Five Chariots

Five Chariots (五車, pinyin: Wǔ Ju) is a Chinese constellation equivalent to Auriga, minus Delta Aurigae. It is known in Japanese as Gosha (五車).

Stars

Characteristics

The Five Chariots is a constellation that borders Taurus. The constellation is named as such due to the five main stars, representing the Five Emperors.[1] The constellation appears within the region of the sky dominated by the White Tiger of the West.[2]

Five Emperors

Main article: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

The Five Emperors represent the five elements. Four of them represent the four seasons, but the fifth represents the center. The Eastern Emperor represents wood, the Northern Emperor represents fire, and the Southern Emperor represents water. The one in the middle, Shaohao, represents earth. The Western Emperor, the Yellow Emperor, represents metal. These emperors were in control of life and death, and as such people regularly made sacrifices or gave offerings to them.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Ian Ridpath. "Auriga". Star Tales. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  2. ^ Xu, Junjun (2009). "Ancient Chinese constellations". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. 5: 107–115. doi:10.1017/S174392131100319X.
  3. ^ Bulling, A.; Chronology, A. (1960). "The Decoration of Mirrors of the Han Period". Artibus Asiae. Supplementum. 20: 3–L. doi:10.2307/1522594. JSTOR 1522594.

General references

  • (Chinese) Chen Jiujin 陳久金. 中國星座神話. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.