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Astronomy in China has a very long history, with historians indicating that the Chinese were the most persistent and accurate observers of celestial phenomena anywhere in the world before the Arabs. Star names later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions have been found on oracle bones unearthed at Anyang, dating back to the middle Shang Dynasty (Chinese Bronze Age, 3rd - 2nd millennium BCE), and the mansion system's nucleus seems to have taken shape by the time of the ruler Wu Ding (1339-1281 BCE).<br/><br/> Detailed records of astronomical observations began during the Warring States period (fourth century BCE) and flourished from the Han period onward. Chinese astronomy was equatorial, centered as it was on close observation of circumpolar stars, and was based on different principles from those prevailing in traditional Western astronomy, where heliacal risings and settings of zodiac constellations formed the basic ecliptic framework.
The Hun Tian Yi Tong Xing Xiang Quan Tu (蘇州石刻天文圖) or Suzhou Star Chart (淳祐天文図) indicates 1434 stars grouped into 280 Asterisms in a chart of the Northern Skies.
The Hun Tian Yi Tong Xing Xiang Quan Tu (蘇州石刻天文圖) or Suzhou Star Chart (淳祐天文図) indicates 1434 stars grouped into 280 Asterisms in a chart of the Northern Skies.
The Hun Tian Yi Tong Xing Xiang Quan Tu (蘇州石刻天文圖) or Suzhou Star Chart (淳祐天文図) indicates 1434 stars grouped into 280 Asterisms in a chart of the Northern Skies.
The Hun Tian Yi Tong Xing Xiang Quan Tu (蘇州石刻天文圖) or Suzhou Star Chart (淳祐天文図) indicates 1434 stars grouped into 280 Asterisms in a chart of the Northern Skies.