Their first appearance in Chinese literature is in the Candragarbha-parivarta 月藏分, translated by Narêndrayaśas 那連提耶舍 in 566 (see fasc. 51 and 56 in the 大方等大集經 T 397). Here they are phonetically transliterated from Sanskrit:

1. 彌沙 meṣa Aries
2. 毘利沙vṛṣabha Taurus
3. 彌偸那 mithuna Gemini
4. 羯迦吒迦 karkaṭa Cancer
5. ??呵siṃha Leo
6. 迦若 kanyā Virgo
7. 兜邏 tulā Libra
8. 毘梨支迦 vṛścika Scorpio
9. 檀尼毘 dhanus Sagittarius
10. 摩伽羅 makara Capricorn
11. 鳩槃 kumbha Aquarius
12. 彌那 mīna Pisces

The Sūryagarbha-parivarta 日藏分 (fasc. 42), also translated by Narêndrayaśas in 585, semantically translates them except for Capricorn (makara):

1. 持羊之神 Aries
2. 持牛之神 Taurus
3. 雙鳥之神 Gemini
4. 蟹神 Cancer
5. 師子之神 Leo
6. 天女之神 Virgo
7. 秤量之神 Libra
8. 蝎神 Scorpio
9. 射神 Sagittarius
10. 磨竭之神 Capricorn
11. 水器之神Aquarius
12. 天魚之神 Pisces

Fasc. 2 of the Xiuyao jing 宿曜經 (T 1299; here Wakita 1897 ed.), the first version of the text compiled in 759, lists them as follows:

1. 羊宮 Aries
2. 牛宮 Taurus
3. 男女宮 Gemini
4. 蟹宮 Cancer
5. 獅子宮 Leo
6. 女宮 Virgo
7. 秤宮 Libra
8. 蝎宮 Scorpio
9. 弓宮 Sagittarius
10. 摩竭宮 Capricorn
11. 甁宮 Aquarius
12. 魚宮 Pisces

Fasc. 1 of the Xiuyao jing, compiled in 764, specifically commences from Leo, which is unique in not being the Hellenistic ordering starting from Aries. Here the planetary domiciles are also listed (each zodiac sign is presided over by one of the seven planets 七曜).

1. 師子宮 Leo – Sun
2. 女宮 Virgo – Mercury
3. 秤宮 Libra – Venus
4. 蝎宮 Scorpio – Mars
5. 弓宮 Sagittarius – Jupiter
6. 磨宮 Capricorn – Saturn
7. 甁宮 Aquarius – Saturn
8. 魚宮 Pisces – Jupiter
9. 羊宮 Aries – Mars
10. 牛宮 Taurus – Venus
11. 夫妻宮 Gemini – Mercury
12. 蟹宮 Cancer – Moon

The text also provides brief natal predictions for people born under each sign. The sign is determined by their birth nakṣatra, which is determined by the position of the moon on a given night. The ecliptic is divided into 108 pādas 足 and each zodiacal house is assigned 9, which are divided among three nakṣatras (each of the 27 nakṣatras are assigned 4 pādas). This arrangement is echoed in the earlier Dari jing shu 大日經疏 (T 1796) by Yixing 一行 (683–727), but they are referred to as 'twelve houses' 十二房 (fasc. 4).

Hellenistic horoscopy, which is based chiefly on the zodiacal houses, was introduced with the Duliyusi jing 都利聿斯經, translated between 785–805. Although not extant, fragments and a related versified text show use of the domiciles. See Ishida 1950 and Mak 2014. This system of astrology was employed at Dunhuang (see Pelliot chinois 4071) and in the Japanese Sukuyōdō 宿曜經 tradition.

The zodiacs again appear in two early Song translations. The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa 文殊師利根本儀軌經 (T 1191) by Tianxizai 天息災 (d. 1000) has two slightly different lists (fasc. 3 and 12):

1. 羊宮 Aries
2. 牛宮 Taurus
3. 女宮 (男女宮) Gemini
4. 蟹宮 Cancer
5. 師子宮 Leo
6. 童女宮Virgo
7. 秤宮 Libra
8. 蝎宮 (蠍宮) Scorpio
9. 弓馬宮 (人馬宮) Sagittarius
10. 摩竭魚宮 Capricorn
11. 甁宮 (寶甁宮) Aquarius
12. 魚宮 Pisces

Finally, the *Nandikêśvara-deva Teaches the Zodiac Sutra 難儞計濕嚩囉天說支輪經 (T 1312) by Faxian 法賢, which is a short astrology manual detailing domiciles and natal predictions for the zodiac signs, lists them as follows:

1. 天羊宮 Aries – Mars
2. 金牛宮 Taurus – Venus
3. 陰陽宮 Gemini – Mercury
4. 巨蟹宮 Cancer – Moon
5. 師子宮 Leo – Sun
6. 雙女宮 Virgo – Mercury
7. 天秤宮 Libra – Venus
8. 天蠍宮 Scorpio – Mars
9. 人馬宮 Sagittarius – Jupiter
10. 摩竭宮 Capricorn – Saturn
11. 寶甁宮 Aquarius – Saturn
12. 雙魚宮 Pisces – Jupiter

In Mantrayāna 密教 the twelve zodiac signs are in the Garbhadhātu-maṇḍala 胎藏界曼荼羅 and often in the literature are called 'zodiac deities'  宮神. Later the zodiacs appear in early Song (960–1279) art and also on ceilings of some Liao dynasty (907–1125) tombs from Xuanhua 宣化 (Sen 1999). They are also found in Japanese star maṇḍalas 星曼荼羅 from around the late tenth century (Takeda 1995). These highlight the deep absorption of these figures into the East Asian Buddhist pantheon. They also were absorbed into the literature and pantheon of Daoism 道教.

From the late Tang onward the twelve earthly branches 地支, which represent the twelve Chinese Jupiter stations 十二星次, can be used as functional equivalents for the zodiacal signs. See table in Qiyao rangzai jue 七曜攘災決 (T 1308) and the Daoist Lingtai jing 靈臺經 (DZ 288).

1. Aries: Xu 戌
2. Taurus: You 酉
3. Gemini: Shen 申
4. Cancer: Wei 未
5. Leo: Wu 午
6. Virgo:si 巳
7. Libra: Chen 辰
8. Scorpio: Mao 卯
9. Sagittarius: Yin 寅
10. Capricorn: Chou 丑
11. Aquarius: Zi 子
12. Pisces: Hai 亥

The tropical zodiac was introduced into East Asia with the Hellenistic Duli yusi jing. It defined Aries 白羊宮 in relation to the vernal equinox 春分 rather than in relation to stars. The parameters for the tropical signs were still defined using the coordinates of the twenty-eight sidereal Chinese lunar stations 宿度 (not the Indian nakṣatras). The Japanese Sukuyōdō 宿曜道 used the tropical zodiac.

Sources:

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Ishida Mikinosuke 石田幹之助. 1950. “Tori-isshi-kyō to sono itsubun都利聿斯經とその佚文 .”  In Tōyō-shi ronsō: Haneda hakushi shōju kinen東洋史論叢: 羽田博士頌壽記念 . Kyoto:  Tōyō-shi kenkyū-kai 東洋史硏究會. 49–62.

Lankford, John, ed. 1997. A History of Astronomy An Encyclopedia. New York:  Garland Publishing Inc..

Mak, Bill M. 2015. “The Transmission of Buddhist Astral Science from India to East Asia: The Central Asian Connection.” Historia Scientiarum 24 (2): 59–75.

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Parpola, Asko. 2015. “Indus Civilization (-1750 BCE).”  In Jacobsen, Knut A., Helene Basu, Angelika Malinar,  Vasudha Narayanan, eds. Brillʼs Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Brill Online.

Pingree, David. 1990. “The Purāṇas and Jyotiḥśāstra: Astronomy.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 110 (2): 274–280.

Sen, Tansen. 1999. “Astronomical Tomb Paintings from Xuanhua: Maṇḍalas?” In Ars Orientalis. vol. 29 29–54.

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