The Chinese divide their year into 24 portions of 15 days each.
Of these 24 divisions twelve called Kung mark the twelve places in
which the sun and moon come into conjunction, and are thus in some
degree analogous to our 12 signs of the Zodiac. The names of these
Kung are entirely different from those of our sign, though since the
17th century the Western Zodiac, with paraphrased names, has been
introduced in some of their books. But besides that, they divide the
heavens into 28 stellar spaces. The correspondence of this division to
the Hindu system of the 28 Lunar Mansions, called Nakshatras, has
given rise to much discussion. The Chinese sieu or stellar spaces
are excessively unequal, varying from 24 deg. in equatorial extent down to
24'. (Williams, op. cit.) [See P. Hoang, supra p. 449.]
[12] Mr. Wylie is inclined to distrust the accuracy of this remark, as the
only city nearly on the 36th parallel is P'ing-yang fu.
But we have noted in regard to this (Polo's Pianfu, vol. ii. p. 17)
that a college for the education of Mongol youth was instituted here,
by the great minister Yeliu Chutsai, whose devotion to astronomy Mr.
Wylie has noticed above. In fact, two colleges were established by
him, one at Yenking, i.e. Peking, the other at P'ing-yang; and
astronomy is specified as one of the studies to be pursued at these.
(See D'Ohsson, II.