This thesis examines the Chinese constellations surrounding the north celestial pole and presents translated descriptions of them from the earliest star catalogs. These star catalogs come from the Shi ji, Tongzhan daxiangli xing jing, Jin shu, and Kaiyuan zhan jing, which date from the Western Han to the Tang dynasty but also contain much Zhou dynasty material. For each constellation the texts usually give its name, number of stars, position, celestial identity, earthly association, function, astrological portents, and a line of eulogy. These texts demonstrate that the Chinese believed the circumpolar region was the Purple Palace where the Celestial Thearch resided with his family and courtiers. Moreover, events in the Purple Palace resonated with events in the earthly court, and as a result signs in the heavens could be interpreted as portents affecting the state.

This impressive and innovative book offers a detailed topical treatment of how the heavens have played a key role in shaping the culture and civilization of China in ancient and historical periods.

A brief survey of attitudes toward omens and portent interpretation among the elite and the role such beliefs played in political theory and contestation in Warring States (403–221 BCE) through early imperial China.

• Definitions • “Heavenly quantities” (tian shu) • Hemerology in Huainanzi (139 BCE) • “Popular” hemerology & astromancy • “Celestial Offices” tianguan shu (100 BCE) astrology • The new astrological paradigm • Examples of general astrology

Study of the role of astronomical alignments in shaping the built environment suggests that centuries before establishment of the Empire in 221 BCE, the Chinese had already developed practical, geometrical applications of astronomical knowledge useful in orienting high-value structures. The archaeological record clearly shows this fundamental disposition was already firmly established by the formative period of Chinese civilization in the early 2nd millennium BCE. The cosmological identification of the imperial center with the celestial Pole and an intense focus on the circumpolar ‘skyscape’ are manifested in the highly symbolic orientation of early imperial capitals. Certain features of this cosmological world-view may have emerged as early as the Neolithic.

In 1995 one of the most unique archaeological discoveries in recent years drew attention once again to the ancient oasis settlement of Niya R in the Taklamakan Desert . . .

This study surveys the introduction of astrology into East Asia with a primary focus on the Buddhist experience of Indian and Iranian astrology during the eighth and ninth centuries. It is argued that prior to the introduction of Esoteric Buddhism during the 8th century, the Chinese sangha had no pressing need to observe astrology. However, following the rising popularity of Tantric rituals, which require proper timing according to non-Chinese astrological conventions, Chinese Buddhism took a deep interest in astrology. This in turn prompted a wider interest in astrology among Chinese elites, encouraging the translation of more foreign works on astrology, even outside of a Buddhist context. It is shown that around the year 800 there was a shift from Indian to Iranian sources of astrology, most likely as a result of ethnic Iranians working at court. Iranian astrology, which included a rich system of horoscopy rooted in the earlier Hellenistic tradition, prompted a booming popular interest in astrology. Buddhists subsequently took up practice of horoscopy for themselves. Chinese Buddhist astrology was then exported to neighboring countries, most notably Japan where it influenced medieval religious and court cultures.

The Rhetoric and Ritual of Celestial Signs in Early Imperial China investigates the circulation of signs such as planets in retrograde motion, comets, oddly-shaped clouds, inclement weather, and rainbows in the Western Han (206 BCE–8 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE) dynasties. Building on scholarship in the history of science and previous historical studies of omenology, the present work focuses on the rhetorical and ritual dimensions of celestial signs within broader political, literary, and technical networks. It examines technical treatises in the standard histories, manuscripts on astro-omenology from the tombs of the ruling family of Dai at Mawangdui (terminus ad quem 168 BCE), memorials to the throne, liturgical repertoires, poetic celestial journeys, and early exegetical works to illuminate how celestial signs both created discursive possibilities and were themselves shaped by generic contexts and performative goals. The dissertation argues that celestial signs became meaningful always in relation to surrounding contexts, as they were read against the constellations in which they appeared, historical circumstances, present conditions in the empire, and through the voices of the deities, supplicants, rulers, and ministers that invoked them. By examining a broad range of contexts in which celestial signs appeared, this dissertation contributes to a fuller and more balanced appreciation of the variegated roles celestial signs played in the shifting culture of early imperial China.

Chinese preoccupation with astronomical phenomena has a history as ancient as Chinese civilization itself. In the words of Sima Qian, Grand Historiographer and Astrologer Royal in 100 BCE. "For as long as the people have existed, when have successive rulers not studied the Sun, Moon, and stars?'"