A Study Of Ancient Astronomical Gods

Myth is a story about gods and heroes created orally by the people in ancient times.In the era of Myth creation and development,astronomy is not only the coordinate of people’s cognition of time and space,but also the clue for people to understand the intention of "God".Astronomy is closely related to people’s agricultural production,life and belief,so it is bound to invade into all links of people’s creation and development of myth,or become an integral part of myth,or create inspiration for myth.Therefore,astronomy is not only an integral part of mythology,but also a necessary background knowledge to understand mythology.Astronomy and mythology in ancient times are inextricably related.When reading and studying the pre-Qin literature,Humanists from ancient times to now who often lack astronomical knowledge,often turn a blind eye to the astronomical and astrological records,and even misunderstand and misinterpret them,so that the pre-Qin literature—the basis of the study of astronomical mythology has not been examined and explained from the perspective of astronomy.Only on the basis of understanding the pre-Qin astronomy,integrating multidisciplinary research methods and perspectives,examining the pre-Qin documents,oracular inscriptions on tortoise shells and bones and unearthed documents,looking for and explaining those astronomical records that have not been noticed by predecessors,can we reunderstand the astronomical belief and heavenly knowledge of the people in ancient times,then explore the origin of astronomical myths and astronomical gods,and explore the differentiation and integration of gods and myths in the long history.The significance of astronomical mythology research lies not only in mythology research itself,but also in excavating the astronomical knowledge system,social context and religious belief behind ancient mythology,exploring the motivation of the emergence and development of mythology,studying the relationship between astronomy and humanities,and revealing the social history,belief history and even ideological history of ancient times.Name is not only the reference of human beings to things,but also the understanding and classification of human beings.Chinese ancestors who were typical farming people,regarded agricultural production as the foundation of survival and carried out agricultural farming in due time under the guidance of stars.Therefore,they called the important stars "Chen"(a necessary tool for farming in the Yin Dynasty).Important stars are often named because the time of their appearance is related to the rhythm of people’s social life and production.The people in the pre-Qin Dynasty were familiar with the star signs of each month and the social rhythms such as agricultural activities,sacrificial ceremonies,festival celebrations and public labor that should be engaged in every month.They arranged the rhythm of life and production according to the rising and falling of the stars.Therefore,all the people’s understanding of the stars revolved around the timeliness of the stars.The naming of stars and the timeliness of stars are important clues in the study of astronomical mythology.The continental monsoon climate in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River makes some meteorological phenomena(such as windy,rainy,hot,cold,etc.)particularly obvious at a specific time.In the astronomical calendar of ancient times,specific stars indicate a special meteorological weather.It seems that these stars have meteorological forces such as wind,rain and snow,which makes people regard these stars as meteorological gods.The astronomical deity with meteorological clergy has not been paid attention to and studied in the ancient and modern academic circles.Among them,"Fengshi" is such an astronomical and meteorological deity ignored and misunderstood by ancient and modern scholars.The Book of Changes and The Book of Songs record many folk songs and proverbs about astronomy in the Pre-Qin Dynasty,including the astrological depiction of "Fengshi".The top line statements of the hexagram Kui in The Book of Changes depict the form of Fengshi at dusk in mid spring,and the final chapter of The Lofty Stones in The Book of Songs depicts the stars at dawn at the turn of summer and autumn—the rainy season in the North:Fengshi up to the zenith and stepping on the bank of the Milky way.In the pre-Qin period,Fengshi was a well-known star.Its appearance coincided with the rainy season cycle.At the turn of summer and Autumn-the season when the precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was the most concentrated,it was at the zenith of the Milky way.Therefore,it was called "Hebo" by the Yin people-the officer in charge of Tianhe,also known as "rain master".After the Han Dynasty,the people gradually mastered the precise calendar and the 24 solar terms system issued by the imperial court,and gradually stopped looking up to the stars and relying on the instructions of astronomy.The relationship between astronomy,meteorology and social rhythm,the basis of the sanctity of astronomical gods,collapsed in the people’s understanding.Therefore,astronomical gods were gradually ignored and even forgotten in the later folk belief system,and Fengshi is no exception.During the Wei and Jin Dynasties,Taoism incorporated "Fengshi"into its own spiritual system,which was called "Marshal Tianpeng".When Wu Chengen wrote Journey to The West in the Ming Dynasty,he borrowed the Taoist "Marshal Tianpeng" as the previous life of Pigsy.Wu Chengen borrowed the typical plot of "Hebo marries a woman’ or"Thor marries a woman" as Pigsy appeared,adapted it into the story of "Pigsy takes a wife",and pulled the "Fengshi" into pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures.From "Fengshi" to "Tianpeng"and then to "Pigsy","Fengshi" continued to differentiate and evolve in later generations,until people could not distinguish its true colors.