Why was the “Internet celebrity” Mars regarded as a disaster star by the ancients?

Musk has implemented a plan to colonize Mars with 1 million people. The Zhurong rover has left the first Chinese footprint on Mars. New evidence of the existence of an ocean on Mars has been discovered recently. The conjunction of Mars and the moon will reappear in November this year...

Among many celestial bodies, Mars is definitely one of the most popular "Internet celebrities".

The exploration and discussion on it has never stopped in recent years.

Panoramic view of Mars (Source: Xinhuanet)

In fact, this planet, which even the world's richest man Musk dreams of visiting, has always had a bad reputation. The ancients even regarded it as a star of disaster, and many people died because of it.

1

The name has a reason and scientific basis

In ancient times when technology was backward, people regarded the stars as signs from heaven, and astronomical observations related to Mars were often related to disasters and death.

So the historian gave it an intuitive and appropriate name: Yinghuoxing, the full name of which is: Yinghuoxing, Yinghuoguang, Lililuozhu (Lüshi Chunqiu, Zhile).

As the name suggests, 萤 (fluorescence) refers to the light of candles under the house. (Shuowen Jiezi) The Xiaozhuan character for 萤 (fluorescence) (as shown in the picture) is composed of 嫣 (yàn, sparks) and 冂 (jiōng, the distant world).

It means that out of two beams of fire in the distance, one beam falls and only one beam remains, which is naturally weaker. Later, this character was simplified to “萤” (fluorescence). 惑者 means chaos, which is derived from the heart. (Shuowen Jiezi) If you are uncertain in your heart, you will naturally be more confused.

In ancient Chinese, most of the words containing "惑" are derogatory, such as huozhong (to confuse the masses), huoren (a confused person), etc.

From this we can see that the word "Yinghuo" truly describes the ancients' aversion to Mars: this guy, flashing red light in the distant night sky, is sometimes bright and sometimes dim, sometimes moving forward and sometimes moving retrograde, making it unpredictable, just like a ghost fire in a grave!

So, what is the scientific truth about Mars’ “Yinghuo”?

The red glow of the fluorescence comes from the fact that the surface of Mars is covered with a thick layer of soil and rocks containing iron oxide (red), which makes it appear red from a distance.

The uncertainty comes from the fact that its orbital speed and circumference are different from those of the Earth, and its position is not fixed, so the ancients felt that it was sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

Mars and Earth both revolve around the sun, but Earth, which is located inside the solar system, revolves much faster and has a much greater angular velocity, so most of the time people on Earth see Mars moving forward from west to east (i.e., in the direction of its revolution). When the Earth is about to overtake Mars, people on Earth see Mars moving backward, so it becomes retrograde from east to west.

The root cause is the difference in reference. For example, if someone is sitting in a car and chasing a moving electric bike, if he fails to catch up, he is naturally moving forward; when the car is about to overtake the electric bike, the person in the car feels that the bicycle is moving backward, so he is naturally moving backward.

Schematic diagram of Mars' operation (Source: Science Popularization China)

2

Mars in the heart is a very bad omen

Compared with the changes of Mars, which is sometimes bright and sometimes dim, and sometimes moves forward and sometimes moves retrograde, another rare movement phenomenon of Mars made the ancients feel afraid, and it was even considered to be a harbinger of national changes, abnormal death of the monarch, and natural disasters.

This astronomical phenomenon is called Mars guarding the heart.

As the name suggests, "Shou" means to stay; "Xin" refers to the Heart II of the twenty-eight constellations.

There are three stars in Antares, the first of which is the middle Antares, also known as Antares, which represents the king. Because of its red light like blood and fire, the ancients also called it "Big Mars".

The Heart Star and Heart Star on both sides of Mars represent the king’s two sons (the crown prince and the illegitimate son).

The three stars of the Heart were originally moving well, but Mars chose to stay near them for more than 20 days before leaving. Isn't this usurping the throne or treason? Therefore, Mars staying in the Heart means that something big is going to happen in the country, and we must find a way to "avoid disasters" (eliminate disasters through prayer, etc.).

Schematic diagram of Antares (Source: Science Popularization China)

This is not sensational.

Official history records more than twenty cases of Mars guarding the heart, two of which ended in the unjust killing of subjects.

One incident happened at the end of the Qin Dynasty. In 211 BC, Qin Shi Huang received a report that Mars was in the heart. Soon after, he learned that a meteorite had landed in Dongjun with the words "The Emperor will die and the land will be divided" on it. After a thorough investigation failed, Qin Shi Huang thought of the two unusual events and killed the relevant personnel. Unfortunately, the disaster could not be averted. Qin Shi Huang died of illness on his way to tour the following year, and the Qin Dynasty soon perished.

Another incident occurred during the Western Han Dynasty. In 7 BC, the historian reported to Emperor Cheng of Han that Mars had been in the heart for several days. The solution was to transfer the disaster to the ministers, otherwise the emperor or the country would be in trouble. The incompetent Emperor Cheng of Han believed the ministers' slander that "it can be transferred to the prime minister", summoned Prime Minister Zhai Fangjin to the hall and scolded him, and hinted that he should commit suicide to quell the evil sign. Seeing that Zhai did not take action, he gave him gifts to force him to commit suicide. Unfortunately, the disaster was also not averted. Emperor Cheng of Han died the following year at the age of 44. People became more superstitious and fearful of the phenomenon of Mars in the heart.

Mars guards the heart (source of the image see watermark)

In fact, Mars guarding the heart is a very normal astronomical phenomenon.

Although Mars and Mars are very far apart, one is in the solar system, about 55 million kilometers away from the Earth at its closest point and over 400 million kilometers away at its farthest point, and the other is outside the solar system, 550 light-years away from the Earth (1 light-year is approximately equal to 10 trillion kilometers), but they are both on the ecliptic plane (Mars moves along the ecliptic and Mars is near the ecliptic), and will always approach each other, so people on Earth will see the phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart.

In fact, when people see them meeting on Earth, they are just approaching each other in the direction of sight. For example, at night, the lights in the distance are dim and bright, but these lights are not together, and some are even very far apart.

3

July is hot and different

Although from a scientific point of view, Mars in the heart is not a very bad sign, this phenomenon also makes later generations confused about the distinction between Mars and Big Mars: it is obviously Mars, but it is called Mars; it is obviously Antares, but it is called Big Mars. It's really troublesome!

In fact, to distinguish between Mars and Big Mars, there is an idiom that can help, which is "the fireflies fly in July".

This idiom does not mean that the weather in July is as hot as flowing fire, but it refers to the fact that the weather turns cooler in the seventh month of the lunar calendar and autumn is approaching, and you can see Mars setting in the west at dusk.

Why do we say this? This is because Mars is a dying red supergiant star. It is red and bright, one of the 22 brightest stars in the sky, and was used by the ancients as a symbol to distinguish the changing of the four seasons.

The people of the Shang Dynasty worshipped it every year, so it was also called "Shangxing" by astrologers. At dusk in the fifth lunar month, Mars was in the middle of the sky, and people knew it was midsummer; at dusk in the seventh lunar month, it moved westward, and people knew that summer was gradually receding and autumn was approaching.

Atmosphere map of the red supergiant star Antares drawn by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory of the United States (Source: Science Popularization China)

From this we can see that Mars moves from west to east. Although it is far away from the earth, it is bright and moves in a regular pattern. It can be used to determine the four seasons. Naturally, it was a lucky star in the minds of the ancients.

Although Mars is close to the earth, it only transmits a faint red light to the earth. Due to different reference objects or distances, it seems sometimes bright and sometimes dim, sometimes moving forward and sometimes moving retrograde, and causes the phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart. Naturally, it was regarded as an evil star by the ancients.

However, this evil star has become an "Internet celebrity" due to its proximity to the earth, which the superstitious ancients could never have imagined.

References

1. The Lost Book of Zhou, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2010 edition.

2. Shuowen Jiezi, Lijiang Publishing House, 2018.

3. Controlling the Mandate of Heaven: Astrology, Numerology and Ancient Chinese Society, Huang Yinong, Sichuan People's Publishing House, 2018.

END

Author: Wei Deyong, member of Shenzhen Writers Association, Guangdong

Editor: Guru