Astrological Iconography of Planetary Deities in Tang China: Near Eastern and Indian Icons in Chinese Buddhism

This study examines the planetary icons found in East Asian art, arguing that they should be divided into three sets: Indian, zoomorphic and Iranian-Mesopotamian. It is demonstrated that the Indian icons are earlier representations of the navagraha directly from India. The latter two are identified as coming from an Iranian source. The Iranian-Mesopotamian icons are further discussed in relation to parallels found in the Picatrix, the Latin translation of an Arabic manual of astral magic. The roles of these icons within the magical traditions of Buddhism and Daoism are identified. It is proven that such astral magic was also imported from Near Eastern sources. The evolution of the icons of Rahu, Ketu, Yuebei and Ziqi, i.e., the set of four pseudo-planets in East Asian astrology is also discussed. It is argued that it was most likely Sogdian Nestorian Christians who transmitted the Iranian icons into China.