What are the eighteen stars? What are two instruments, four images, gossip, sixteen … and so on?
Kang Jinlong, female earth bat, house rabbit, heart moon fox, tail fire tiger, white water leopard, Unicorn,
Niu Jinniu, Nyctereute, virtual sun mouse, dangerous moon swallow, room fire pig, wall water deer, Kuimu wolf,
Loujin dog, stomach soil.
As far as the stars are concerned, each star has its own attributes and representative objects. This may be a belief of China people in nature, but it is also a means of astronomical observation. I have to admire the wisdom of the ancients here. On the standard of dividing the sky regions, the 28 constellations and Sanyuan (Taiweiyuan, Ziweiyuan and Tianshiyuan) are the criteria of this standard, which is consistent with the twelve constellations in the west, which are mostly humanistic.
Another major manifestation of the Four Gods in ancient China lies in the military. During the Warring States Period, there was a saying that "the former Suzaku was behind the Xuanwu, the left Qinglong was behind the white tiger", which was simply an orientation map.
Twenty-eight constellations first germinated in Xia and Shang Dynasties, and then further developed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which were recorded in Shangshu and Zuoshi Chunqiu. The early 28 constellations were mainly used to observe astronomy and meteorology, which was of great help to agriculture at that time, and it was also possible to divide the seasons at that time, which was used as the current calendar. The earliest record of western calendars was the ancient Babylonian period. We can look at the ancient people's division of a week from the following poems:
April 56, January 23
The corner is high, the heart and the tail are at the end of the room
The woman is in danger in the afternoon
Kui Lou's stomach is full, and the mouth is full
The ghost of the well, Liu Xing, zhang yi
Thus, the so-called 28 stars are the ancient calendars. The rise of Taoism is a turning point in astrology. Taoism has a new explanation for the 28 stars. They believe that the twenty-eight stars are the gods who protect the four beasts, and the four gods are the gods who protect the heavens and the earth. So there are the so-called four gods. They think that Suzaku represents the sky, so it is supreme; The green dragon and the white tiger are symbols of power and prestige, and Xuanwu is the most special. According to legend, Xuanwu is the youngest and weirdest of the nine sons of the Yellow Emperor, because it is like a turtle and a snake, but it can live for tens of thousands of years. From the current point of view, it is just a turtle, so Xuanwu represents longevity. Taoism has also arranged many maps according to the orientation of the four gods and twenty-eight stars, such as the "Nine Curves Yellow River Array" and so on. Later, these evolved into Feng Shui.
It is easy to have Tai Chi, which means giving birth to two instruments, two instruments giving birth to four images, and four images giving birth to gossip, which will determine good or bad luck and lead to great cause. Therefore, the accurate order should be "Tai Chi, Two Instruments, Four Images and Eight Diagrams".
Tai Chi is vitality, which is the origin of the world. Everything is born of it.
two instruments refer to yin and yang. When Tai Chi is divided into two, it becomes two instruments. Yin and Yang are the basic elements of everything.
two instruments are divided into two, that is, four images. The four images refer to Lao Yang, Shaoyin, Shaoyang and Laoyin.
The four images are divided into two parts, which are the eight diagrams, and the eight diagrams refer to dry, exchange, separation, earthquake, Xun, Kan, Gen and Kun.
Eight trigrams overlap in pairs, giving birth to sixty-four hexagrams.
The above is the basic generating principle of the divinatory symbols in Zhouyi.