1
志第十二天文下
Treatise 12: Astronomy, lower fascicle.
2
Thirty-eight portents under Emperor Huan, twenty under Ling, nine under Emperor Xian, and meteorite records.
3
桓三十八
Emperor Huan the Filial and Mighty: thirty-eight entries.
4
On renyin in the eighth month of Jianhe 1, Mars crossed the attendant star of the Ghosts. On xinmao in the second month of Jianhe 2, Mars lingered inside the Ghosts. On jichou in the fifth month of Jianhe 3, Venus entered the right inner gate of the Grand Tenuity, halted fifteen days, then exited the Duan Gate. On bingshen Mars entered Eastern Well. On jihai in the eighth month Saturn trespassed on the southern star of the Ghosts. On yichou a comet showed a five-foot coma in the Celestial Market, its train southeast, pale yellow-white; by wuchen in the ninth month it had vanished. Mars on the Ghosts betokens death; the attendant star, ministerial executions; entry into the Grand Tenuity, treason at court. Saturn afflicting the Ghosts foretells mourning. A comet in the Celestial Market marks the fate of great nobles. In the second month of Heping 1, on jiayin, Empress Dowager Liang died, and Liang Ji’s arrogance spun out of control.
5
On wuzi in the second month of Yuanjia 1, Venus shone in daylight. On dingyou in the intercalary month of Yongxing 2, Venus was visible by day. The emperor then favored the selected attendant Deng Meng; the following year he made her brother Yan marquis of Nandun. Four years later Empress Liang died, Liang Ji fell under the sword, Deng Meng was raised to empress, and imperial favor flooded her house.
6
永寿元年三月丙申，镇星逆行入太微中，七十四日去左掖门。 七月己未，辰星入太微中，八十日去左掖门。 八月己巳，荧惑入太微，二十一日出端门。 太微，天子廷也。 镇星为贵臣妃后，逆行为匿谋。 辰星入太微为大水，一曰后宫有忧。 是岁雒水溢至津门，南阳大水。 荧惑留入太微中，又为乱臣。 是时梁氏专政。 九月己酉，昼有流星长二尺所，色黄白。 癸巳，荧惑犯岁星，为奸臣谋，大将戮。
On bingshen in the third month of Yongshou 1 Saturn backed into the Grand Tenuity and only quit the left inner gate seventy-four days later. On jiwei in the seventh month Mercury entered the Grand Tenuity and emerged from the left gate eighty days later. On jisi in the eighth month Mars crossed into the Grand Tenuity and left by the Duan Gate three weeks later. The Grand Tenuity is the celestial counterpart of the imperial court. Saturn stands for chief ministers and the empress; backward motion hints at conspiracy. Mercury in the Grand Tenuity augurs inundation, or, in another reading, trouble in the harem. The Luo that year rose to the Jin gate, and Nanyang was drowned in flood. Mars tarrying inside the Grand Tenuity again marked traitorous ministers. The Liang family then held the government in an iron grip. On jiyou in the ninth month a yellow-white meteor two feet long flashed in daylight. On guisi Mars crossed Jupiter, auguring cabals among favorites and the death of a commander.
7
On jiayin in the sixth month of Yongshou 2 Mercury entered the Grand Tenuity and vanished from sight. Mercury governs floods, armies, and the women of the inner court. On wuwu in the eighth month Venus trespassed Regulus, the star of the empress. On wuyin in the fourth month of the third year Mars slipped into the mouth of Eastern Well, foretelling a minister’s execution. On dingchou in the seventh month Venus crossed the leading star of Heart, the omen of great ministers. Two years later, in the seventh month, Honored Empress Xian wasted away and died. Liang Ji the great general sent granary intendant Qin Gong to murder adviser Bing Zun and plotted the death of Lady Xuan, the empress dowager’s mother. When the plot surfaced, Emperor Huan confiscated the credentials of Liang Ji and his wife Lady Shou of Xiangcheng, and the couple committed suicide. The Liang kindred and the Sun affines were extirpated or exiled to the borders. These were the earthly echoes of those signs.
8
On jiayin in the third month of Yanxi 4, Mars crossed the attendant star of the Ghosts. On xinyou in the fifth month a guest star stood in Encampment, crept forward, sprouted a five-foot tail toward Heart, then blossomed into a full comet. Mars on the Ghosts’ attendant star foretold a minister’s violent death. In the tenth month of Yanxi 5 Nanjun governor Li Su was charged after tribal raiders sacked his jurisdiction, looted more than a hundred million in goods, and he fled into his yamen only to seize the bronze tiger tally and abandon the walls; while express-runner Yan Qiao at Liyang and Zhongquan magistrate Peng Liang were executed in the marketplace for graft and judicial murder. Capital commandant Song Qian died in custody on corruption charges. A guest star that swells from Encampment toward Heart into a comet spells a state funeral. Four years later Empress Deng died of a broken heart.
9
六年十一月丁亥，太白昼见。 是时，邓后家贵盛。
On dinghai in the eleventh month of Yanxi 6, Venus blazed in daylight. The Deng clan then towered over the court.
10
七年七月戊辰，辰星犯岁星。 八月庚戌，荧惑犯舆鬼质星。 庚申，岁星犯轩辕大星。 十月丙辰，太白犯房北星。 丁卯，辰星犯太白。 十二月乙丑，荧惑犯轩辕第二星。 辰星犯岁星为兵。 荧惑犯质星有戮臣。 岁星犯轩辕为女主忧。 太白犯房北星为后宫。 其八年二月，太仆南乡侯左胜以罪赐死，胜弟中常侍上蔡侯悺、北乡侯党皆自杀。 癸亥，皇后邓氏坐执左道废，迁于桐宫死，宗亲侍中沘阳侯邓康、河南尹邓万、越骑校尉邓弼、虎贲中郎将安阳侯邓会、侍中监羽林左骑邓德、右骑邓寿、昆阳侯邓统、淯阳侯邓秉、议郎邓循皆系暴室，万、会死，康等免官。 又荆州刺史芝、交阯刺史葛祗皆为贼所拘略，桂阳太守任胤背敌走，皆弃市，荧惑犯舆鬼质星之应也。
On wuchen in the seventh month of Yanxi 7 Mercury crossed Jupiter. On gengxu in the eighth month Mars again struck the Ghosts’ attendant star. On gengshen Jupiter crossed Regulus. On bingchen in the tenth month Venus trespassed the northern star of Room. On dingmao Mercury crossed Venus. On yichou in the twelfth month Mars crossed the second star of the Chariot Shaft. Mercury crossing Jupiter augurs war. Mars on the attendant star promises an executed minister. Jupiter afflicting Regulus foretells grief for the empress. Venus on the north star of Room points to the harem. In the second month of the eighth year Grand Coachman Zuo Sheng, marquis of Nanxiang, was condemned to death; his brothers, eunuch Zuo Guan marquis of Shangcai and Zuo Dang marquis of Beixiang, killed themselves. On guihai Empress Deng was cast down for illicit rites and died in the Tong Palace; her kinsmen Deng Kang, Deng Wan, Deng Bi, Deng Hui, Deng De, Deng Shou, Deng Tong, Deng Bing, and Deng Xun were locked in the Blazing Room—Wan and Hui perished, the others were stripped of rank. Jingzhou inspector Zhi and Jiaozhi inspector Ge Zhi were both captured by rebels, Guiyang’s Ren Yin fled before the enemy, and all were executed in the marketplace—the fulfillment of Mars on the Ghosts’ attendant star.
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八年五月癸酉，太白犯舆鬼质星。 壬午，荧惑入太微右执法。 闰月己未，太白犯心前星。 十月癸酉，岁星犯左执法。 十一月戊午，岁星入太微，犯左执法。 九年正月壬辰，岁星入太微中，五十八日出端门。 六月壬戌，太白行人舆鬼。 七月乙未，荧惑行舆鬼中，犯质星。 九月辛亥，荧惑入太微西门，积五十八日。 永康元年正月庚寅，荧惑逆行入太微东门，留太微中百一日出端门。 七月丙戌，太白昼见经天。 太白犯心前星，太白犯舆鬼质星有戮臣。 荧惑入太微为贼臣。 太白犯心前星为兵丧。 岁星入太微犯左执法，将相有诛者。 岁星入守太微五十日，占为人主。 太白、荧惑入舆鬼，皆为死丧，又犯质星为戮臣。 荧惑留太微中百一日，占为人主。 太白昼见经天为兵，忧在大人。 其九年十一月，太原太守刘□质、南阳太守成瑨皆坐杀无辜，荆州刺史李隗为贼所拘，尚书郎孟珰坐受金漏言，皆弃市。 永康元年十二月丁丑，桓帝崩，太傅陈蕃、大将军窦武、尚书令尹勋、黄门令山冰等皆枉死，太白犯心，荧惑留守太微之应也。
On guiyou in the fifth month of Yanxi 8 Venus crossed the Ghosts’ attendant star. On renwu Mars entered the Right Law Enforcer. On jiwei in the intercalary month Venus crossed the leading star of Heart. On guiyou in the tenth month Jupiter trespassed on the Left Law Enforcer. On wuwu in the eleventh month Jupiter crossed into the Grand Tenuity and brushed the Left Law Enforcer. On renchen in the first month of Yanxi 9 Jupiter entered the Grand Tenuity and left by the Duan Gate fifty-eight days later. On renxu in the sixth month Venus passed through the Ghosts. On yiwei in the seventh month Mars coursed through the Ghosts and struck the attendant star. On xinhai in the ninth month Mars slipped in the west gate of the Grand Tenuity and stayed fifty-eight days. On gengyin in the first month of Yongkang 1 Mars backed through the east gate of the Grand Tenuity, tarried one hundred one days, and exited the Duan Gate. On bingxu in the seventh month Venus shone by day clear across the heavens. Venus on the forward star of Heart and on the Ghosts’ attendant star both augur ministerial executions. Mars inside the Grand Tenuity marks traitorous favorites. Venus on the forward star of Heart betokens war and bereavement. Jupiter crossing the Left Law Enforcer in the Grand Tenuity foretells a minister’s death sentence. Jupiter’s fifty-day vigil in the Grand Tenuity was read as an omen bearing on the sovereign himself. Venus and Mars in the Ghosts alike mean death; striking the attendant star adds ministerial executions. Mars’s hundred-one-day stay in the Grand Tenuity likewise touched the person of the ruler. Daylight Venus spanning the sky augured armies and dread among the mighty. In the eleventh month of the ninth year Taiyuan governor Liu Zhi and Nanyang governor Cheng Jin were executed for judicial murder, Jingzhou inspector Li Wei was taken by rebels, and secretariat gentleman Meng Gang for bribery and indiscretion—all died in the marketplace. On dingchou in the twelfth month of Yongkang 1 Emperor Huan died; Chen Fan, Dou Wu, Yin Xun, Shan Bing, and others perished in the purge—the earthly price of Venus on Heart and Mars rooted in the Grand Tenuity.
12
灵二十
Emperor Ling the Filial and Sagely: twenty entries.
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In the sixth month of Jianning 1 (168 CE), Venus stood in the west, entered the Grand Tenuity, and crossed the southern head of the western enclosure. The Grand Tenuity is Heaven's court. Venus moving inside it meant the palace gates should shut, generals arm themselves, and great ministers face execution. That August Grand Tutor Chen Fan and great general Dou Wu plotted to exterminate the eunuchs; That September, on xinhai, Regular Attendant Cao Jie and Changle clerk Zhu Yu uncovered the plot, forged an edict, and killed Chen Fan, Dou Wu, and their allies; their kin were banished to Bijin in Rinan.
14
In the tenth month of Xiping 1 Mars entered the Southern Dipper. The gloss reads: "Where Mars stations itself expect mutiny and arms." The Dipper marks Wu; that November Xu Zhao of Kuaiji raised an army as self-styled great general while his father Sheng proclaimed a Yue kingship and overran the countryside.
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In the fourth month of the second year a star wriggled from Wenchang into the Purple Palace like a snake, head and tail visible but no clear body, red and luminous, brushing the enclosure stars. On bingyin in the eighth month Venus crossed the forward star of Heart. On xinwei a white band like a bolt of silk lanced the Dipper’s fourth star. The text says: “Wenchang is the field marshal and chief minister. Venus on the forward star of Heart marks the fate of senior ministers." Six years later Minister Liu He fell to Cao Jie’s calumnies and died in prison. A white band on the Dipper meant a great battle; the next winter Yangzhou inspector Zang Min and Danyang governor Chen Yin crushed the outlaw Ju Kang and took thousands of heads.
16
On guichou in the fourth month of Guanghe 1 a meteor grazed the second star of the Chariot Shaft and streaked northeast into the Dipper’s bowl. In the eighth month a comet rose north of Kang, swept into the Celestial Market, grew from a few feet to five or six zhang of crimson fire, crossed a dozen constellations over eighty days, and faded in the Celestial Park. Meteors are imperial couriers; Regulus is the inner court; the Dipper’s bowl is execution. A meteor from Regulus to the Dipper’s bowl meant Heaven was dispatching a great punitive expedition. In Zhongping 1 the Yellow Turbans erupted; the court sent Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and other generals of the household and took more than a hundred thousand heads. A comet clearing the Celestial Market augured removal of the capital and a new seat for the throne. In Chuping 1 Emperor Xian transferred the court to Chang’an.
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三年冬，彗星出狼、弧，东行至于张乃去。 张为周地，彗星犯之为兵乱。 后四年，京都大发兵击黄巾贼。
In the winter of the third year a comet rose between Wolf and the Bow, tracked east as far as Extended Net, and faded away. Extended Net marks the old Zhou heartland; a comet there augured war and upheaval. Four years later the court mobilized a massive host against the Yellow Turbans.
18
In the fifth year’s fourth month Mars stood in the Grand Tenuity, posted at the screen stars. In the seventh month a comet rose beneath the Three Steps, slid east into the Grand Tenuity toward the Heir Apparent and favorite stars, and died out after some twenty days. In the tenth month Jupiter, Mars, and Venus converged on Emptiness within a handspan, strung like pearls on a thread. The gloss reads: "Mars in the Grand Tenuity marks treacherous ministers at court." Meanwhile eunuchs Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang, Guo Sheng, Sun Zhang, and their clique ran riot through the government. A comet in the Grand Tenuity foretold a change of sovereign. In Zhongping 6 the emperor died, the euphemism for the sovereign’s passing. The triple conjunction on Emptiness spelled deep mourning for the dynasty. Emptiness corresponds to the old Qi domain. The following year Liu Ju, king of Langye, died.
19
During Guanghe a “state-yellow” fireball hung a zhang or two above the southeastern horizon like a beacon, then vanished after a dozen days. The prognostication says: "That star signals civil strife and slaughter inside and outside the walls." Zhang Jiao’s rebels then torched the provinces until imperial generals crushed them and took more than a hundred thousand heads. In Zhongping 6 the emperor died; He Jin ordered Yuan Shao as colonel director of retainers to raise a thousand picked troops outside Luoyang and secretly call Dong Zhuo from Bingzhou; the plot to slaughter the eunuchs ignited fighting at the palace gates, thousands fell, the halls went up in flames, and the court fled west. After Wang Yun and Lü Bu killed Dong Zhuo, Guo Si and Li Jue wheeled their hosts on Chang’an; nearly ten thousand officials and townspeople perished in the sack. The empire’s ruin had begun inside the palace, not on the frontier.
20
On guihai in the tenth month of Zhongping 2 a guest star the size of half a banquet mat rose in the south gate asterism, flashed through five shifting hues, shrank away, and was gone by the sixth month of the next year. The gloss says: "It betokens war." By Zhongping 6 Yuan Shao had extirpated the eunuchs, while Wu Kuang, an officer of He Jin’s guard, cut down He Miao the chariot-and-cavalry general—several thousand died in the melee.
21
In the fourth month of the third year Mars retrograded onto the rear star of Heart; on wuwu in the tenth month the moon swallowed that same star. The reading is: "It foretells a supreme bereavement." Three years later Emperor Ling died.
22
五年二月，彗星出奎，逆行入紫宫，后三出，六十余日乃消。 六月丁卯，客星如三升碗，出贯索，西南行入天市，至尾而消。 占曰：「彗除紫宫，天下易主。 客星入天市，为贵人丧。」 明年四月，宫车晏驾。 中平中夏，流星赤如火，长三丈，起河鼓，入天市，抵触宦者星，色白，长二三丈，后尾再屈，食顷乃灭，状似枉矢。 占曰：「枉矢流发，其宫射，所谓矢当直而枉者，操矢者邪枉人也。」 中平六年，大将军何进谋尽诛中官，中官觉，于省中杀进：俱两破灭，天下由此遂大坏乱。
In the second month of the fifth year a comet lifted from Legs, backed into the Purple Palace, reappeared three times, and took more than sixty days to fade. On dingmao in the sixth month a bowl-sized guest star rose at Coiled Bonds, drifted southwest through the Celestial Market, and died out at Tail. The text says: “A comet clearing the Purple Palace means the throne will change hands. A guest star in the Celestial Market augured the death of a great noble." The next fourth month the emperor died. One Zhongping summer a three-zhang meteor red as flame shot from River Drum into the Celestial Market, clipped the Eunuch star in pale fire, kinked its tail twice, and burned out in the time it takes to eat a meal—like the Crooked Arrow omen. The gloss says: "A Crooked Arrow meteor strikes the palace it names; a shaft that flies awry marks a twisted hand behind the bow." In Zhongping 6 He Jin plotted the extermination of the eunuchs; they struck first and murdered him in the privy chamber—both factions annihilated each other and the empire slid into chaos.
23
On bingyin in the eighth month of Zhongping 6 Venus crossed the forward star of Heart; on wuchen it struck the central star of Heart. That same afternoon, four ke before dusk, the eunuchs cut down great general He Jin inside the palace. On jisi chariot-and-cavalry general He Miao fell to Wu Kuang, an officer of He Jin’s guard.
24
In the ninth month of Chuping 2 the Chiyou war-banner stretched ten zhang of white vapor south of Horn and Kang. The omen reads: "When the Chiyou banner rises, the ruler sends armies in every direction." Thereafter Chancellor Cao waged war across the empire for nearly three decades.
25
In the tenth month of the fourth year a broom star rose between the Horns, ran northeast through the Celestial Market, and went out. The gloss says: "A comet clearing the Celestial Market means Heaven's ruler shifts his seat and the capital will move." The emperor was still at Chang’an; two years later he traveled east, reached Luoyang the following seventh month, and that eighth month Cao Cao escorted him to Xu.
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In the eleventh month of Jian’an 9 a broom star swept from Eastern Well and the Ghosts through Regulus into the Grand Tenuity. In the first month of Jian’an 11 a broom star straddled the Dipper, its coma in the bowl and its train lashing the Purple Palace toward the pole star. The gloss reads: "A comet raking the Grand Tenuity means the Son of Heaven will be replaced." Wei Wendi later accepted the Han abdication.
28
On xinmao in the tenth month of Jian’an 12 a broom star rose in the Quail’s Tail. That sector maps Jingzhou, then held by Liu Biao; Zhou Qun of Yizhou read the sign as Biao’s death and the loss of his province. The following autumn Liu Biao died, leaving his young son Cong as heir. When Cao Cao marched on Jingzhou, Liu Cong capitulated in fear with his entire army.
29
In the twelfth month of Jian’an 17 a broom star appeared at the Five Feudal Lords. Zhou Qun took it to mean every western warlord who clutched territory would lose it. Liu Zhang still ruled Yizhou, Zhang Lu held Hanzhong apart, Han Sui dominated Liangzhou, and Zong Jian gripped Fuhan. The next winter Cao Cao dispatched a column against Liangzhou. In Jian’an 19 Zong Jian was taken; Han Sui fled among the Qiang and died sick. That autumn Liu Zhang lost Yizhou. In the autumn of Jian’an 20 Cao Cao invaded Hanzhong and Zhang Lu surrendered.
30
十八年秋，岁星、镇星、荧惑俱入太微，逆行留守帝坐百余日。 占曰：「岁星入太微，人主改。」
In the autumn of Jian’an 18 Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars piled into the Grand Tenuity, turned retrograde, and lingered on the Imperial Seat for more than a hundred days. The prognostication says: "Jupiter in the Grand Tenuity means the sovereign will be replaced."
31
二十三年三月，孛星晨见东方二十余日，夕出西方，犯历五车、东井、五诸侯、文昌、轩辕、后妃、太微，锋炎指帝坐。 占曰：「除旧布新之象也。」
In the third month of Jian’an 23 a broom star showed at dawn in the east for three weeks, reappeared at dusk in the west, and carved a path through Five Chariots, Eastern Well, the Five Lords, Wenchang, Regulus, the consort stars, and the Grand Tenuity, its spear aimed at the Imperial Seat. The gloss calls it "an omen of sweeping away the old and raising a new order."
32
On yihai in the ninth month of Yanping 1 (106 CE), Emperor Shang, four meteorites struck Chenliu. The Spring and Autumn Annals, in Duke Xi’s sixteenth year, records five meteorites falling in Song; the commentary says they were fallen stars. Dong Zhongshu read it as a sign of Heaven turning back upon itself from above. Others held that commoners are mirrored in the stars—when a star falls, the people are crushed.
33
桓帝延熹七年三月癸亥，陨石右扶风一，鄠又陨石二，皆有声如雷。
On guihai in the third month of Yanxi 7 of Emperor Huan a meteorite struck Youfufeng, and two more fell at Hu, each thundering like a peal from Heaven.