The cult of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper in Korea: evolution and transformation

Abstract

The study aims to identify the key stages in the evolution of the doctrinal tenets and ritual practices of the Chinese cult of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper (Ursa Major) as they manifested under the influence of historical processes, political movements, and intellectual transformations in Korea from the 7th to the 19th centuries. Based on an analysis of historical sources and relevant scholarly literature, the transformation of this Taoist cult under the influence of Buddhism and folk beliefs, as well as its popularity and significance for Koreans of various social strata and eras, are traced. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, utilizing primary sources, it presents the first comprehensive analysis of a doctrine that is vital for understanding the distinctive features of the Korean national worldview. The study found that the Taoist ritual of the Seven Stars (Chilsong), eventually adapted by widespread Buddhism, was used in Korea by representatives of various social classes, who prayed to the Big Dipper for the fulfillment of various desires, such as the birth of a child, longevity, material well-being, and rebirth in a Buddhist paradise.

Research materials

1. Ирён. Оставшиеся сведения [о] трёх государствах (Самгук юса) / пер. с ханмуна Ю. В. Болтач. СПб.: Гиперион, 2018.
2. Нихон сёки. Анналы Японии: в 2 т. СПб.: Гиперион, 1997. Т. 2.
3. Сыма Цянь. Исторические записки (Ши цзи): в 9 т. / пер с кит. Р. В. Вяткина. М.: Наука. 1986. Т. 4.
4. Chilseong-gak – The Seven Stars Hall: 칠성각. 2020. https://koreabridge.net/post/chilseong-gak-–-seven-stars-hall-칠성각-dostoevsky2181
5. 太上玄靈北斗本命延生真經 (Истинное писание о продлении жизни с помощью таинственной божественности Северного Ковша). https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/太上玄靈北斗本命延生真經
6. 作法龜鑑 // 韓國佛教全書 (Зеркало ритуальных практик // Полное собрание корейских буддийских тестов): в 12 т. Сеул: Изд-во университета Донгук, 1979. Т. 10.
7. 東國李相國集 (Литературный сборник министра Ли из Восточной страны). https://db.itkc.or.kr/search/group?q=query†Tongguk%20Yi%20sangguk%20chip%20東國李相國集%20%5BLiterary%20collection%20of%20Chancellor%20Yi%20of%20theEastern%20country

References

1. Инсарова М. В. Место божеств Северного Ковша в китайской системе верований (на примере 北斗七真君) // Культурный код. 2021. № 3.
2. Толстокулаков И. А. Очерк истории корейской культуры. Владивосток: Изд-во Дальневосточного университета, 2002.
3. Торчинов. Е. А. Путь золота и киновари: даосские практики в исследованиях и переводах Е. А. Торчинова. СПб.: Пальмира, 2017.
4. Covell A. S. Folk Art and Magic. Shamanism in Korea. Seoul: Hollym Corporation; Publishers, 1998.
5. Covell J. C. Korea’s Cultural Roots. Seoul: Moth House-Hollym, 1981.
6. Grayson J. H. Korea: a religious history. Richmond: Routledge Curzon, 2002.
7. Herbert F. The Taoist Elements in the Buddhist Great Bear Sūtra (Pei-Tou Ching) // Asia Major. 1990. Vol. 3. No. 1.
8. Jung Jae-seo. Daoism in Korea // Daoism Handbook / ed. by L. Kohn. Boston: Brill, 2000.
9. Kim Nak-pil. Taoism in Korea: A Brief Introduction // Reader in Korean Religion. Songnam: The Academy of Korean Studies, 1998.
10. Kim Seong Uk. Buddhist Rituals of Ch’ilsŏng, the Seven Stars of the Great Dipper, in Chosŏn Korea // Journal of Korean Religions. 2023. Vol. 14. No. 1.
11. Kim Soyeon. The Unwritten Ritual: The Duality of Religion in Sixteenth-Century Chosŏn Korea // Domestic Devotions in the Early Modern World / ed. by M. Faini, A. Meneghin. L.: Brill, 2018.
12. Kim Sung-Eun T. The Chosŏn Gentry Sponsorship of Buddhist Temple Works: Insights from the Records of Late-Chosŏn Donor Ledgers // Journal of Korean Religions. 2020. Vol. 11. No. 2.
13. Mollier Ch. Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: scripture, ritual, and iconographic exchange in medieval China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2008.
14. Pu Mu-chou. Daily Life in Ancient China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
15. Yu Chai Shin. Korean Taoism // Korean and Asian Religious Tradition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977.
16. 도교와 한국 문화 (Даосизм и корейская культура). Сеул, 1989.
17. 정변조. 한국 종교 사상 (Чхон Пхёнчжо. Корейская религиозная мысль: буддизм и даосизм). Сеул, 1991.
18. 양종승. 무교의 칠성신앙과 도교의 칠성신앙고찰 // 한국무속학 (Ян Чонсун. Исследование верований в Семи звезд в корейском шаманизме и даосизме. Корейская шаманистика). 2017. No. 34.
19. 김용태. 조선후기 불교와 민간신앙의 공존 양상－산신･칠성 신앙의 불교화 (Ким Ёнтэ. Сосуществование буддизма и народных верований в период позднего Чосона: буддизация верований в Сансина и Чхильсона // Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies). 2019. Vol. 61.

Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: June 26, 2026.
• Published: July 24, 2026.

Keywords

• Чхильсон
• даосский культ
• Семь звезд Северного Ковша
• религиозный синкретизм
• народные верования
• Chilsong
• Taoism
• Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper
• religious syncretism
• folk beliefs

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)