What does the Big Dipper symbolize?

Symbolic significance of the Big Dipper: People in ancient China linked these seven stars and imagined them as barrels of wine in ancient times.

Shu Tian, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji and Tianquan are composed of Dou Shen and Gu Yue Kui. Yuheng, Kaiyang and Ursa Ursa Eta are composed of bucket handle, which was called gourd ladle in ancient times.

The Big Dipper appears in different directions in the sky at different seasons and different times at night, so the ancients decided the seasons according to the direction pointed by bucket handle at the beginning of fainting: bucket handle points to the east, and the world is spring; Guide to barrel handle, it's summer in the world; Bucket handle refers to the west, and the world is autumn; The barrel handle refers to the north, and it is winter all over the world.

Extended data

Among the seven stars, "Yuheng" is the brightest, and its brightness is almost close to the first-class star. "Tianquan" is the blackest and is a third-class star. The other five are all second-class stars. There is a small companion star named Fu near Kaiyang, which has always attracted people's attention with its beautiful and clear appearance. It is said that ancient Arabs used it as a "test star" to test soldiers' eyesight when recruiting soldiers.

The Big Dipper always moves slowly in the sky. Five of the stars move in one direction at roughly the same speed, while Shu Tianhe and Yao Guang move in the opposite direction. Therefore, in the long cosmic changes, the shape of the Big Dipper will change greatly. After 654.38+ million years, we will not see this handle shape.

The Big Dipper is also called "Beidou" for short. Seven bright stars arranged in a barrel not far from the north celestial pole. All six stars are second-class except delta, which is a third-class star. Polaris can be found by connecting the first two stars of the Big Dipper and extending it to the mouth of the Big Dipper for about five times, which is usually used as a sign to indicate the direction and identify the constellation.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Big Dipper