The Hindu zodiac, which is described in the 'Philosophical Trans actions' for 1772, consists of twelve figures disposed on the four sides of a square. In this the place of Gemini is occupied by a figure of a man apparently with a shield on each arm ; Virgo is represented by a female figure naked and seated ; Libra is represented by a pair of scales similar to those in common use at present ; and in place of Capricornus are figures of a ram and a fish, which are close together, but do not, as in the modern sphere, constitute one body. A globular vessel repre sents Aquarius ; and for Pisces, one fish only is delineated. The figure in the place of Scorpio cannot be made out. This remarkable monu ment was discovered in the ceiling of a choultry or pagoda at Verdapettah, in Madura ; and the separation of the figures in Capri cornus seems to indicate that it is of great antiquity, as it may be reasonably supposed that such a disposition preceded in order of time that of a union of the two bodies in one.
In the second volume of the ' Asiatic Researches' there is given, by Sir William Jones, a paper containing a description, from the Sanskrit of Sripeti, of an ancient zodiac, which is divided into twelve parts, each of 30 degrees, corresponding to the modern signs. The ram, the bull, the crab, the lion, and the scorpion are said to have the figures of those animals, and in the plate which accompanies the memoir the entire figure of the bull is given : the twins consist of a male and a female figure, and in the description, the woman is said to play on a musical instrument, while the man holds a club, but the figures are not so represented in the plate. Virgo is represented by a woman in a boat; in one hand she holds a lamp, and in the other a blade of corn. Libra is represented by scales, which aro held by a man who appears to be placing a weight in one of them. Sagittarius is the figure of an archer, whose legs are like those of a horse. Capricornus ie the figure of a gazelle. Aquarius is represented by a man pouring water from a vessel which he carries on his shouldens; and lastly, Pisces consists of two fishes, the bead of one being turned towards the tail of the other. The zodiac is also divided into twenty-seven parts, constituting the mansions of the moon : these are not represented in the plate, but their names, as well as those of the twelve signs, are given. The age in which Sripeti lived is unknown.
The Zodiacs of India and of ancient Persia maybe presumed to have been originally the same as that of the Greeks or Egyptians; for although all of them differ from one another in the details, the points of coinoideuce are too numerous to be accidental, and it is probable that in the course of time the primitive sphere was altered in the countries eastward of Egypt and Chaldtea, as it was by the people of Europe. On the subject of the Indian zodiac the reader may consult
Bohlen, Das Alto Indict]; vol. ii., p. 252, &o., and the references the notes.
The representations of the heavens which have been found among the people of northern India, China, and Japan correspond to those which were in use in the western parts of Asia, In the zodiac being divided into twelve parts, which are called mansions of the sun, and also into twenty-eight parts ; but, according to the accounts of the Jesuit missionaries, the Chinese at one time gave to these the names of the seven planets, each of which was repeated four times. In the ancient Chinese histories mention is frequently made of machines exhibiting the apparent movements of the heavens ; and Pere Mailla has given a plate representing a sphere which is supposed, though without sufficient reason, to have been executed about the year 22S5 D.C. From those histories it appears that the Chinese were, at a time long prior to the commencement of the Christian :era, instructed in astronomy by a people from the west ; and it is therefore probable that they thus acquired a knowledge of the method followed by the Persians and Arabians in the division of the zodiac. A table of the twenty-eight constellations into which the Chinese have divided the zodiac, with their names and the extent which each occupies, is given in Delambre's Histoire do l'Astronomie' (torn. i., p. 3S0), from the work of Pere Souciet entitled Observations 3lath6matiques Astrono miques,' &c., 1729; and it is stated that the first, which is named Pi, commenced, in 16S3, with the fourth degree of Aries. Delambre has also given a table of the twelve constellations ; and from the records of the eclipses which the Chinese have observed, it is evident that the place of the sun has always been referred by that people to the signs of the zodiac. From a very early period they made their year commence when the sun is near the winter solstice, and they designated that part of the zodiac the resurrection of the spring, or of the year. The rat, the bull, the leopard, the hare, the dragon, the serpent, the horse, the sheep, the ape, the hen, the dog, and the hog are names supposed to be given, both in China and Japan, to the zodiacal signs; but it is more probable that they are applied to the twelve years of a cycle which is frequently used in the east, or to the twelve hours into which, in those countries, the day is divided.