Tianqun (天囷)
Authors: Lyu Haocheng
| Asterism Info | |
| Native | 天囷 |
|---|---|
| Romanisation | Tiān Qūn |
| IPA | /tʰjɛn˥.t͡ɕʰyn˥/ |
| Translation | Circular Celestial Granary |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 33.252375 to 45.57333333 |
| Declination | -2.978333333 to 10.61111111 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 13 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 12 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 1 |
| Brightest star | α Cet (2.53m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | constellation |
| IAU- constellations | Cet |
Tiān Qūn (天囷, Circular Celestial Granary) is a Chinese asterism belonging to the Wèi (胃, Stomach) lunar mansion. Among the Three Schools, it is classified as an external constellation of the Shi School (石氏). The asterism consists of thirteen stars located to the south of Wèi, spanning the modern constellations Cetus and Aries.
Concordance, Etymology, History
Qūn (囷) specifically denotes a circular granary in classical Chinese. The Shuowen Jiezi(説文解字) explains: "The round one of the granaries is called qūn; the square one is called jīng (京)." (廩之圜者，圜謂之囷，方謂之京) The distinction between round (qūn) and square (cāng) granaries is thus fundamental to the asterism's identity: Tianqun is the circular granary of heaven, paired with Tiancang (天倉) (Square Celestial Granary).
Like Tiancang (天倉), Tianqun derives from the granary symbolism of the Wei mansion. The Treatise on the Celestial Offices (Shiji·Tianguan Shu, 史記·天官書) identifies the stars south of Wei as Kuài Jī (廥積, stores of hay and grain). The Shi's Commentary (Shi Shi Zan, 石氏讚) explicitly states:
Wei governs the granaries and storehouses, the foundation of the five grains; therefore Tianqun was established to contain them. (胃主倉稟五穀基，故置天囷以盛之)
Tianqun was therefore created specifically to serve as the celestial receptacle for the grain governed by Wei.
The Song of the Sky Pacers (Bu Tian Ge, 步天歌) describes the asterism's distinctive shape:
Tianqun, thirteen stars, like the character "乙". (天囷十三如乙形)
The Jin Shu·Tianwen Zhi (晉書·天文志 / Treatise on Astronomy in the History of Jin) records:
Tianqun, thirteen stars, to the south of Wei; qūn belongs to the category of granaries and storehouses, governing the provision of imperial grain. (天囷十三星，在胃南。囷，倉廪之屬也，主給御糧也。)
The Huangdi Zhan (黃帝占) explains that qūn refers to a granary in the countryside, while cāng refers to one in a city; it also notes that "round is called qūn, square is called cāng." When the stars of Tianqun are bright and numerous, the hundred storehouses are full; when dim and few, the storehouses are empty and the realm is troubled.
Identification of stars
The determinative star of Tianqun has consistently been the brightest star of the asterism, α Ceti. However, the identification of the remaining twelve stars is not entirely certain. The asterism's shape, described as resembling the character "乙", is a curved, hook-like configuration, which makes precise star-by-star identification difficult. The Northern Song Jingyou star catalogue (景祐星表, epoch 1034 CE) records an observation of the northern star of Tianqun, identified as μ Ceti.
| 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 | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet | α Cet |
| 2nd | λ Cet | λ Cet | λ Cet | λ Cet | λ Cet | λ Cet | κ2 Cet | κ1 Cet |
| 3rd | μ Cet | μ Cet | μ Cet | μ Cet | μ Cet | μ Cet | λ Cet | λ Cet |
| 4th | ξ Ari | ξ Ari | ξ Ari | ξ Ari | ξ Ari | ξ Ari | μ Cet | μ Cet[comment 1] |
| 5th | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet | ξ1 Cet |
| 6th | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet | ξ2 Cet |
| 7th | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet | ν Cet |
| 8th | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet | γ Cet |
| 9th | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet | δ Cet |
| 10th | 75 Cet | 75 Cet | 75 Cet | 84 Cet | 75 Cet | 84 Cet ? | 75 Cet | 75 Cet |
| 11th | 69 Cet | 70 Cet | 70 Cet | 75 Cet | 70 Cet | 75 Cet ? | 70 Cet | 70 Cet |
| 12th | 70 Cet | 69 Cet | 69 Cet | 70 Cet | 69 Cet | 70 Cet ? | 63 Cet | 63 Cet |
| 13th | ο Cet | HIP 10723 | HIP 10723 | ο Cet | HIP 10723 | ο Cet ? | 66 Cet | 66 Cet |
- ↑ In Ho Peng Yoke's identification chart for Tianqun, an additional star, HIP 11603, is inserted between the fourth star μ Ceti and the fifth star ξ1 Ceti.
Maps (Gallery)
| historical map | modern identification | same in Stellarium |
|---|---|---|
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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.
