338 



Aquarius. The first tse, or asterism, of the 

 Chinese zodiac, the rat (Shou), is also frequent- 

 ly represented under the figure of water*. In 

 the reign of the emperor Tchouen-hiu there was 

 a great deluge; and the celestial sign Hiuen- 

 hiao, which by its position answers to our Aqua- 

 rius, is the symbol of this reign. Thus P. 

 Souciet, in his Researches on the Cycles and the 

 Zodiac, observes, that China and Europe agree 

 in representing under different denominations 

 the sign, which we name Amphora, or Aquarius, 

 Among the western nations, the water that flow^ 

 from the vase of Aquarius {%vms vlctros) early 

 formed a particular constellation (v^), to which 

 belonged the beautiful stars Fomalhaut and 

 Deneb kaitos, as is evident ^ from several pas- 

 sages of Aratus, Geminus, and the scholiast of 

 Germanicus. 



Cipactli is a sea animal^:. This hieroglyphic 

 bears a strong analogy to Capricorn, which the 

 Hindoos and other nations of Asia call sea mon- 

 ster. The Mexican sign indicates a fabulous 

 animal, a whale with a horn in its forehead. 



* Obs. mathem. du P. Souciet, published by P. Ganbil, 

 torn. 3, p. 33; 



i Ideler, Sternnamen, p. 197. 



% Gama, Descrip. histor. y croaol. de dos Piedras (Mexin 

 co, 1792), p. 27 and 100. 



