Twenty-Eight Mansions
The Twenty-Eight Mansions is a general term for the twenty-eight groups of stars near the ecliptic. To help observe the positions of the sun, the moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, the ancient Chinese divided the stars near the ecliptic into twenty-eight groups, which served as coordinates for observing celestial phenomena, similar to constellations in modern astronomy. The earliest known record of the complete names of the Twenty-Eight Mansions was discovered in the Tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng, unearthed in Suixian County, Hubei Province, which dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.).
The mansions are the dwelling places of the sun, the moon, and the five planets. The Twenty-Eight Mansions were divided into four sections based on their directions. The seven mansions in each section, when linked together, resemble the shape of an animal. The four animals – the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North – were known as the “Four Mythological Symbols”.
The concept of the Twenty-Eight Mansions underpinned the understanding of the constellations in ancient China and constitutes an integral part of ancient Chinese astronomy. As an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture with rich and diverse cultural meanings, the concept was widely used in ancient China in areas such as astronomy, religion, literature, divination, and feng shui.
二十八宿
二十八宿是中国古代对黄道附近二十八组星象的总称。中国古人为便于观测日、月和金、木、水、火、土五星的方位，将黄道附近的星象划分为二十八组，作为观测天象的坐标，类似于现代天文学中的星座。目前已知二十八宿完整名称的最早记载，出现在湖北随县出土的战国时期曾侯乙墓中。
“宿”即日、月、五星的栖息之地。二十八宿分为四组，东、南、西、北各七宿。每个方位的七宿连缀起来与四种动物的外形相似，称为“四象”，即东方青龙、南方朱雀、西方白虎、北方玄武。
二十八宿是中国古人关于星空划分体系的基本知识，是中国古代天文学的重要内容。作为中国传统文化的重要标识，二十八宿曾被广泛应用于古代天文、宗教、文学、星占、风水等领域，具有丰富多样的文化内涵。
