Chinese Astrology E-Book

James Trapp

• Herausgeber: Amber Books Ltd
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Chinese Bound
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 47

Beschreibung

If you’re born in the Chinese year of the Rat, what are your characteristics? With whom is someone born in the year of the Ox most compatible? And what are the worst flaws associated with your Chinese star sign?
Chinese Astrology is a beautifully illustrated guide with easy-to-use instructions to help you understand the fundamental ideas and determine the more advanced aspects: how does the year of your birth affect your personality? What elements are associated with your horoscope? What celebrities are the same Zodiac animal as you?
Each page includes a newly commissioned artwork of a Chinese character, from the 12 animals of the Zodiac and the 12 Earthly Branches to the five phases and 10 Heavenly Stems. This is accompanied by an explanation of each character and its significance within Chinese Astrology.
Illustrated with more than 85 specially commissioned artworks, Chinese Astrology is the perfect guide to your inner and outer life.

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www.amberbooks.co.uk

CHINESE

ASTROLOGY

Understanding your horoscope

This digital edition first published in 2015

Published by Amber Books Ltd United House North Road London N7 9DP United Kingdom

Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk Instagram: amberbooksltd Facebook: amberbooks Twitter: @amberbooks

Copyright © 2015 Amber Books Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-78274-284-5

Translator: James Trapp Project Editor: Sarah Uttridge Design: Rick Fawcett Illustrations: Amy Zhaoyue

James Trapp took his degree in Chinese at SOAS, University of London, specialising in Bronze Age art and archaeology and early Buddhist sculpture. Until recently he was the China Education Manager at the British Museum and currently works at the Confucius Institute at the Institute of Education, University of London, promoting and supporting the study of Chinese in English schools.

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

Contents

Introduction 4

12 Zodiac Animals 6

12 Earthly Branches 20

Five Phases 34

Wood 36

Fire 44

Earth 52

Metal 60

Water 68

10 Heavenly Stems 76

Associated Vocabulary 88

Chinese Zodiac Chart 94

The 24 Cardinal Directions 95

Index 96

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

At the Neolithic burial site of Xishuipo in Henan Province, North China, archaeologists excavated what many consider to be the first evidence of the Chinese fascination with astronomy and astrology. Dating to around 4000 BC, they found an adult male skeleton flanked by two mosaics made of white clam shells. One, to the east of the body, depicts a dragon, and the other, to the west, a tiger. At the skeleton’s feet there is also a depiction of the constellation we call the Big Dipper, and that the Chinese know as 北斗běi dǒu, the Northern Ladle. The popular explanation is that the body was that of a shaman laid out with the symbols of his connection to the powers of the cosmos. What seems beyond doubt is that these mosaics are the earliest instance of two of the Guardians of the Four Directions: the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West. Those two, along with their companions the Red Bird of the South and the Black Tortoise of the North, are an integral part of traditional Chinese astrological interpretation.

The Heavens

In the succeeding Bronze Age, particularly in the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth–eleventh centuries BC), we know that observations and interpretations of the movements of the heavens were of great importance to the ruling families. Inscriptions on bones used in divination, called oracle bones, record solar and lunar eclipses, comets, stars and star groups, and, of particular note, the planet Jupiter, 木星mù xīng, the Wood Star. This is significant because the 12 years of the Earthly Branches and the Chinese zodiac are based on the observation of the time it took Jupiter to orbit the sun (11.86 years is the modern figure). Dates on oracle bones seldom if ever record years or months, but they do use the 60-day cycle of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to record the days. The 10 Heavenly Stems were originally the names of the 10 days of the Shang week in accordance with the belief that there were 10 suns that appeared in succession.

The development of Chinese astrology may be seen as closely linked to the amalgamation of ancient belief systems, science and folk religion from which the philosophy of Daoism was formed. The nominal founder of Daoism, 老子Laozi, is traditionally said to have lived during the sixth century BC, but it is not even certain that he actually existed, and the book attributed to him,道德经 Dào Dé Jīng, is generally dated to the late fourth century. Whatever

4

INTRODUCTION

its origins, the development of Daoism, bringing together the theories ofyin and yang, the Five Phases/Elements and other ancient cosmological understandings, is a central element of the flowering of religion and philosophy at that time. Briefly interrupted by the ruthless Legalism of Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor (221–210 BC), this golden age of Chinese thought continued in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). It was in the Han Dynasty that many of the elements of Chinese astrology took the form that we recognize today.

The essential elements of Chinese astrology are the 60-year cycle formed from the ancient Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and the various balances and counterpoints within this cycle of yin and yang and the Five Phases/Elements. These relate to the heavens through the astronomical classification of the constellations that form the 28 Mansions – calculated in relation to the cycle of the Moon. The 28 Mansions sub-divide into the four cardinal directions, each with its associated Guardian and Phase/Element. The 60-year cycle itself further divides into five 12-year cycles, in whicheach year has its corresponding zodiac animal. Horoscopes are read through the 八字bā zì, eight Characters that represent the year, month, day and hour of birth according to the above divisions and principles. All of the above also have significant implications in the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine and in feng shui.

12 Animals of the Zodiac

The element of Chinese astrology most familiar in the West is the 12 animals of the zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat,