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二十八宿

èrshíbāxiù
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 the Twenty-Eight Mansions (Chinese constellations along the celestial equator)
  2. 2 the 28 lunar lodges of traditional Chinese astronomy

Examples

HSK 5
二十八宿分为东南西北四象，每象七宿。
Èrshíbāxiù fēnwéi dōng nán xī běi sì xiàng, měi xiàng qī xiù.
The Twenty-Eight Mansions are grouped into the four cardinal animals, with seven mansions each.
HSK 7-9
中国古代天文学把恒星划分为二十八宿。
Zhōngguó gǔdài tiānwénxué bǎ héngxīng huàfēn wéi èrshíbāxiù.
Ancient Chinese astronomy divided the fixed stars into the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

Tips

history
The 28 lunar lodges divide the sky into four quadrants of seven, each ruled by one of the 四象: 青龙 (Azure Dragon, east), 朱雀 (Vermilion Bird, south), 白虎 (White Tiger, west), 玄武 (Black Tortoise, north). Names like 角 (Horn), 心 (Heart), 昴 (Mao), 参 (Shen) appear constantly in classical poetry. India and the Arab world had parallel 28-station systems; the shared root is debated.
mistakes
宿 here is read xiù (not sù 'to lodge' or xiǔ '[a] night'). When 宿 names a constellation, it's always xiù - same reading as in 星宿 (xīngxiù, 'constellation').

Stroke Order

二 èr
十 shí
八 bā
宿 sù