Or.8210/S.3326

Description

Scope and content : Chinese astronomical knowledge was excellent, as shown by this star chart from Dunhuang, probably dating to the early 8th century. The first twelve panels correspond to a complete coverage of the sky by zones centres on the equator. The final panel (shown here) is a circular chart of the North Pole region. 1,345 stars are shown in total, all of which three have been identified. They are grouped into asterisms, similar to constellations but far greater in number and some only containing one star. The early part fo the scroll consists of divination by cloud formations.