Zuoqi (左旗)
Zuoqi
Authors: Boshun YANG
Zuǒ Qí (Left Flag, 左旗) is a Chinese asterism consisting of nine stars, chiefly in the modern constellation Sagitta, with one or two star extending into Aquila or Delphinus. It belongs to the Ox Lodge (Niu xiu 牛宿) and lies on the left side of Hé Gǔ (Drum at the River, 河鼓), opposite Yòu Qí (Right Flag, 右旗; also Guqi (鼓旗)). The asterism is best understood as a military flag or banner associated with the heavenly war drum. In the surviving textual tradition it is especially connected with the Gan school and was already part of the Chinese astral system by the Han period.
Concordance, Etymology, History
Name and position
The name Zuoqi literally means “Left Flag.” The paired expression “left and right flags” reflects a symmetric arrangement around Hegu. In later star manuals, the earlier name Guqi (Drum Flag, 鼓旗) was also interpreted or rearranged as Youqi (Right Flag, 右旗), while Zuoqi was placed on the opposite side of Hegu.
Later sources made use of this left–right symmetry and further reinterpreted it, referring to Right Flag and Left Flag respectively as the “civil flag” (wenqi 文旗) and the “military flag” (wuqi 武旗) [1].
Material culture of flags
Ancient Chinese flags and banners were practical military devices for visual command. Together with drums and gongs, flags allowed armies to transmit orders when speech could not be heard or sight-lines were limited. The Art of War explains that drums and gongs unify hearing, while flags and banners unify sight. This practical military function helps explain why Zuoqi and Youqi are placed next to Hegu, the celestial war drum.
Astrological significance
The seventh-century Tang astrological manual Tianwen yaolu 天文要錄 preserves earlier astrological interpretations, some of which specifically identified Left Flag as the flag of the Left General. This interpretation may have been connected with the astrological reading of the three stars of River Drum (Hegu 河鼓), which were also known as the Three Warriors (sanwu 三武): “the large central star is the Great General, the left star is the Left General, and the right star is the Right General.”[2] In this sense, Left Flag, located to the left of River Drum, could be understood as the banner held by, or belonging to, the Left General.
Identification of stars
| Star Names or Orders(Qing) | Ho PENG YOKE[3] | Yi Shitong[4]
Based on catalogue in 18th century |
Pan Nai[5]
based on Xinyixiangfayao Star Map |
Pan Nai[6]
based on catalogues in Yuan dynasty |
SUN X. & J. Kistemaker[7]
Han Dynasty |
Boshun Yang[8]
before Tang dynasty |
Boshun Yang[9]
Song Huangyou(1052) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | alpha Sge | alpha Sge | 14 Sge | alpha Sge | alpha Sge | alpha Sge | alpha Sge |
| 2nd | beta Sge | beta Sge | 11 Sge | beta Sge | beta Sge | beta Sge | beta Sge |
| 3rd | delta Sge | delta Sge | delta Sge | delta Sge | delta Sge | delta Sge | delta Sge |
| 4th | zeta Sge | zeta Sge | gamma Sge (determinative) | gamma Sge | zeta Sge | gamma Sge (determinative) | gamma Sge (determinative) |
| 5th | gamma Sge | gamma Sge | eta Sge | eta Sge | gamma Sge | HIP 98738 | eta Sge |
| 6th | VZ Sge | VZ Sge | theta Sge | HIP 98738 | eta Sge | HIP 98443 | HIP 98738 |
| 7th | 11 Sge | 11 Sge | HIP 100276 | 13 Sge | 13 Sge | 15 Sge | 15 Sge |
| 8th | 14 Sge | 14 Sge | rho Aql | 14 Sge | 10 Sge | 14 Sge | 14 Sge |
| 9th | rho Aql | rho Aql | HIP 100256 | rho Aql | rho Aql | rho Aql | rho Aql |
Maps (Gallery)
| historical map | modern identification | same in Stellarium |
|---|---|---|
_and_Zuoqi_in_Cheonsang_Yeolcha_Bunyajido.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_before_Tang_Dynasty_reconstructed_by_Boshun_Yang%EF%BC%882023%EF%BC%89.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_before_Tang_Dynasty_in_Stellarium.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Gezi_yuejin_tu.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Tang_Dynasty(8th_Century)_in_Stellarium_reconstructed_by_Boshun_Yang.jpg) | |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Xin_yixiang_fayao.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Song_Dynasty_reconstructed_by_Pan_Nai%EF%BC%882009%EF%BC%89.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Song_Dynasty_in_Stellarium_reconstructed_by_Pan_Nai.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Suzhou_Star_Map.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Song_Dynasty_reconstructed_by_Boshun_Yang.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Song_Dynasty_in_Stellarium_reconstructed_by_Boshun_Yang.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_Yixiang_kaocheng_Star_Map_(18th_century).jpeg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_18th_century_reconstructed_by_YI_Shitong%EF%BC%881981%EF%BC%89.jpg) |
_and_Zuoqi_in_18th_century_in_Stellarium.jpg) |
IAU Working Group on Star Names
In 2026, the name of the historical constellation "Zuoqi" was suggested to be used for gamma Sge in this constellation. Zuoqi underwent several revisions, nevertheless, it consistently included gamma Sge as its most bright star and the determinative star since the 1st century BCE. It has observed coordinates from 1st century BCE, 11st century and 14th century. Sogamma Sge is the best star for this constellation. The second best is alpha Sge, the first (determinative) star in Qing Dynasty.
Decision: ...
References
- ↑ Guangxi tongzhi 廣西通志, juan 1
- ↑ Suishu隋书, juan 19.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989. Fig 55.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p435-443.
- ↑ 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). 235-296.
- ↑ 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.
