Overview
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ascribed to | Gan De, “Astrological Observations,” 8 juan, and Shi Shen, “Astronomy,” 8 juan |
| Received text | Compiled in Tang or Song times, printed in Ming–Qing collectanea |
| Nature | Star-official lore and astral divination |
| Status | The source of the Chinese star-catalogue tradition |
The original and the received text
According to the Shiji and the Han shu, Gan De of Qi and Shi Shen of Wei each wrote a star book in the Warring States period: Gan De an “Astrological Observations,” Shi Shen an “Astronomy.”
Both are lost; the received Gan-Shi Star Classic was reconstructed from quotations in encyclopaedias and old commentaries.
⚠ The ancient star classics were mostly compiled by later hands, and the date of the received text must be kept apart from the period to which it is ascribed. The present texts were often put together in Tang or Song times and cannot simply be read as Warring States books.
The star-officials it records
The star-official lore in the compilation agrees with the Gan and Shi passages quoted in the Kaiyuan Zhanjing and similar works.
The Shi school is the fuller, and later catalogues often mark their entries “Shi.”
Ancient star-official lore had three main schools, those of Shi Shen, Gan De and Wuxian. Their star lists differed, and later catalogues used all three together, distinguishing them by colour or mark — the star-officials sung in the Bu Tian Ge, for instance, are those of the three schools combined.
Value
The Chinese system of star-officials has two great sources, the Gan and the Shi.
Any study of the origins of the twenty-eight mansions and the star-officials must begin with these two houses.
Though the originals are lost, their outlines can be recovered from the quotations.
Compiled and arranged by Chujia Kuang.