Neichu: Difference between revisions

From All Skies Encyclopaedia
Neichu
Boshunyang (talk | contribs)
Users
657 edits
VisualWikitext
Boshunyang (talk | contribs)
Users
657 edits
Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE: Neichu (內杵)}} {{distinguish|}} Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}} ---- thumb|Image that shows the earliest map or drawing thumb|Image that shows the cultural object (e.g. in archaeological museum) Chinese constellation. == Concordance, Etymology, History == ... === Identification of stars === {| class="wikitable" |+ !Star Names or Orders(Traditional/Qing) !style="color: gray;" |Ho PENG YOKE<ref>P.-Y. Ho, “Anci..."
 
Boshunyang (talk | contribs)
Users
657 edits
No edit summary
 
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Neichu (內杵)}}  
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Neichu (內杵) and Jiu (臼)}}  


{{distinguish|}}
{{distinguish|}}


Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
----
----Nèichǔ (Inner Pestle, 內杵) is a three-star Chinese asterism and Jiù (Mortar,  臼) is a four star Chinse asterism. They belong to the Gan school, represented in black in the three-school tradition. Under modern IAU boundaries, their members fall in Pegasus and Lacerta. 


[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|Image that shows the earliest map or drawing]]
[[File:Stone pestle from the Zengpiyan site, Guilin, Guangxi.jpg|thumb|'''Stone pestle from the Zengpiyan site, Guilin, Guangxi''']]
[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|Image that shows the cultural object (e.g. in archaeological museum)]]
[[File:Stone pestle and mortar from the Huanglianshu site, Xichuan, Henan.jpg|thumb|Stone pestle and mortar from the Huanglianshu site, Xichuan, Henan]]
Chinese constellation.


== Concordance, Etymology, History ==
== Concordance, Etymology, History ==
...
A '''chu''' (Pestle杵) was a rod-shaped implement used for pounding grain, normally in combination with a mortar (''jiu'' 臼). Together, the pestle and mortar formed one of the most basic devices for processing foodstuffs. They could be used to dehusk grain, pound rice, produce flour, and prepare ritual food; implements of similar form were also employed for grinding medicinal ingredients or working other materials. The ''Xici II'' commentary of the ''Book of Changes'' states: “…cut wood to make pestles and dug the earth to make mortars; through the benefit of mortar and pestle, the myriad people were sustained斷木為杵，掘地為臼；臼杵之利，萬民以濟.” Early mortars could be made by hollowing depressions directly into the ground or into blocks of stone, while pestles were fashioned from short pieces of wood or elongated stones. Archaeological evidence indicates that the invention of the pestle and mortar reaches far back into prehistory. Stone pestles have been excavated at both the Baozitou site in Nanning and the Zengpiyan site in Guilin, which date to approximately 10,000–9,000 years ago.
 
The prefix '''nei''' (Inner内) does not indicate that the implement was kept indoors. Rather, it served as a distinguishing element within the nomenclature of Chinese asterisms. Yang Boshun has argued that the Gan school deliberately coined some of its asterism names with reference to names already used in the Shi-school system. Since the Shi school already had an asterism called '''Chu''' 杵, the Gan school designated another one as '''Neichu''' (Inner Pestle內杵), “Inner Pestle.” Comparable pairs include '''Tianjie (Celestial Steps天階''')'''–Neijie (Inner Steps'''內階) and '''Ping (Screen'''屏)'''–Waiping''' ('''Outter'''外屏). The name Neichu therefore served primarily to distinguish this asterism from another Chu belonging to the Shi-school tradition and located south of the lunar lodge Ji 箕.
 
Sun Xiaochun and Jacob Kistemaker treated Neichu, '''Jiu''' 臼, and the nearby '''Tianchu''' 天廚 as a coherent group within the same sector of the sky. They connected these asterisms with the ancestral-temple imagery associated with the neighboring lodges Shi 室 and Bi 壁, interpreting them as cooking and food-processing facilities used to prepare special offerings for ancestral rites. This interpretation emphasizes the idea of a ritual kitchen. Other sources, however, including the ''Kaiyuan zhanjing'', the ''Xingjing'', and the astronomical treatise of the ''History of the Song'', preserve prognostications concerning the “annual harvest” and “military provisions.” In this context, the pestle and mortar symbolized the harvesting, storage, and processing of grain, especially supplies intended for the army. Although these interpretations may derive from different intellectual and astrological contexts, they share the same central semantic field: the harvesting, storage, and processing of food grains.
   
   
=== Identification of stars ===
=== Identification of stars ===
Before the transmission of European astronomy to China, the identification of the three stars of '''Neichu and Jiu''' remained generally stable. During the astronomical reforms of the late Ming period, however, the whole asterism Neichu and one star of Jiu appears to have been omitted, possibly because its constituent stars were difficult to identify. When Jesuit astronomers compiled new star catalogues in the Qing dynasty, they attempted to restore the traditional Chinese asterism system; nevertheless, their identification of the stars of Neichu differed from that followed before the late Ming reforms.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!Star Names or Orders(Traditional/Qing)
!Star Names or Orders(Qing)
!style="color: gray;" |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>
!Han Dynasty (SUN X. & J. Kistemaker<ref>Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. ''The Chinese sky during the Han''. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.</ref>)
!style="color: gray;" |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>
!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).</ref>)
Based on catalogue in 18th century
!Song Dynaty (Boshun Yang<ref name=":12" />,  1034 CE)
!style="color: gray;" |Pan Nai<ref name=":0">Pan Nai潘鼐. ''Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi''中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989. Fig 55.</ref>
!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.</ref>, 1052 CE)
based on Xinyixiangfayao Star Map
!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)
!style="color: gray;" |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>
!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>
based on catalogues in Yuan dynasty
|-
!style="color: gray;" |SUN X. & J. Kistemaker<ref>Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. ''The Chinese sky during the Han''. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.</ref>
| rowspan="3" |Neichu
Han Dynasty
|1st
!Boshun Yang<ref name=":1">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). 235-296.</ref>
|pi <sup>1</sup> Peg
before Tang dynasty
|pi<sup>2</sup> Peg
!Boshun Yang<ref name=":1" />
|pi<sup>2</sup> Peg (determinative)
Song Jingyou(1034)
|pi<sup>2</sup> Peg (determinative)
|1 Lac
|1 Lac
|-
|2nd
|
|HIP 109654
|HIP 109654
|HIP 109654
|pi<sup>2</sup> Peg
|pi<sup>2</sup> Peg
|-
|3rd
|1 Lac
|1 Lac
|1 Lac
|1 Lac
|23 Peg
|23 Peg
|-
|-
| 1st/4th
| rowspan="4" |Jiu
| style="color: gray;" | x
|1st
|style="color: gray;" | x
|iota Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|iota Peg (determinative)
|style="color: gray;" | x
|iota Peg (determinative)
|style="color: gray;" | x
|iota Peg (determinative)
| x
|mu1 Cyg
| x
|mu1 Cyg
|-
|-
| 2nd/3rd
|2nd
|style="color: gray;" | x
|23 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|23 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|23 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|23 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|kappa Peg
| x
|kappa Peg
| x
|-
|-
| 3rd/2nd
|3rd
|style="color: gray;" | x
|HIP 109602
|style="color: gray;" | x
|HIP 109602
|style="color: gray;" | x
|HIP 109602
|style="color: gray;" | x
|HIP 109602
|style="color: gray;" | x
|iota Peg
| x
|iota Peg
| x
|-
|-
|4th/1st
|4th
|style="color: gray;" | x
|32 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|32 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|32 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|32 Peg
|style="color: gray;" | x
|32 Peg
| x
|32 Peg
| x
|}
|}


=== Maps (Gallery) ===
=== Maps (Gallery) ===
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|+Neichu and Jiu
!historical map
!historical map
!modern identification
!modern identification

Latest revision as of 11:42, 28 July 2026



Authors: Boshun YANG

Nèichǔ (Inner Pestle, 內杵) is a three-star Chinese asterism and Jiù (Mortar, 臼) is a four star Chinse asterism. They belong to the Gan school, represented in black in the three-school tradition. Under modern IAU boundaries, their members fall in Pegasus and Lacerta.

Stone pestle from the Zengpiyan site, Guilin, Guangxi
Stone pestle and mortar from the Huanglianshu site, Xichuan, Henan

Concordance, Etymology, History

A chu (Pestle杵) was a rod-shaped implement used for pounding grain, normally in combination with a mortar (jiu 臼). Together, the pestle and mortar formed one of the most basic devices for processing foodstuffs. They could be used to dehusk grain, pound rice, produce flour, and prepare ritual food; implements of similar form were also employed for grinding medicinal ingredients or working other materials. The Xici II commentary of the Book of Changes states: “…cut wood to make pestles and dug the earth to make mortars; through the benefit of mortar and pestle, the myriad people were sustained斷木為杵，掘地為臼；臼杵之利，萬民以濟.” Early mortars could be made by hollowing depressions directly into the ground or into blocks of stone, while pestles were fashioned from short pieces of wood or elongated stones. Archaeological evidence indicates that the invention of the pestle and mortar reaches far back into prehistory. Stone pestles have been excavated at both the Baozitou site in Nanning and the Zengpiyan site in Guilin, which date to approximately 10,000–9,000 years ago.

The prefix nei (Inner内) does not indicate that the implement was kept indoors. Rather, it served as a distinguishing element within the nomenclature of Chinese asterisms. Yang Boshun has argued that the Gan school deliberately coined some of its asterism names with reference to names already used in the Shi-school system. Since the Shi school already had an asterism called Chu 杵, the Gan school designated another one as Neichu (Inner Pestle內杵), “Inner Pestle.” Comparable pairs include Tianjie (Celestial Steps天階)–Neijie (Inner Steps內階) and Ping (Screen屏)–Waiping (Outter外屏). The name Neichu therefore served primarily to distinguish this asterism from another Chu belonging to the Shi-school tradition and located south of the lunar lodge Ji 箕.

Sun Xiaochun and Jacob Kistemaker treated Neichu, Jiu 臼, and the nearby Tianchu 天廚 as a coherent group within the same sector of the sky. They connected these asterisms with the ancestral-temple imagery associated with the neighboring lodges Shi 室 and Bi 壁, interpreting them as cooking and food-processing facilities used to prepare special offerings for ancestral rites. This interpretation emphasizes the idea of a ritual kitchen. Other sources, however, including the Kaiyuan zhanjing, the Xingjing, and the astronomical treatise of the History of the Song, preserve prognostications concerning the “annual harvest” and “military provisions.” In this context, the pestle and mortar symbolized the harvesting, storage, and processing of grain, especially supplies intended for the army. Although these interpretations may derive from different intellectual and astrological contexts, they share the same central semantic field: the harvesting, storage, and processing of food grains.

Identification of stars

Before the transmission of European astronomy to China, the identification of the three stars of Neichu and Jiu remained generally stable. During the astronomical reforms of the late Ming period, however, the whole asterism Neichu and one star of Jiu appears to have been omitted, possibly because its constituent stars were difficult to identify. When Jesuit astronomers compiled new star catalogues in the Qing dynasty, they attempted to restore the traditional Chinese asterism system; nevertheless, their identification of the stars of Neichu differed from that followed before the late Ming reforms.

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) Qing Dynaty (Yi Shitong[4], 18th Century) Ho PENG YOKE[5]
Neichu 1st pi 1 Peg pi2 Peg pi2 Peg (determinative) pi2 Peg (determinative) 1 Lac 1 Lac
2nd HIP 109654 HIP 109654 HIP 109654 pi2 Peg pi2 Peg
3rd 1 Lac 1 Lac 1 Lac 1 Lac 23 Peg 23 Peg
Jiu 1st iota Peg iota Peg (determinative) iota Peg (determinative) iota Peg (determinative) mu1 Cyg mu1 Cyg
2nd 23 Peg 23 Peg 23 Peg 23 Peg kappa Peg kappa Peg
3rd HIP 109602 HIP 109602 HIP 109602 HIP 109602 iota Peg iota Peg
4th 32 Peg 32 Peg 32 Peg 32 Peg 32 Peg 32 Peg

Maps (Gallery)

Neichu and Jiu
historical map modern identification

(Yang 2023)

same in Stellarium 24.4
historical image of Kulou (Korea)
Kulou on the Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido Star Chart


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)

  1. ↑ Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. The Chinese sky during the Han. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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).
  3. ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989.
  4. ↑ Yi Shitong伊世同. Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981.
  5. ↑ P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” Vistas in Astronomy, 5(1962), 127-225.
Retrieved from "https://ase.exopla.net/index.php?title=Neichu&oldid=48270"