from the Liao Dynasty, which ruled in the area around northeast China from 907 to 1125. The book in question, the Qidan Guo Zhi, was compiled by Ye Longli in 1247. It includes various astronomical notes, some of which are clearly copied from the Song Shi. This entry referring to the star of 1054 seems unique: The account of Qidan Guo Zhi alluded to the notable astronomical events that preceded the death of King Xingzong. Various historical documents allow us to establish the date of death of the Emperor Xingzong as 28 August 1055, during the eighth lunar month of the twenty-fourth (and not twenty-third) year of his reign. The dates of the two astronomical events mentioned (the eclipse and the appearance of the guest star) are not specified, but were probably before the obituary (2 or 3 years at most). Two solar eclipses were visible shortly before that date in the Khitan kingdom, on 13 November 1053 and 10 May 1054. Of these, only one occurred around noon, that of 13 November; it seems likely that this is what the document mentions. As for the guest star, only a rough estimate of location is given, corresponding to the moon mansion Mao. This mansion is situated just east of where the star appeared, as mentioned in the other testimonies. Since no other known significant astronomical event occurred in this region of the sky during the two years that preceded the death of Xingzong, it seems likely that the text is actually referring to the star of 1054. The Wenxian Tongkao is the first East Asian source that came to the attention of Western astronomers; it was translated by Édouard Biot in 1843. This source, compiled by Ma Duanlin in 1280, is relatively brief. The text is very close to that of the Song Shi: Identity of Tianguan The asterisms (or "constellations") of Chinese astronomy were catalogued around the 2nd century BC. The asterisms with the brightest stars in the sky were compiled in a work called Shi Shi, which also includes Tianguan. Identification of Tianguan is comparatively easy, as it is indicated that it is located at the foot of the Five Chariots asterism, the nature of which is left in hardly any doubt by representation on maps of the Chinese sky: it consists of a large pentagon containing the bright stars of the Auriga. As Tianguan is also represented