Chinese constellation

The chinese have a tradition of grouping stars that is very different from the western one. These groups are what we call Chinese Constellations.

In traditional chinese thought, the celestial arrangement of sky reflects the political arrangements on Earth; the most northern stars represents the most elevated figures, and Polaris represent the Emperor - around which all other stars revolve. Also, the sky around North Celestial Pole (the circumpolar region) is divided in Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán).

In addition, for chinese people, the region of sky passed by the ecliptic is not divided into 12 zodiacal constellations, but in Twenty-eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù). The division is that as in each day of the month, the Moon ocupes one of these mansions. The Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon, rather than Zodiac reflects the Sun one. The indian astronomy also addopts a system of lunar mansions, called Nakshatras.

3 Enclosures

The Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán) are:

• Purple Forbidden enclosure (紫微垣, Zǐ Wēi Yuán) - the nothersmost area of the night sky, contain the north pole, in the center of stars' movements;
• Supreme Palace enclosure (太微垣, Tài Wēi Yuán) - lies at one side of the Forbidden Enclosure;
• Heavenly Market enclosure (天市垣, Tiān Shì Yuán) - lies at the other side of the Forbidden Enclosure.

28 Mansions

The Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) are:

Four Symbols (四象)	"Xiu" (宿)
	name	pinyin	litteral translation	approx. localization due to official constellations
The Azure Dragon of the East (東方青龍)	角	Jiăo	Horn	Virgo, around Spica
	亢	Kàng	Neck	Virgo
	氐	Dī	Root	Libra
	房	Fáng	Room	Libra
	心	Xīn	Heart	Scorpius, around Antares
	尾	Wěi	Tail	Scorpius
	箕	Jī	Winnowing Basket	Sagittarius
The Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武)	斗	Dǒu	Dipper	Sagittarius
	牛	Niú	Ox	Capricornus
	女	Nǚ	Girl	Aquarius
	虛	Xū	Emptiness	Aquarius
	危	Wēi	Rooftop, Danger	Aquarius/Pegasus
	室	Shì	Encampment, Room	Pegasus
	壁	Bì	Wall	Pegasus, around Algenib
The White Tiger of the West (西方白虎)	奎	Kuí	Legs	Andromeda
	婁	Lóu	Bond	Aries
	胃	Wèi	Stomach	Aries
	昴	Mǎo	Hairy Head	Taurus, around The Pleiades
	畢	Bì	Net	Taurus
	觜	Zī	Turtle Beak	Orion
	參	Shēn	Three Stars	Orion
The Vermillion Bird of the South (南方朱雀)	井	Jǐng	Well	Gemini
	鬼	Guǐ	Ghost, Demon	Cancer
	柳	Liǔ	Willow	Hydra
	星	Xīng	Star	Hydra, around Alphard
	張	Zhāng	Extended Net,Growth	Crater
	翼	Yì	Wings	Corvus
	軫	Zhěn	Chariot, Strongly (as of emotion)	Corvus