400px|right|æè±¡å¾  chinese constellations (chinese: , xÄ«ngguÄn) are the groupings used in traditional chinese culture to organize the stars. they are very different from the modern iau-recognized constellations based on greco-roman astronomy: the only major similarities are clusters similar to the big dipper and orion. the babylonian and egyptian astronomy which formed the basis for greek astronomy was based upon heliacal observations, comparing the position of sunrises and sunsets against the stars which appeared before and afterwards. this naturally led to the development of the zodiac: the twelve or thirteen constellations through which the sun appeared to move over the course of the solar year.needham, j. "astronomy in ancient and medieval china". philosophical transactions of the royal society of london. series a, mathematical and physical sciences, vol. 276, no. 1257, the place of astronomy in the ancient world (may 2, 1974), pp. 6782. accessed 9 oct 2012. against this, ancient chinese skywatchers focused their attention on the pole star polaris and divided the stars according to their position relative to it: the three enclosures (, sÄn yuÃ¡n) immediately around the north celestial pole whose stars could be seen year-round and twenty-eight mansions (, ÃrshÃ­bÄ xiÃ¹) dividing the zodiacal band according to the movement of the moon over a lunar month.äºåå«å®¿çå½¢æä¸æ¼å these lunar mansions are very similar (although not identical) to the indian nakshatra and debate continues over which system developed first or whether they developed similarly in isolation. ==three enclosures== the three enclosures are the purple forbidden enclosure (, zÇ wÄi yuÃ¡n), the supreme palace enclosure (, tÃ i wÄi yuÃ¡n) and the heavenly market enclosure (, tiÄn shÃ¬ yuÃ¡n). the purple forbidden enclosure occupies the northernmost area of the night sky. from the viewpoint of the ancient chinese, the purple forbidden enclosure lies in the middle of the sky and is circled by all the other stars. the supreme palace enclosure lies east and north to the purple forbidden enclosure, while the heavenly market enclosure lies west and south. the three enclosures are separated by "walls", which are [[asterism (astronom
Astrological_signs Chinese_astrology Chinese_constellations