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.Also, itis not clear whether the qi of a vermilion heaven refers to an actual red-colored qi observed in the sky or if vermilion heaven is simply to be un-derstood as a metaphor for the heaven of summer.The same applies to theremaining four qi.Obviously the quotation discusses the relationships among the five qi ofdifferently colored heavens and the twenty-eight stellar divisions.The twenty-eight stellar divisions, xiuJ, also called lunar lodges or lunar mansions, are divisions of the fixed stars devised by ancient Chinese astronomers.Their Unschuld,Huang Di nei jing 12/2/02 1:34 PM Page 403appendix 403Diagram 2.The Cardinal Points, the Stellar Divisions, and the Celestial Stemscorrespondences with the cardinal points and the celestial stems, as seen byChinese astrology, are shown in diagram 2.11Apparently the qi of a green heaven, that is, the qi of wood or spring,was associated with the stems ren and dingB. The qi of a pure heaven, that is, the qi of metal or autumn, was associated with the stems yiAandgeng ". The qi of a dark heaven, that is, the qi of water or winter, was as-sociated with the stems bingÛand xinØ. The qi of a vermilion heaven, that is, the qi of fire or summer, was associated with the stems gui and wue". The qi of a yellow heaven, that is, the qi of soil, was associated with thestems jia and jiv.It is unclear why the Tai shi tian yuan ce refers to wu and ji in describingthe passage of the qi of a vermilion heaven and the qi of a yellow heavenrather than to stellar divisions, as in all other cases.Normally, wu and ji donot refer to cardinal points; they are associated with the center, as is theircorresponding agent, soil.In the Tai shi tian yuan ce quotation, though, they Unschuld,Huang Di nei jing 12/2/02 1:34 PM Page 404Diagram 3.Facsimile Reproduction of a Han Dynasty CosmicBoard of ca.165 b.c.Diagram 4.Extract From the Earth Plate of a Han Dynasty CosmicBoard Unschuld,Huang Di nei jing 12/2/02 1:34 PM Page 405appendix 405are split into two sections and appear to have been meant to symbolize dif-ferent directions.The commentary added to the Tai shi tian yuan ce quotation (probably acommentary on the Su wen text, not on the original Tai shi tian yuan ce text)identified wu as a reference to the stellar divisions kui and bi, a region in thenorthwest, and ji as a reference to the stellar divisions jiao and zhen, a regionin the southeast.However, the opinion expressed in this commentary does not necessar-ily agree with the original meaning of the statement of the Tai shi tian yuance.In comparison, various cosmic boards (shi°, Harper s translation, or diviner boards, as they are called today) have been unearthed from Hantombs, presumably displaying correspondences, representative of Han cos-mology, among the stellar divisions, the earth branches, and the celestialstems.12The data revealing these correspondences are provided by the lower levelof the board, a square plate symbolizing the earth and the earth s perma-nent correspondences with the celestial bodies.Within this square plate, thetwo corners of the northeast and the southeast are marked as wu, and thetwo corners representing the northwest and the southwest are marked bythe characters ji.(See diagrams 3 and 4.)Accordingly, the two celestial stems wue"and jivdo not refer to onecardinal point but to two different cardinal points each.If this meaning wereimplied in the Tai shi tian yuan ce quotation, it would explain why the textspeaks of wu section(s) and ji section(s) rather than of stellar divisions.Also, wu is associated with eastern directions, whereas ji is associated withwestern directions.This corresponds to the usual sequence of wu preced-ing ji.If one wished to locate the appearance of the five differently colored qiin their passage through stellar divisions as outlined in the Tai shi tianyuan ce, at least three different possibilities are imaginable.First, the fiveqi associated with a specifically colored heaven may have been thought topass across the sky from one specified constellation of stellar divisions toone or two other specified constellations, without touching the remainingstellar divisions
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