Wei (胃)
Wèi
Authors: Lyu Haocheng, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
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| Asterism Info | |
| Native | 胃 |
|---|---|
| Romanisation | Wèi |
| IPA | /weɪ˥˩/ |
| Translation | Stomach |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 40.86641667 to 42.49954167 |
| Declination | 27.26236111 to 29.24913889 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 3 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 3 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Brightest star | 41 Ari (3.59m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | constellation |
| IAU- constellations | Ari |
Wèi (胃, Stomach), or Wèi Xiù (胃宿), is the seventeenth lunar mansion in the Chinese Twenty-Eight Mansions system. It is the third of the seven mansions of the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎), consists of three stars located in the modern constellation Aries.
Concordance, Etymology, History
The name "Wèi" literally means "stomach", but in its astronomical and astrological context it carries the extended meaning of granary or storehouse. This semantic shift is rooted in the agricultural cycle: the mansion was associated with the autumn harvest, and its stars were therefore understood as a celestial repository for grain and provisions.
Ancient texts preserve a range of alternative names and functions. The Treatise on the Celestial Offices (Shiji·Tianguan Shu, 史記·天官書) states:
Wèi is the celestial granary. (胃爲天倉)
Other sources call it Tianzhong Fu (天中府, Celestial Central Storehouse), Miguan (密官, Secret Office), or Tianfu (天府, Celestial Storehouse), all emphasizing its function as a place of storage and accumulation. The astrological significance of Wèi centers on the state of the granaries and the resulting social order. In general, the brightness and configuration of its stars were interpreted as omens concerning the abundance or scarcity of grain and the stability of the realm. The Shi's Commentary (Shishi Zan, 石氏讚) explicitly links the mansion to the adjacent asterism Tianqun (天囷) (Celestial Circular Granary):
Wèi governs the granaries and storehouses, the foundation of the five grains; therefore Tianqun (天囷) was established to contain them. (胃主倉稟五穀基，故置天囷以盛之)
In summary, Wèi functions as the celestial granary and treasury, its stars serving as indicators of agricultural abundance, state reserves, and social stability.
Related Granary Asterisms South of Wèi
Ancient Chinese astrology extended the granary symbolism of Wèi (胃) into a cluster of related asterisms located south of the mansion, primarily in the modern constellations Cetus, Fornax, and Taurus. These include:
- Tianqun (天囷), Circular Celestial Granary — a circular granary.
- Tiancang (天倉), Square Celestial Granary — a square granary.
- Tianyu, Ricks of Grain — an open-air stack of grain.
- Tianlin, Celestial Foodstuff — a storehouse for grain and sacrificial provisions.
- Chugao (蒭藁), Hay and Straw — fodder and straw for livestock, linking the granary symbolism of Wei with the pastoral symbolism of Lou (婁).
- Fuzhi, Executioner's Axe — an executioner's axe or chopping block, also carried the agricultural sense of a fodder-chopping blade, used for cutting grass to feed cattle and horses.
These asterisms, together with Wèi itself, form a coherent celestial complex representing the agricultural cycle of harvest, storage, and provision.
Identification of stars
| 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) | Song Dynasty (Boshun Yang[2], 1052 CE) | Yuan Dynasty (Pan Nai[4], 14th century) | Qing Dynaty (Yi Shitong[5], 18th Century) | Ho PENG YOKE[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st / determinative | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari | 35 Ari |
| 2nd | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari | 39 Ari |
| 3rd | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari | 41 Ari |
Maps (Gallery)
| Historical Maps | ||
|---|---|---|
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IAU Working Group on Star Names
In 2026, the name of the historical constellation "Weixiu" was suggested to be used for 35 Arietis in this constellation, as it is undoubtedly the historical determinative star.
Decision: ...
References
References (Chinese) [[Category: ]]
- ↑ Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. The Chinese sky during the Han. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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), Pp297-304.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989, Pp220-226.
- ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p435-443.
- ↑ Yi Shitong伊世同. Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981.
- ↑ P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” Vistas in Astronomy, 5(1962), 127-225.
