Star Lore Art The Five Agents of the Sky Tang Dynasty, ca. 650

Long before Europeans turned the night sky into ancient heroes and mythical creatures, Chinese culture regarded all celestial objects as living beings, most of them more or less look like humans. The blog All Things Chinese displays five paintings created by an unknown artist during the first half of the Tang Dynasty (618–690). The paintings show the five then known planets, envisioned as human beings. In traditional Chinese culture, the five major planets in the solar system are regarded the agents of the sky, channeling five different cosmic Qis: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Mercury 辰星 Chen-xīng Water Venus 金星 Jīn-xīng Metal Mars 火星 Huǒ-xīng Fire Jupiter 木星 Mů-xīng Wood Saturn 土星 Tǔ-xīng Earth In the Tang Dynasty paintings, planet Mercury (right) is depicted as a female magistrate in heaven.

Mercury

Venus appears as a female immortal, while Mars, the planet representing radical transformation or violent confrontation is depicted as having a head of a donkey with six arms, each holding a unique weapon. Jupiter, a symbol of benevolence and fortune and the leading planet in the solar system is depicted as a celestial immortal with a head of a leopard and a wild boar as his personal vehicle. Saturn is illustrated as a farmer riding on the back of a buffalo and releasing Earth Qi accordingly.

Venus

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

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