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Chinese constellations are different from the western constellations, due to the independent development of ancient Chinese astronomy. Ancient Chinese skywatchers divided their night sky in a different way, but there are also similarities. The Chinese counterpart of the 12 western zodiac constellations are the 28 "Xiu" (宿) or "mansions" (a literal translation).The zodiac was divided into four regions, or four symbols (四象), with 7 Xiu in each one of them:
note: all translations of the names of the Xiu are done literally, they may not be the true and original meaning
note 2: the name following the tranlations are the approximate location of the Xiu on the western skymap
The Azure Dragon of the East (東方青龍)
The Black Tortoise (or Xuan Wu) of the North (北方玄武)
- Dou (斗) - Dipper, Sagittarius
- Niu (牛) - Ox, Capricornus
- Nü (女) - Girl, Aquarius
- Xu (虛) - Emptiness, Aquarius
- Wei (危) - Rooftop, Aquarius/ Pegasus
- Shi (室) - Encampment, Pegasus
- Bi (壁) - Wall, Pegasus
The White Tiger of the West (西方白虎)
- Kui (奎) - Legs, Andromeda
- Lou (婁) - Bond, Aries
- Wei (胃) - Stomach, Aries
- Mao (昴) - Hairy head, PleiadesOpen cluster M45, visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres, consists of many bright, hot stars that were all formed at the same time within a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas. The blue haze that accompanies them is due to very fine
- Bi (畢) - Net, TaurusTaurus Abbreviation Tau Genitive Tauri Meaning in English the Bull Right ascension 4 h Declination 15° Visible to latitude Between 90° and −65° Best visible January Area Total Ranked 17th797 sq. Number of stars with apparent magnitude 3 Brightest st
- Zi (觜) - Turtle beak, OrionOrion Abbreviation Ori Genitive Orionis Meaning in English the Great Hunter Right ascension 5 h Declination 5° Visible to latitude Between 85° and −75° Best visible January Area Total Ranked 26th594 sq. Number of stars with apparent magnitude 6 Brig
- Shen (參) - Three stars, Orion
The Vermillion Bird of the South (南方朱雀)
- Jing (井) - Well, GeminiFor information on the US space program named Gemini see Project Gemini. Gemini (the twins) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is part of the winter sky, lying between Taurus to the west and the dim Cancer to the east, with Auriga and the near
- Gui (鬼) - Ghosts, CancerCancer Abbreviation Cnc Genitive Cancri Meaning in English the Crab Right ascension 9 h Declination 20° Visible to latitude Between 90° and −60° Best visible March Area Total Ranked 31st506 sq. Number of stars with apparent magnitude 0 Brightest sta
- Liu (柳) - Willow, HydraHydra is the largest of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. It should not be confused with Hydrus. Despite its size, Hydra contains only one reasonably bright star (Alphard, α Hya). It also cont
- Xing (星) - Star, Alphard
- Zhang (張) - Extended net, CraterCrater (the cup) is one of the 88 modern constellations and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is said to represent the goblet of Apollo. It has no star brighter than fourth magnitude. Constellations.
- Yi (翼) - Wings, CorvusCorvus Pronunciation KOR vus Abbreviation Crv Genitive Corvi Pronunciation KOR vee Meaning in English the Crow Right ascension 12 h Declination 20° Visible to latitude Between 60° and -90° On meridian 21:00 May 10 Area Total Ranked 70th 184 sq. Stars with
- Zhen (軫) - Chariot, Corvus
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