【Collection of Hangzhou Confucian Temple Stele Forest Museum】 Stone Carving Star Map from the Tomb of Qian Yuanguan of the Five Dynasties

This stone carving star map was unearthed in 1965 from the rear chamber ceiling of the tomb of Qian Yuanguan, the king of Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties. It was engraved in the sixth year of the Tianfu period of the Later Jin Dynasty (941 AD). The entire map depicts star patterns with concave lines, meticulously carved with precise positions. There are currently 183 stars engraved on the stone, connected by double lines. It predates the astronomical star maps of the Song Dynasty in Suzhou by over three hundred years, with four times the size, making it one of the earliest surviving stone carving star maps in the world.