Special Regards to Slothlo and Xudun for their respective posts and threads on Twitter for sparking the inspiration for this write-up. Check out their posts here: [Slothlo] [Xudun]
INTRODUCTION
As part of the traditional Chinese Constellations System of recognizing and identifying Constellations, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, or 二十八宿 Èr shí bā xiù (lit. 28 Constellations), is essentially the Zodiacal Constellations equivalent of Western Astronomy.
The main distinction between them is that instead of following the movement of the Sun, it follows the movement of the Moon through a sidereal month rather than the Sun in a tropical year.
[EXTERNAL REVIEW: CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON THE TWENTY EIGHT MANSIONS] [EXTERNAL REVIEW 2: CHINESE SITE FOR CROSS-REFERENCING]
The focus of this page will be on the usage of the Twenty-Eight Mansions’ Mythical Names in Chinese Mythology / Astrology as it might dictate the physical forms and names of the Sentinels’ in Wuthering Waves.
—-
What Are the Twenty-Eight Mansions?
Before we begin, it is best to refer to this image link for visual clarity. [Twenty-Eight Mansions Image]
As previously mentioned, much like the Zodiacs, the Twenty-Eight Mansions make use of forms / recognizable shapes to name Constellations. Each of these names for the Constellations are also related to a mythical creature that the people of that Era would believe in and worship for blessings, much like Astrology of Western beliefs.
There are 4 cardinal “Directions” that categorizes and group 7 Constellations, **or “Mansions”, together. Each “Direction” is attached with a determining name of Four Symbols, or 四象 Sì xiàng. Similarly, they can be related to mythical creatures of worship.
The 4 cardinal “Directions” that Head each group of “Mansions” include*:
The Seven Mansions of the North, 北方七宿 Běi fāng qī xiù, Otherwise known as:
The Black Tortoise of the North, 北方玄武 Běi fāng xuán wǔ
The Seven Mansions of the East, 东方七宿 Dōng fāng qī xiù Otherwise known as:
The Azure Dragon of the East, 東方青龍 Dōng fāng qīng lóng
The Seven Mansions of the South, 南方七宿 Nán fāng qī xiù Otherwise known as:
The Vermilion Bird of the South, 南方朱雀 Nán fāng zhū què
The Seven Mansions of the West, 西方七宿 Xī fāng qī xiù Otherwise known as:
The White Tiger of the West, 西方白虎 Xī fāng bái hǔ
—-
Relating the Twenty-Eight Mansions to the Sentinels of Huanglong
To avoid having to list all Twenty-Eight Mansions, I will be reducing it down to the Seven Mansions of the East, 东方七宿 Dōng fāng qī xiù, as it is the most relevant to this topic.
As we already know, in Huanglong, there are 6 Cities and 1 Capital each with their own governing Sentinel to protect them.
If the sources in-game are to be consistent, the 7 Sentinels of Huanglong, in respect to the Seven Mansions of the East (Azure Dragon), will most likely be:
角 Jué / Jiǎo, The Horn [角宿 Jiǎo xiù], with its form being related to 角木蛟 Jiǎo mù jiāo, The “Horn-Wood Dragon”.
亢 Kàng, The Neck [亢宿 Kàng xiù], with its form being related to 亢金龙 Kàng jīn lóng, The “Kang-jin Dragon”.
氐 Dī / dǐ, The Root [氐宿 Dī xiù], with its form being related to 氐土貉 Dī tǔ mò, The “Nyctereutes” or “Raccoon Dogs”.
房 Fáng, The Room [房宿 Fáng xiù], with its form being related to 房日兔 Fáng rì tù, The “Fangri Rabbit”.
心 Xīn, The Heart [心宿 Xīn xiù], with its form being related to 心月狐 Xīn yuè hú, The “Heart-Moon Fox”, also known as 火狐 Huǒ hú, The “Fire Fox”.
尾 Wěi/ yǐ, The Tail [尾宿 Wěi xiù], with its form being related to 尾火虎 Wěi huǒ hǔ, The “Tail-Fire Tiger”.
箕 Jī, The Winnowing Basket [箕宿 Jī xiù], with its form being related to 箕水豹 Jī shuǐ bào, The “Jishui Leopard”.
—-
The first Sentinel we meet governing the City of Jinzhou is named 角 Jué.
角 Jué has a unique double usage in its name as it can also be pronounced as 角 Jiǎo, which translates to “Horn”. It also represents the First “Mansion” of the Seven Mansions of the East, “The Horn Constellation”, 角宿 Jiǎo xiù.
角 Jué, as a Dragon in the universe of Wuthering Waves, **is also a direct reference to 角木蛟 Jiǎo mù jiāo, “Horn-Wood Dragon”, a Mythological Creature used as a descriptive symbol for the Constellation.
Another Sentinel we were made aware of during 1.2’s Moonlit Festival is 心 Xīn (Hsin), which translates to “Heart”. It also represents the 5th “Mansion”, “The Heart Constellation”, 心宿 Xīn xiù.
It was noted that 心 Xīn is a Fox, which as it turns out is a direct reference to 心月狐 Xīn yuè hú, “Heart-Moon Fox”, otherwise known as 火狐 Huǒ hú, “Fire Fox”. Similarly, these descriptions are of mythological creatures given as symbolism for the Constellation.
Relating it all the way back to Huanglong itself, the designation of the name “Huanglong”, or 瑝瓏 Huáng lóng, is in reference and relation to the Azure Dragon of the East as the name can mean something like “The Brilliant Dragon / The Royal Dragon”.
We also know that the Sentinels used to be One Entity, which further encourages the idea that the 7 Sentinels of Huanglong represents each part of the Azure Dragon.
7 Sentinels of Huanglong, 7 Constellations of the Azure Dragon
—-
Closing thoughts / Speculations It IS stated that most of the Sentinels take the shape of a 龙 lóng (Loong / Dragon) so despite knowing what the mythological animals might be, they may very well take a different form when revealed in game.
Also, there is the stated fact that there are far fewer Sentinels outside of Huanglong which would mean that the full Twenty-Eight Mansions would likely not be in full use since each of the 4 cardinal “Directions” of North-South-East-West need to have 7 accompanying Sentinels to relate it back to the four segments of the Twenty-Eight Mansions.
It COULD also be the case where Regions aren’t as expansive as Huanglong as it is possible that as a Region, Huanglong encompasses the entire Eastern Sector of Solaris-3, while the other Regions are split-off / segregated in the Northern, Western and Southern Sector of Solaris-3. In that scenario, the Sentinels would still account for the 7 Constellations of each sector in totality, but just split-off due to political differences or other potential reasons.
Regardless, it’s all speculative until we have information. We’ll just have to wait and see.
—-
NOTES *=This has also been briefly mentioned on the Small Sundial Token Rover received during their initial adventures in Jinzhou, further encouraging the likelihood of its usage. Small Sundial
—-
Citations (hyperlinked where possible): ENGLISH CITATIONS
CHINESE CITATIONS