Bixiu (毕宿)

Authors: Lyu Haocheng, Boshun YANG

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Bixiu (毕宿), or Bi (毕), Net, is an ancient Chinese constellation. Its the namesake of the lunar mansion Bì Xiù (毕宿).

Bixiu (毕宿), one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, is the fifth mansion of the White Tiger of the West. It represents a long-handled hunting tool with a small mesh, used for catching hares or birds. It corresponds to eight stars in the constellation Taurus.

Concordance, Etymology, History

The shape of Bi was envisioned by ancient Chinese as a hare-catching net with a small mesh and a long handle. In astrology, it is used to govern matters like hunting rabbits or warfare in border regions.

Bi and its surrounding celestial region were viewed as a battlefield on the frontier, with the Mao (昴, Pleiades) as the opposing force, and the border lying at the Tianjie (天街). Bi itself is seen as a war chariot, used for hunting or warfare. Its brightest star, α Tau, is regarded as the Border General. Next to it is a star named Fuer (附耳, σ2 Tau), meaning "whispering close to the ear" or secret plotting.

Identification of stars

Star Names or Orders(Traditional/Qing)	Yi Shitong Based on catalogue in 18th century	Pan Nai based on Xinyixiangfayao Star Map	Pan Nai based on catalogues in Yuan dynasty	Boshun Yang before Tang dynasty	Boshun Yang Song Jingyou(1034)
1st/8th	epsilon Tau	epsilon Tau	epsilon Tau	epsilon Tau	epsilon Tau
2nd/7th	delta3 Tau	delta3 Tau	delta3 Tau	delta3 Tau	delta3 Tau
3rd/6th	delta1 Tau	delta1 Tau	delta1 Tau	delta1 Tau	delta1 Tau
4th/5th	gamma Tau	gamma Tau	gamma Tau	gamma Tau	gamma Tau
5th/4th	alf Tau	alf Tau	alf Tau	alf Tau	alf Tau
6th/3th	theta1 Tau	theta2 Tau	theta1 Tau	theta2 Tau	theta2 Tau
7th/2nd	71 Tau	71 Tau	71 Tau	71 Tau	71 Tau
8th/1st	lambda Tau	lambda Tau	lambda Tau	lambda Tau	lambda Tau