Page 90 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 83
The Emperor took his advice, and soon the Seven Stars reappeared in their proper place.
The unjustly condemned man was thus saved from death.
According to another legend, it is the red-faced god of the ‘Northern Dipper’ (Bei
Dou = Great Bear) who decides the hour of death for us. He plays chess with the god
of the ‘Southern Dipper’, and between them they determine our earthly lot. The Southern
Dipper is more commonly known as the ‘Immortal of the South Pole’: he possesses the
herb of immortality.
Chinese astronomers (by the 2nd century AD they had counted and recorded 11,520
stars) saw the shafts of the Plough as a determining influence on the seasons, as every
month they pointed in a new direction.
In Taiwan, the Dipper reappears in a funeral custom. The dead body is placed on
a board in which there are seven holes representing the constellation, and laid thus in
the coffin.

Constellation deities

It often happens that only three of the seven stars are shown. This occurs in a series of
12 insignia, in which the three stars symbolise the heavens, while mountains represent the
earth. The three wishes: for long life (a man riding on a stag), for a good income
(a man in a red robe) and for good luck and happiness (a man in a blue robe) are also
known as the ‘Three Constellations’.