Lou (婁)
Authors: Lyu Haocheng
| Asterism Info | |
| Native | 婁 |
|---|---|
| Romanisation | Lóu |
| IPA | /loʊ˧˥/ |
| Translation | Bond |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 28.38454167 to 31.79575 |
| Declination | 19.29527778 to 23.46416667 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 3 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 3 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 2 |
| Brightest star | α Ari (2.01m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | constellation |
| IAU- constellations | Ari |
Lóu (婁, Bond) or Lóu Xiù (婁宿) is the sixteenth lunar mansion in the Chinese Twenty-Eight Mansions system and the second of the seven mansions of the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎). The mansion consists of three stars in the modern constellation Aries, with β Arietis (Sheratan) serving as the determinative star.
Concordance, Etymology, History
The name Lóu (婁) carries a complex set of meanings in classical Chinese. The Shuowen Jiezi (説文解字) glosses it as "empty" or "hollow", a sense preserved in the character's later usage. In the context of the lunar mansion, however, the dominant meaning is "to gather" or "to muster". The Shiji·Tianguan Shu (史記·天官書, Treatise on the Celestial Offices) states succinctly:
Lou means gathering the multitude. (婁為聚眾)
The Jin Shu·Tianwen Zhi (晉書·天文志, Book of Jin, Treatise on Astronomy) elaborates:
Lou is the celestial prison; it governs the pastures and the sacrificial victims offered at the suburban sacrifices. (婁為天獄，主苑牧犧牲，供給郊祀)
The mansion thus combines the ideas of pasturage, gathering, and sacrificial provision.
The Kaiyuan Zhanjing (開元占經) preserves a range of alternative names and functions from the Han and Six Dynasties periods. The Zuozhu Qi (佐助期) states that
Lou governs the pastures; its spirit is named Jifang (及方), with the surname Taiwei (台衛).
The Huangdi Zhan (黄帝占) calls it the "celestial treasury" (天府) and associates it with the five sacrifices (五祀) and the suburban offering (郊太牢). The Xiguan Hou (西官候) records that Lou was also called Miguan (密官, Secret Office), Guoshi (國市, State Market), and Tianmiao Ku (天廟庫, Celestial Temple Storehouse). Wu Xian (巫咸) calls it the celestial prison (天獄), and the Xiaojing Zhangju (孝經章句) glosses it simply as "market" (市). Xi Meng (郗萌) notes that matters of gathering the multitude are divined by Lou. The Haizhong Zhan (海中占) records that when the emperor is filial, the Lou stars are bright and large, and the world is at peace.
The mansion's connection to pasturage and sacrificial provision is explicitly linked to the adjacent asterism Tiancang (天倉) (Square Celestial Granary). The Shi Shi Zan (石氏讚) states:
Lóu governs the pastures and the provision of sacrificial offerings; therefore Tiān Cāng was established to nourish them. (婁主苑牧，給享祀，故置天倉以養之)
Identification of stars
| Star Names or Orders(Qing) | Han Dynasty (SUN X. & J. Kistemaker[1]) | 3rd to 6th Century (Boshun Yang[2]) | Song Dynaty (Boshun Yang[2], 1034 CE) | Song Dynasty (Pan Nai[3], 1052 CE) | Song Dynasty (Boshun Yang[2], 1052 CE) | Yuan Dynasty (Pan Nai[4], 14th century) | Qing Dynaty (Yi Shitong[5], 18th Century) | Ho PENG YOKE[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st / determinative | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari | β Ari |
| 2nd | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari | γ Ari |
| 3rd | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari | α Ari |
Maps (Gallery)
| Historical Maps | ||
|---|---|---|
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IAU Working Group on Star Names
In 202x, the name of the historical constellation "xxx" was suggested to be used for one of the stars in this constellation. ...
Decision: ...
References
References (Chinese) [[Category: ]]
- ↑ Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. The Chinese sky during the Han. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 B.-S. Yang杨伯顺, Zhongguo Chuantong Hengxing Guance Jingdu ji Xingguan Yanbian Yanjiu 中国传统恒星观测精度及星官演变研究 (A Research on the Accuracy of Chinese Traditional Star Observation and the Evolution of Constellations), PhD thesis, (Hefei: University of Science and Technology of China, 2023), Pp297-304.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989, Pp220-226.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p435-443.
- ↑ Yi Shitong伊世同. Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981.
- ↑ P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” Vistas in Astronomy, 5(1962), 127-225.
