History of Chinese Astrology: The development of Chinese astrology originated from at least the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC). Some sources claim it began as far as 2150 BC. Ancient Chinese astrologers began using the position of planets, moons and stars to accurately predict seasonal changes, and tidal flows. This prediction is very important for the success of agriculture at that time, because they are used to predict the best time to plant and harvest crops.
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| History of Chinese Astrology |
To help them track the time gone by, Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earth Branches were created. We use these important signs to mark the passing of what we know as hours, days, months and years. During this time in history, only elites could read and write, so animals were used to symbolize each of the Twelve Branches of the Earth.
Legend has it that during the New Year's celebration the Buddha will decide on the order of animals to be used for the Twelve Branches of the Earth. He asked all animals in the kingdom to join him for a meeting. Only twelve animals answered the Buddha's call and attended the meeting. The Buddha gives each of the twelve animals sovereignty over the Branch of the Earth. Each animal must lead the Branch and have an influence on those born during the Branch.
We know the Twelve Branches of the Earth as "Years". In the traditional Chinese calendar, the twelve signs of the animal repeat in a never-ending circle, to remind us that time is constant and has flow.
Sequentially, the Twelve Branches of the Earth are rats, oxen, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, roosters, dogs, and pigs.
Some ancient Chinese valued the Earth above the stars. These scientists are looking for the reason behind natural order. They agreed that all things have a basis in one of the five elements. According to their understanding, all objects are made of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, or Wood. They examine how these basic elements work together and conflict with each other. Wood creates Fire, Fire transforms into Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates water, and water creates Wood.
Early Tiongkok Astrology
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| Early Tiongkok Astrology |
The beginning of Chinese astrology lies in the so-called "dragon bone record" of the Shang Dynasty (around the 16th - 11th century BC). The record is the main legacy of the Shang Dynasty, which was written on bones and turtle shells. In the beginning, people did not realize how valuable these objects were and made them as drugs alone. People believe that it is a dragon's bones and can cure various diseases. This continued until 1899, when an ancient collector gave it to one of the ministers of the Qing Dynasty emperor. It began to be realized that the bones were valuable relics that show examples of thousands of years old Chinese characters. Wang Yirong, a member of the Hanlin Assembly bought two collections of the bones from several merchants in Beijing in 1900. Incidentally the same year the Boxer rebellion erupted and as a result Wang Yirong killed himself. His son then sold the bones to a writer named Liu E (aka Liu Dieyun). The first book about bones was published in 1903 which discussed 1,000 kinds of ancient writings. Later, people learned that the bones were excavated from Xiatun village, which is west of Anyang. During the Shang Dynasty, the bones were used to predict and ask questions about the gods and ancestral spirits, such as travel, hunting, fishing, matters of war, climate and future harvest, illness, dreams, fate, etc. so. The bones were burned after the question was written on it and people of that era believed that the answer could be interpreted from the shape of the fractures of the bone, which arose as a result of the combustion process. The following will be quoted two examples of questions found in the bones of the prediction above:
On the day of Dinghai, Cheng asked the prophecy as follows: "The king got a nightmare. Will he experience a toothache? "On the day of Jiwei, Ke asked for the prophecy as follows:" Will it rain this month.
In addition, the notes on the bones above also mention the stars that are good and bad. For example the Chinese letter (xiong), which means "killer," "cruel," or "unprofitable," comes from the constellation "ghost train," which is a cluster of four stars with a fog in the middle of the nebula. One example of notes on bones related to astrology reads as follows:
On the seventh of this month, a new star appeared to accompany Star of fire
Thus we can conclude that the basics for Chinese astrology have begun since the Shang Dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty to recognize letters. The ten celestial stems are also as old as the Shang Dynasty, because we also find their names in bone records. Initially the sky trunk was used to name the day. So the one-week count according to the Shang Dynasty consists of ten days. Legend has it that these ten celestial stems were discovered by the legendary emperor Huangdi in 2697 BC. While the branches of the earth can also be traced to the Shang Dynasty. The book Cunqiu also uses it in naming days:
On the date Gui-chou, the duke (duke) held a meeting with the regent (marquis) of the country of Tsin, the ruling regent (marquis) of the country of Wei, tumenggung (earl) the ruler of the Ch'ing country, tumenggung (earl) the ruler of Ts'aou, Ch'ing - heir of the land of Sung, Kwoh Tso of Ts'e, and an official of the Choo state. They then entered into a collective agreement at Ts'eih.
Nonetheless, the use of sky trunks and branches of the earth to name the new year took place during the time of Emperor Wang Mang of the Xin Dynasty.
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