As early as ancient times, the ancients believed that the vast starry sky was the residence of the gods, and every bit of starlight was a star god. Although the God of the Stars is far away in the sky and out of reach, he is considered the master of all things on earth. At first, people imagined the stars in the sky to look like terrifying monsters.
Because people often see Jupiter rising in the east, and in the concept of five elements, the east belongs to wood, so it is called "Jupiter", and its star god is called the Sui Star God. "Tianguan? Astrology" says: The country illuminated by Jupiter blesses the king and protects the stability of his regime. Astrologers have recently extended this to: "When the year star shines, it can bring blessings to the people." This means that where the year star shines, people can also get good luck and happiness. It seems that as early as the Western Han Dynasty, people regarded Jupiter as the star of blessing.
But there are countless stars in the sky, why was Jupiter chosen as the lucky star? Maybe it's because people value him for being bright and eye-catching. But brightness wasn't the main reason why people drafted him. Jupiter not only looks beautiful, but also has important practical functions.
That is the meaning of his other name "Sui Xing": used to mark the year and revise the calendar. The ancients discovered that when observing Jupiter at the same time every night, there are slight differences in its position, but the changes are extremely small and difficult to detect. If compared on an annual basis, this change is very obvious.
The period of this change is constant, so in the eyes of ancient astronomers, Jupiter had extraordinary importance. To them, the sky is like a big clock, and Jupiter is like the hands of the big clock. But it takes 12 years instead of 12 hours to complete one revolution. Ancient astronomers used this clock to make adjustments and corrections over large spans of time to revise the calendar.
Not only that, the ancients also found that Jupiter was somehow related to agricultural harvests. There is a passage in "Huainanzi Tian Wen Xun" that talks about the 12-year cycle of Jupiter.
The general idea is that the place where the year star is located guarantees a good harvest, there will be famine in the third year, decline in the sixth year, and prosperity in the twelfth year.
Ancient people observed that during the 12-year cycle of Jupiter's activity, the climate also showed cyclical changes. And climate is crucial to agricultural production. Therefore, in historical books such as "Historical Records" and "Hanshu", it is clearly recorded that Sui Xing was the star official in charge of agriculture and his status was extremely high.
According to the records in "Historical Records? Tianguan Shu", more than 2,000 years ago during the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were special temples to worship the Sui Xing, and this sacrificial system continued until the late Qing Dynasty.
In the south of the Forbidden City, there is a hall dedicated to the Sui Xing. Every golden autumn, the emperor led hundreds of civil and military officials to hold a grand ceremony here to pray to the Sui Xing to bless the world and protect the harvest. Food is the most important thing for the people, and a good harvest is of course a blessing. Therefore, it is natural that Sui Xing was given the title of Lucky Star and deserved it.
However, this blessed Sui Star God also has a frightening alias called "Tai Sui". As the saying goes, you can't touch the Tai Sui head, and this is the Tai Sui star god. Why does Tai Sui, the lucky star that entrusts people with their good wishes, have a sinister side?
The oldest portrait of a star official in my country was drawn more than 1,300 years ago during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. It is called the "Five Stars and Twenty-eight Constellations", which depicts the five stars of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth and the 28 stars. God image. The Lucky Star, who ranks first among the stars, has the appearance of a monster. His head looks like a tiger but not a tiger, and his eyes are wide open. He is wearing a simple gown, sitting cross-legged, and looks like a scholar. His means of transportation is even more incredible, it is actually a huge wild boar.
The author of this portrait is Liang Lingzhan, a famous astronomical instrument manufacturer and an outstanding figure painter in the mid-Tang Dynasty. The portrait he painted must be the image of a star official recognized by most people at that time.
Passed down from generation to generation, Jupiter, the age star, has become the lucky star that brings blessings to the lower realms and bestows people with good luck and happiness. It is called the "three stars" together with the longevity star and the fortune star. In the New Year pictures, there is "Fu Lu" Picture of Three Stars of Longevity". When building a house, a large red paper with the words "Lucky Star Shines High" should also be affixed to the main beam.
Whenever the Sui Xing approaches, it is the time when the world bids farewell to the old and welcomes the new. Every household worships and worships the Sui Xing from afar, praying for good fortune and happiness in the new year, a good life, good harvests, and prosperous livestock.