A Talk from Lingnan North Emperor Temple to the"Five-emperor Theory"in Ancient Chinese Astronomical Calendar System
There are many North Emperor Temples(also known as Xuanwu Temples)in Lingnan area of historical origin.In ancient times,the sky near the equator was divided into four palaces:the Blue Drag-on in the east palace,the White Tiger in the west palace,the Suzaku in the south Palace and Xuanwu in the north palace.Xuanwu is composed of turtles and snakes,and the North Emperor is the god of the northern palace stepping on turtles and snakes.The Chinese ancestors regarded the handle of the Big Dip-per and the North Star as the"sky pivot",and the celestial bodies rotated around it all the year round,from which,a calendar was established to arrange activities.This was recorded in archaeological excava-tions such as The Classic of Mountains and Rivers,the oracle inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty and Shang Shu·Yao Dian.Through the experience of invading surrounding tribes,the Yin people formed the concept of"five sides"with"me"as the center,which is the origin of the"five-element theory".Later,the Zhou people advocated the theory of eight diagrams,and the five-element theory and eight-diagram culture prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period.The former believed that everything under heaven con-sisted of five substances:gold,wood,water,fire and earth.They mutually reinforced and neutralized each other.At first,the five were in parallel,and then the thought of Shang Tu appeared.The eight-dia-gram theory gradually formed into a system by matching with the eight directions,eight winds and eight sections,assuming that the Emperor of Heaven perambulates the eight directions according to the eight di-agrams,corresponded with eight winds and eight sections.By the end of the Warring States Period and the Qin and Han Dynasties,there appeared a new"Five-emperor Theory"headed by the central Yellow Em-peror.In the Qin and Han Dynasties,the Five Emperors were sacrificed after their death,and the Kirin was reassigned to the Yellow Emperor in the middle palace,and the position of the north palace was also replaced byXuanwu.Therefore,the"Five-emperor Theory"in ancient Chinese astronomical calendar sys-tem coincided with the pattern of the great unification in the Qin and Han Dynasties.Finally,it was deter-mined by Sima Qian in the official history books of the Western Han Dynasty and adapted to the system pattern of the great unification and centralization of the central government in the Qin and Han Dynasties.This evolution is significant.
North EmperorXuanwuFour PalacesThe Five EmperorsHanshan jade plate
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