. astrology and the worship of the planets 235
with the twelve demon generals thought to control the zodiac.^14 The
lunar nodes Ketu and Rāhu were depicted as many-armed demonic
figures with three heads, much like the vidyārājas in Esoteric Bud-
dhism.^15 Some variations in the applied iconography of the luminaries
may be observed depending on the period and on differences between
Indian and Chinese imagery.^16
As was the case with the Nine Luminaries, the gods representing
the twenty-eight constellations, or the phases through which the moon
passes on its monthly journey through the sky, were each depicted
as an astral official. In the Chinese cultural context these deities are,
with a few notable exceptions, rendered as members in the heavenly
bureaucracy in accordance with Daoist tradition, rather than with that
of Indian Buddhism.
The cultural meeting between Indian and Western depictions of the
twelve months is also evident in Zhenyan iconography from the sec-
ond part of the Tang. Here, again, it was the local, Chinese tradition
that eventually prevailed, resulting in the iconography we have today
of the twelve animals of the zodiac.
Divination and Calendrical Science in the Context of Esoteric
Buddhism
Although divination and the calendrical sciences by no means belong
to Esoteric Buddhism in China alone, it was within this Buddhist
tradition that some of the most important developments took place
during the medieval period.^17 The primary role of Yixing, the para-
gon of Zhenyan Buddhism and chief disciple of Śubhākarasiṃha, has
long been acknowledged in these fields of traditional Chinese science.^18
However, the developments that took place during the mid- and late
(^14) For a preliminary study of this cult, see Birnbaum 1985–1986.
(^15) Nojiri 1971.
(^16) See the hand scroll attributed to Zhang Sengyou, The Five Planets and the Twenty-
eight Lunar Mansions, in Little, Eichmann, et al. 2000, 132–37. A detailed descrip-
tion of these divinities based on the Fantian huoluo jiuyao (T. 1311) can be found in
Howard 1983. 17
See the important study by Arrauly and Martzloff 2003. As is the case with
most of the material contained in this impressive work, it is based on Dunhuang
manuscripts.
(^18) Cf. Osabe 1963, 285–96.