HaochengLyu: Added new entry Lou

2026-09-29T11:12:22Z

Added new entry Lou

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Lou (婁)}}

{{distinguish|}}

Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
----
{{Infobox constellation|name=Lou (婁)|native=婁|translation=Bond|pronounce=Lóu|IPA=/loʊ˧˥/|culture=Chinese|RA=28.38454167 to 31.79575|dec=19.29527778 to 23.46416667|areatotal=0|numbermainstars=3|numberbfstars=3|numberstarsplanets=|numberbrightstars=2|numbernearbystars=|brighteststarname=α Ari|starmagnitude=2.01|neareststarname=|stardistance=|numbermessierobjects=|meteorshowers=|bordering=Ari|notes=|cat=constellation}}
[[File:Lou in Stellarium.png|alt=Lou in Stellarium|thumb|Lou in Stellarium]]
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:
<blockquote>''Lou'' means gathering the multitude. (婁為聚眾)</blockquote>
The ''Jin Shu·Tianwen Zhi'' (晉書·天文志, ''Book of Jin, Treatise on Astronomy'') elaborates:
<blockquote>''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)</blockquote>
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
<blockquote>''Lou'' governs the pastures; its spirit is named Jifang (及方), with the surname Taiwei (台衛).</blockquote>
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]] (Square Celestial Granary). The ''Shi Shi Zan'' (石氏讚) states:
<blockquote>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)</blockquote>

=== Identification of stars ===

{| class="wikitable"
!Star Names or Orders(Qing)
!Han Dynasty (SUN X. & J. Kistemaker<ref>Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. ''The Chinese sky during the Han''. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.</ref>)
!3rd to 6th Century (Boshun Yang<ref name=":12">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.</ref>)
!Song Dynaty (Boshun Yang<ref name=":12" />, 1034 CE)
!Song Dynasty (Pan Nai<ref name=":02">Pan Nai潘鼐. ''Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi''中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989, Pp220-226.</ref>, 1052 CE)
!Song Dynasty (Boshun Yang<ref name=":12" />, 1052 CE)
!Yuan Dynasty (Pan Nai<ref>Pan Nai潘鼐. ''Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi''中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p435-443.</ref>, 14th century)
!Qing Dynaty (Yi Shitong<ref>Yi Shitong伊世同. ''Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao''中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981.</ref>, 18th Century)
!Ho PENG YOKE<ref>P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” ''Vistas in Astronomy'', 5(1962), 127-225.</ref>
|-
|1st / determinative
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
| valign="center" |β Ari
|-
|2nd
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
| valign="center" |γ Ari
|-
|3rd
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
| valign="center" |α Ari
|}

=== Maps (Gallery) ===

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" |Historical Maps
|-
|[[File:Lou on Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido.png|alt=Lou on Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido|thumb|Lou on ''Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido'']]
|[[File:Lou on Suzhou Star Map.png|alt=Lou on Suzhou Star Map|thumb|Lou on Suzhou Star Map]]
|[[File:Lou on Yixiang Kaocheng Star Map.png|alt=Lou on Yixiang Kaocheng Star Map|thumb|Lou on ''Yixiang Kaocheng'' Star Map]]
|}

== 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:Asterism ]][[Category:Constellation ]]
[[Category:Eurasia]][[Category:Asian]][[Category:East Asian]]
[[Category:Chinese ]]
[[Category:Ari]]
[[Category: ]]

Lou - Revision history

HaochengLyu: Added new entry Lou