Kulou

Kulou， means arsenal and storied building, is a constellation created by ancient Chinese astrologers, dating back to the 2nd century BCE. It is classified as one of the "external" constellations (外星座) of the Shi School (石氏), as it belongs to the Shi School's constellation system during the Han Dynasty， and it is outside of the 28 lunar mansions.

Contents

• 1Etymology and History
  • 1.1Identification of stars
  • 1.2Maps (Gallery)
• 2Star Name Discussion (IAU)
• 3References

Etymology and History

Kulou includes various sub-constellations such as "Ku" (库, arsenal, 6 bright stars), "Lou" (楼, storied building, 4 fainter stars), "Wu-Zhu" (五柱, literally 'five pillars,' but interpreted as military chariots in astrology, 3stars for each "pillar"), and "Heng" (衡, possibly the crossbar at the front of a chariot, 4 stars), totaling 29 stars.

In the Western Han period, the names for Kulou were diverse, including "Tinaku(天库, celestial arsenal)," "Tian Kulou（天库楼, celestial arsenal and storied building）," and "Tian Lou(天楼, celestial storied building)" as referred to by Jiaoyan Shou(1 century BCE), all of which are alternative names for "Kulou."

Identification of stars

In Sima Qian's "Book of Heavenly Officials" (天官书), an early reference to Kulou is made, though the exact number of stars is not specified. The text provides a vague description: "南眾星曰天庫樓，庫有五车" ("The southern group of stars is called Tian Kulou, with five chariots in the arsenal"), but it mentions "five chariots" instead of "five pillars," and makes no mention of Heng. Similarly, the "Huangdi Zhan" (黄帝占) follows the same naming convention, referring to Kulou as the "Outer Ku" (外库) and describing the five pillars as "Wu Che" (five chariots). This suggests that the early Ku Lou constellation's five pillars/chariots were likely all contained within the arsenal.

After the constellations were redefined during the Taichu （104 BCE -102 BCE） period of the Western Han, the Kulou constellation was expanded to include "Heng," and one of the pillars was moved to the north of Kulou, as later star maps depict. Jiaoyan Shou's mention that "天楼星上近柱，王者楼殿有飞(If the stars of Tian Lou go upwards to approach the pillar, indicating that the ruler's palace will fly (to other places))" seems to suggest that one of the pillars had indeed moved above Kulou.

The primary star of this constellation is almost always Iota Centaurus.

Star Names or Orders(Traditional/Qing)	Ho PENG YOKE	Yi Shitong Based on catalogue in 18th century	Pan Nai based on Xinyixiangfayao Star Map	Pan Nai based on catalogues in Yuan dynasty	SUN X. & J. Kistemaker Han Dynasty	Boshun Yang before Tang dynasty	Boshun Yang Song Jingyou(1034)
Ku	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Lou
Heng

Star Name Discussion (IAU)

In 202x, the name of the historical constellation "xxx" was suggested to be used for one of the stars in this constellation. ...

Decision: ...

References

References (Chinese)

1. ↑ P.-Y. Ho, “Ancient And Mediaeval Observations of Comets and Novae in Chinese Sources,” Vistas in Astronomy, 5(1962), 127-225.
2. ↑ Yi Shitong伊世同. Zhongxi Duizhao Hengxing Tubiao中西对照恒星图表1950. Beijing: Science Press.1981: 56.
3. ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 1989. p226.
4. ↑ Pan Nai潘鼐. Zhongguo Hengxing Guance shi中国恒星观测史[M]. Shanghai: Xuelin Pree. 2009. p443.
5. ↑ Sun Xiaochun. & Kistemaker J. The Chinese sky during the Han. Leiden: Brill. 1997, Pp241-6.
6. ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 B.-S. Yang杨伯顺, Zhongguo Chuantong Hengxing Guance Jingdu ji Xingguan Yanbian Yanjiu 中国传统恒星观测精度及星官演变研究 (A Research on the Accuracy of Chinese Traditional Star Observation and the Evolution of Constellations), PhD thesis, (Hefei: University of Science and Technology of China, 2023). 261.