Publisher's Synopsis
Volume 2 is an indexed reference book and explanation of the names of the sun, planets and moons. It deals with the planets, dwarf planets and potential dwarf planets of the solar system as well as their moons. Their discovery and the mythology surrounding them are described in detail. Legends are retold relating to gods, mythical beings, and legendary heroes after whom planets and moons are named. The text of Volume 2 is meant to accompany the nearly 200 drawings in Volume 5 which relate to the solar system's planets, dwarf planets and moons. However, nearly 800 other drawings in Volume 5 relate not only to the myths and historical events surrounding the names of the modern chemical elements, the 88 constellations, a selection of 120 asteroids and 4 comets but also to the Chinese lunar mansions and traditional Chinese concepts such as the 5 Elements and 8 Trigrams. The drawings also encompass the 8 Immortals, the 5 Stars of Good Fortune and the 5 Auspicious Animals. Figures from the games of mahjong and Chinese chess are also depicted. Additionally, Volume 5 contains images of a Chinese version of Tarot in a size suitable for imprinting on playing cards. These Tarot cards are partly based on Ma Diao, the ancient Chinese four-suited card game which is an ancestor both of Majong and of the modern Chinese three-suited card game Bai-hua Hong-hua Lao-qian (White Flower, Red Flower, Old Thousand). Ma Diao is possibly also the ancestor of Western playing cards and Tarot, and this is discussed in Volume 4 of this series where the suits of Italian cards and Tarot are analyzed and shown to correspond with those of ancient Ma Diao. This series of 5 volumes is in some respects a visual representation of the measurement of time using Chinese, Japanese and Western traditions. The 5 Elements of ancient China combine with the sun and moon to give us the 7 days of the week which are still used in Japan. The Anglo-Saxon and Roman gods are depicted as representing the days of the week in the Western calendar. Then the animals of the 28 Chinese Lunar Mansions complete the lunar month while the 12 months of the year are represented by the monthly flowers on the Japanese Flower Cards (Hanafuda). The 12 Earthly Branches represented by 12 animals give us a 12 year period and when combined with the 10 Heavenly Stems, they give us the 60 year cycle of the traditional Chinese calendar. Then there are the 5 Directions, Seasons, Emperors and Mountains, the 10 Suns of the Shang Dynasty, the 9 Northern Dipper Stars, the 6 Southern Dipper Stars, the 8 Trigrams, the 64 Hexagrams and the 24 Solar Terms. Volumes 1-4 contain information about the gods, mythical figures, animals, plants and other objects in the drawings of Volume 5 and the drawings have been produced in a format suitable for imprinting on playing cards. All of these numbered series of drawings are related to text in Volumes 1-4 which explains the mythology and history surrounding them and their connections and relationships with one another.
