⚠The text on the right edge is partially cut off and some characters within the diagram are faded or blurred.

The original Chinese title is Sancai Tuhui (三才圖會), a famous encyclopedia compiled during the Ming Dynasty (c. 1609).

Diagram of the Nine Paths

This diagram illustrates the "Nine Paths" (Jiudao) of the Moon. Traditional Chinese astronomers recognized that the Moon's orbit is not fixed but shifts relative to the Sun's path. They categorized these shifts into four colored paths—Green (East), White (West), Red (South), and Black (North)—each consisting of two variations, which, when added to the Sun's Yellow Path, total nine.

The text on the right edge is partially cut off, and some characters within the diagram are faded or blurred.

Labels within the diagram arcs, describing the Moon's intersection with the Sun's path:

Northward entry into the Eclipticoriginal: "huángdào" (黃道), literally the "Yellow Path.": The Black Path

Eastward entry into the Ecliptic: The Green Path

Vernal Equinox

Summer Solstice

Autumnal Equinox

Winter Solstice

Westward entry into the Ecliptic: The White Path

Southward entry into the Ecliptic: The Red Path

Note that in the Nine Paths system, "Red Path" refers to the southern lunar orbit, which is distinct from the "Red Path" used to signify the Celestial Equator on the previous page.

Yellow

White

Green

Black

Red

Labels indicating intersections or nodes along the paths:

Point of entry and governance

original: "rù lǐng guǎn" (入領管). These labels mark the "nodes," the specific points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's Ecliptic.

This complex visualization allowed Ming dynasty scholars to track the precession of the lunar nodes. By understanding which of the "Nine Paths" the Moon was currently following, astronomers could more accurately predict the timing and location of solar and lunar eclipses, as well as the Moon's changing height in the night sky.