33B 
Aquarius. The first tse^ or asterism, of the 
Chinese zodiac, the rat {Shoii)^ 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. 
Soiiciet, in his Researches on the Cycles and the 
Zodiac, observes, that China and Europe agi’ee 
in representing under different denominations 
the sign, which we name Amphoray or Aquarius. 
Among the western nations, the water that flows 
from the vase of Aquarius {xvm v^ccToi) early 
formed a particular constellation to which 
belonged the beautiful stars Fomalhaut and 
Deneh kaitos, as is evident •f' 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 A^a call sea mona- 
ster. The Mexican sign indicates a fabulous 
animal, a whale with a horn in its forehead. 
* Obs. mathem. du P. Souciet, published bj P. Gaubil, 
tom. 3, p, 33* , 
t Ideler, Sterniiamen, p. 197. 
+ Gama, Descrip, histor. y cronol. de dos Piedras (Mexi- 
co, 1792), p. 27 and 100. 
