Lunar Mansion cards - Chinese - Help needed.

[DianeOD]

Am most frustrated. Help gladly received.

In Derek Walters, 'Chinese Astrology: interpretations of hte celestial messengers" there is a section on the application of astronomy to matters of the Almanac (which promises to be a possible link between the Chinese hero/domino tokens and our sort of cards.)

In that book, Walters shows a set of lunar mansion cards, each with its hero/god, and plant, and beast as well as the 'dot-pattern' for its stars.

I have been trying for five years to get more information about them. I have written to the author c/- publisher; to the publisher directly; I have corresponded with colleagues, and even bothered virtual strangers (as long as they speak Chinese or Japanese).

I have come up a complete blank. After living there for 2 years, another friend confesses to never having seen anything of the sort.

Whether Walters' illustrations come from an early astronomy text, or a modern game set, or a set of 'speaking cards' I cannot discover.

Any help at all on this, gratefully received.

I'll scan one through photobucket and come back.

 

[Huck]

Midaughter@yahoogroups.com

is spezialized on I-Ching-questions.

There is or had been also a group for Chinese astrology.

Likely they know something

 

[DianeOD]

Thanks

Yes - I joined it, and two minutes later, unjoined that site (if its the one I think - the only one that came up when 'Chinese astrology' googled.

The site is flooded with pronography.

 

[Huck]

... you must have bad days and got a wrong group ... the page is calm as ever.

But here is
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chineseastrology/
with a lot of members.

 

[DianeOD]

Thanks Huck

Stupid of me. Didn't think to look for a Yahoo group. This one looks as if it could be exactly right. Fingers crossed - and thanks.

 

[DianeOD]

Couple of the images

As promised, a couple of the lunar mansion 'cards'(?). Sorry about the delay.

and

 

[DianeOD]

Lao Tze

The first one seems to be Lao Tze, who is often seen riding his ?yak/buffalo.

Lao Tse wrote the book The Tao te Ching (Dao de Jing), which is the first book of Taoism/Daoism.

 

[roppo]

The first one seems to be Lao Tze, who is often seen riding his ?yak/buffalo.

Lao Tse wrote the book The Tao te Ching (Dao de Jing), which is the first book of Taoism/Daoism.

Conventionally Lao Tze is depicted as an old man as his name suggests. I suppose the one you give is "Ken-gyu", a sort of celestial cow boy (Altair) who has a romantic "a date in a year " myth with "shoku-jo" the lady weaver (Vega).

I am under the impression that those are not cards, but just illustrations set in rectangles.

For the real constellation cards I know one example. It's in the Tekisui Art Museum in Kobe.

 

[DianeOD]

Thank you

Thank you Roppo.

I'm sure you are right about Altair. And there is another which I think must be the weaver-girl.

Only 26 to go!

The cards are very interesting. I am glad to have seen them.