Jiantai (渐台)
Jiantai
Authors: Lyu Haocheng

Jiàn Tái (Clepsydra Terrace, 渐台), Chinese constellation consists of 4 stars, belongs to the Ox (Niu) Lunar Mansion, the Gan school, and corresponds to the modern constellation Lyra. Jiantai is a terrace built near water, used for observing sundials, timing with water clocks, and establishing pitch pipes and temperaments. It is a symbol of astronomical timekeeping and musical pitch calibration.
Concordance, Etymology, History
A platform with four square sides is called ‘tai’; if it has water below, it is called ‘jian’.
Jiantai governs the gnomon, the water clock, and the affairs of pitch pipes and temperaments. Ganshi Zan (甘氏赞) says:
Jiantai guards the water clock and the gnomon – the extinguishing of the dripping.
Gande (甘德) said: “Jiantai is in charge of the water clock, the railings, the calendar, calamities, and the nine provinces and their fields.”
Jiantai is also “the courtyard where the ten thousand essences gather.” Anomalies in different seasons correspond respectively to warfare (spring), funerals (summer), famine and floods (autumn), and banditry and punishments (winter). It is a constellation that ancient people observed to foretell national fortunes by watching the celestial seasons.
Identification of stars
| Star Names or Orders(Qing) | Ho PENG YOKE[1] | Yi Shitong[2]
Based on catalogue in 18th century |
Pan Nai[3]
based on Xinyixiangfayao Star Map |
Pan Nai[4]
based on catalogues in Yuan dynasty |
SUN X. & J. Kistemaker[5]
Han Dynasty |
Boshun Yang[6]
before Tang dynasty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr |
| 2nd | β Lyr | β Lyr | β Lyr | β Lyr | β Lyr | β Lyr (Determinative) |
| 3rd | γ Lyr | γ Lyr | γ Lyr (Determinative) | γ Lyr | γ Lyr | γ Lyr |
| 4th | ι Lyr | ι Lyr | ι Lyr | ι Lyr | ι Lyr | ι Lyr |
Maps (Gallery)
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
- ↑ P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” Vistas in Astronomy, 5(1962), 127-225.
- ↑ Yi Shitong伊世同. Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981: 56.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989. p226.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p443.
- ↑ Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. The Chinese sky during the Han. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.
- ↑ 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). 261.













