Tianlin

Authors: Boshun YANG

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Tianlin (Celestial Foodstuffs, 天廩; Tiān Lǐn) is a four-star asterism of the Shi tradition in Chinese astronomy, formed during the Han period. It lies south of Mao (昴) in modern Taurus and is assigned to Wei (胃) in the Butian ge (步天歌). Its name denotes a royal granary storing grain for sacrifice.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Formation in the Shi tradition

Drawing on the dates inferred for the observations underlying the Shi 石 star catalogue and on its relationship to the “Treatise on the Celestial Offices” (Tianguan shu 天官書) in the Shiji 史記, Yang Boshun places the broad formation of the Shi asterism system around the Taichu 太初 era of the Western Han. The treatise assigns the oversight of granaries to the lodge Wei 胃 and refers collectively to the stars south of it as Cangji 倉積, “stored grain.” The Shi tradition distinguishes several related asterisms in this region, each with a specified number of stars, including Tiancang 天倉, Tianlin 天廩, and Tianqun 天囷. The contrast reflects the gradual differentiation of grain-storage asterisms during the Han.

Granaries and other grain-storage facilities

Official granary in Helingeer Han tomb mural

The word lin 廩 originally denoted a place for storing grain. Ancient Chinese sources distinguish several kinds of grain-storage facility, including cang 倉, lin 廩, qun 囷, jing 京, and yu 庾. Drawing on pictorial representations from the Han and Jin periods, early dictionaries, and traditional commentaries, Ma Yi examines the forms of these facilities and the ways in which grain was stored in them.

Granary tower, Han dynasty, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cang was both a general term for a grain store and the name of a particular type of building. The Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 defines it as a place for storing grain and explains that the component 口 depicts the shape of a granary, suggesting a square plan. The words cang and lin often occur together in the compound canglin 倉廩. Commentators also distinguished them by what they held. In his commentary on the “Enriching the State” chapter of the Xunzi 荀子, Yang Liang 楊倞 writes that a cang holds unhulled grain, while a lin holds grain that has been hulled by pounding. The word lin was also written with the older graph 㐭. The Shuowen explains that its component 回 depicts a building with doors and windows, a description that suggests a square structure with openings. Such openings may have helped ventilate the store and reduce dampness, since hulled grain was more susceptible to mould than grain with its husk intact.

A qun was a round granary. The Shuowen defines it as a round lin, and contrasts the round qun with the square jing. Yan Shigu 顏師古 makes the same distinction in his commentary on the Jijiu pian 急就篇. A jing was generally a tall structure. Both Juanshe 卷舌 and Daling 大陵 are attested under the alternative name Jijing 積京. Their proximity to Wei suggests a possible connection with the grain-storage imagery surrounding that lodge. A yu was an open-air grain store, a facility represented in the Gan 甘 tradition by the asterism Tianyu 天庾.

Sacrificial grain, grain accounts, and rewards for service

One of Tianlin’s principal functions was to store grain for sacrifice. In its account of the fourteenth year of Duke Huan 桓公, the Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan 春秋公羊傳 records a fire in the ruler’s granary (yulin 御廩) and explains that this was where grain for sacrificial offerings was kept. The astronomical treatise of the Jin shu 晉書 likewise says that Tianlin “presides over the storage of shu 黍 and ji 稷 millet for sacrificial offerings” and identifies it as the celestial counterpart of the ruler’s granary mentioned in the Chunqiu 春秋. The Sui shu 隋書 and Song shi 宋史 preserve this interpretation. The Tianwen daxiang fu 天文大象賦 pictures Tianlin preparing ji millet in the hope that the spirits will partake of it. The Taiping yulan 太平御覽, quoting the Shi shi xing jing 石氏星經, says that the grain stored in Tianlin supplied both sacrificial offerings and the ruler’s table.

Granary administration also involved measuring, accounting for, and distributing grain. According to the Zhouli 周禮, the granary official (linren 廩人) kept track of the quantities of the nine grains and supplied grain for state distributions, regular provisions, assemblies of the lords, military campaigns, and major sacrifices. The Kaiyuan zhanjing 開元占經 quotes Wu Xian 巫咸 as assigning Tianlin responsibility for “grain storage and accounting” and gives a further interpretation in which officials receive stipends from their ruler. The Song shi adds that Tianlin “presides over rewards for meritorious service and oversees the accounts of the nine grains,” placing the allocation of rewards alongside the accounting of grain stocks.

Grain reserves and harvests in omen interpretation

Omen texts interpreted the brightness, apparent fullness, and positions of Tianlin’s stars as signs of the state of grain reserves and the prospects for the harvest. Bright stars and a full-looking configuration signified ample stores. Faint, scattered, or displaced stars could portend depleted reserves or disruptions in their management. Close approaches by other celestial bodies could likewise portend famine, empty granaries, rising millet prices, the flight of people facing starvation, or even war.

Identification of stars

According to previous researches, the identification of Tianlin has been always stable.

Star Names or Orders(Qing)	Han Dynasty (SUN X. & J. Kistemaker)	3rd to 6th Century (Boshun Yang)	Song Dynaty (Boshun Yang, 1034 CE)	Song Dynasty (Pan Nai, 1052 CE)	Song Dynasty (Boshun Yang, 1052 CE)	Yuan Dynasty (Pan Nai, 14th century)	Qing Dynaty (Yi Shitong, 18th Century)	Ho PENG YOKE
1st	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau)	5 Tau (f Tau) (determinative)	5 Tau (f Tau)
2nd	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)	4 Tau (s Tau)
3rd	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)	ξ Tau (2 Tau)
4th	ο Tau (1 Tau) (determinative)	ο Tau (1 Tau) (determinative)	ο Tau (1 Tau) (determinative)	ο Tau (1 Tau) (determinative)	ο Tau (1 Tau) (determinative)	ο Tau (1 Tau)	ο Tau (1 Tau)	ο Tau (1 Tau)

Maps (Gallery)

historical map	modern identification	same in Stellarium
Tianlin in Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido	Tianlin in Yuan dynasty(1360s) reconstructed by Boshun Yang	Tianlin in Stellarium

IAU Working Group on Star Names

In 2026, the name of the historical constellation "Tianlin" was suggested to be used for ο Tau in this constellation for it has been the oldest determinative star. ...

Decision: ...

References

References (Chinese)