Reading the stars

A 17th-century Dutch print depicting astronomical observations with a giant sextant.[Photo provided to China Daily]

In his first book, Chinese author Wang Wei examines how astrology shaped Western culture, Zhao Xu reports.

No author wants readers to toil through an entire book only to find that they've been somehow cheated, believes amateur English linguist Wang Wei.

"But for me, a staunch agnostic who has decided to take on the subject of astrology, this is more or less unavoidable," Wang, 35, says of his first book, Words from Stars.

The title of the recently published work is meant to call to mind the South Korean TV series My Love From the Star, which became an instant hit with millions of Chinese after it was aired here.

The series also indirectly helped the sale of products such as Hermes handbags and YSL lipstick that the actresses used, but more importantly, it created more interest in astrology in China.

Wang says he hoped to build on that opportunity while writing the book.

"People will find out my true thoughts on astrology, but not before they have familiarized themselves with its origin in ancient Greek and Roman culture, as well as its evolution in Europe through the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, until the years preceding World War I," he tells China Daily.

His interest in the study of astrology grew from his curiosity about Western history and culture. "You look at the development of Western culture closely and you realize the vital role science has played. And then when you trace science back to its roots, you discover astrology among other things," Wang adds.

The astrological culture first germinated in Mesopotamia in western Asia, which includes today's Iraq, parts of Turkey and Syria, and it later went to the West, he says, adding that the ancient culture also found echoes in China, in the form of oracle bones that appeared a few hundred years later during the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC).