<p>As discussed in the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/4DCGI/education/astronomy/sky.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">International Dunhuang Project</a> website, in traditional Chinese astronomy "the Chinese sky was divided into five great regions or palaces called gong 宫," and "Chinese astronomers identified twenty-eight segments in the sky known as mansions" with "each of the four directions contains seven of the twenty-eight mansions and together with the central region of the sky." </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/eviKG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eviKG.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>These do not directly correspond to the Hellenistic constellations familiar throughout Western culture.</p>

<p>Has the curriculum in China been nationally standardized so that the traditional Chinese astronomy designations is taught and the Hellenistic constellations is not.  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T02:12:23.763Z
It's a huge country with a really diverse population, I don't know if there is anything like "the average person who grew up in China". On the other hand, it's possible that the curriculum is nationally standardized, so maybe this is answerable based on that.
uhoh
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2019-12-26T02:55:01.043Z
@uhoh Would you say asking if the majority of astronomy laypeople in China is reasonable enough?  I think its fair to say the majority of astronomy laypeople in the United States have heard of at least some of the Hellenic constellations and a very small percentage have heard of the twenty-eight mansions.
Bob516
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T03:31:22.750Z
Probably my comment is too theoretical, I just mean that there may not be such a thing as an "average person" in any large, heterogeneous country. However there may be a *homogeneous curriculum* that could be asked about; e.g. "Are... taught... " or "Do... learn the..." The change you made is okay too, but it might still be hard to answer unless someone is familliar with a substantial fraction of "majority of astronomy laypeople who grew up in China". I'm from the US and if someone asked me "Does the average American know..." I certainly couldn't answer.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T03:34:07.687Z
China's population is $1.4 \times 10^9$ and spans close to $1 \times 10^9$ km$^2$; it's really hard to make any kind of generalization
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T04:10:40.150Z
If someone were to ask you if the majority of astronomy laypeople in the United States have heard of at least some of the Hellenic constellations and a very small percentage have heard of the twenty-eight mansions, you would not be able to answer.  Makes me wonder how many people in the United States have heard of the Big Dipper.
Bob516
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T04:27:20.213Z
I think Orion's Belt is clearly part of American popular culture.  It was even mentioned in the first Men in Black movie.
Bob516
<constellations>
Does the average person in China know the constellations by the traditional Chinese system or Hellenic designation
Bob516
# Does the average person in China know the constellations by the traditional Chinese system or Hellenic designation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-12-25)

As discussed in the [International Dunhuang Project](http://idp.bl.uk/4DCGI/education/astronomy/sky.html) website, in traditional Chinese astronomy "the Chinese sky was divided into five great regions or palaces called gong 宫," and "Chinese astronomers identified twenty-eight segments in the sky known as mansions" with "each of the four directions contains seven of the twenty-eight mansions and together with the central region of the sky."

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/eviKG.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/eviKG.png)

These do not directly correspond to the Hellenistic constellations familiar throughout Western culture.

Has the curriculum in China been nationally standardized so that the traditional Chinese astronomy designations is taught and the Hellenistic constellations is not.

**Tags:** constellations

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It's a huge country with a really diverse population, I don't know if there is anything like "the average person who grew up in China". On the other hand, it's possible that the curriculum is nationally standardized, so maybe this is answerable based on that.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Would you say asking if the majority of astronomy laypeople in China is reasonable enough?  I think its fair to say the majority of astronomy laypeople in the United States have heard of at least some of the Hellenic constellations and a very small percentage have heard of the twenty-eight mansions.  
> **username_1**: Probably my comment is too theoretical, I just mean that there may not be such a thing as an "average person" in any large, heterogeneous country. However there may be a *homogeneous curriculum* that could be asked about; e.g. "Are... taught... " or "Do... learn the..." The change you made is okay too, but it might still be hard to answer unless someone is familliar with a substantial fraction of "majority of astronomy laypeople who grew up in China". I'm from the US and if someone asked me "Does the average American know..." I certainly couldn't answer.  
> **username_1**: China's population is $1.4 \times 10^9$ and spans close to $1 \times 10^9$ km$^2$; it's really hard to make any kind of generalization  
> **username_0**: If someone were to ask you if the majority of astronomy laypeople in the United States have heard of at least some of the Hellenic constellations and a very small percentage have heard of the twenty-eight mansions, you would not be able to answer.  Makes me wonder how many people in the United States have heard of the Big Dipper.  
> **username_0**: I think Orion's Belt is clearly part of American popular culture.  It was even mentioned in the first Men in Black movie.  

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## 0 answers

