During the reign of the emperor Han Gao Zu, Chinese astronomers recorded an alignment of Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn within a single 30-degree arc of the sky. This type of planetary alignment, known in Chinese as a "five-star string of pearls," was followed during the same emperor's reign by a Grand Alignment, featuring the same five planets plus the sun, moon, and earth.
漢高祖時，出現更複雜的五星連珠週期記載，進而有五星再與日、月合璧的「七曜同宮」──七曜出現在經度不超過三十度的同一個星宿中。