's fortune and luck.

DirectionThursdayFridaySaturdaySundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayWoodMetal / GoldEarth / SoilYangYinFireWaterEastConstellationHorn Neck Root RoomHeartTailWinnowing BasketAnimalJiaolongDragonRaccoon dogRabbitFoxTigerLeopardNorth ConstellationDipperOxGirl Emptiness Roof Encampment WallAnimalXiezhiBoviniBatMuroideaSwallowSusYayuWest ConstellationLegsBondStomach Hairy Head Net Turtle Beak Three StarsAnimalWolfDogPhasianidaeChickenCorvusMonkeyApeSouth ConstellationWellGhostWillow Star Extended Net Wings ChariotAnimalBianCaprinaeWater deerHorseDeerSnakeEarthworm

See also

Four Symbols (Chinese constellation) Lunar mansion Three enclosures

References