Sacred Landscapes of Imperial China: Astronomy, Feng Shui, and the Mandate of Heaven

Author: 
Giulio Magli

Publisher: 
Springer

Publication date:
June 2020

Abstract:

This book analyses the magnificent imperial necropolises of ancient China from the perspective of Archaeoastronomy, a science which takes into account the landscape in which ancient monuments are placed, focusing especially but not exclusively on the celestial aspects. The power of the Chinese emperors was based on the so-called Mandate of Heaven: the rulers were believed to act as intermediaries between the sky gods and the Earth, and consequently, the architecture of their tombs, starting from the world-famous mausoleum of the first emperor, was closely linked to the celestial cycles and to the cosmos. This relationship, however, also had to take into account various other factors and doctrines, first the Zhao-Mu doctrine in the Han period and later the various forms of Feng Shui. As a result, over the centuries, diverse sacred landscapes were constructed. Among the sites analysed in the book are the “pyramids” of Xi’an from the Han dynasty, the mountain tombs of the Tang dynasty, and the Ming and Qing imperial tombs. The book explains how considerations such as astronomical orientation and topographical orientation according to the principles of Feng Shui played a fundamental role at these sites.

Table of Contents:

1 Heavens and Earth in Ancient China

2 In Between Wind and Water

3 A Mound and A Terracotta Army

4 Pyramids on the River

5 The Golden Age

6 A New Splendor

7 A Beautiful Valley

8 The Last Dynasty

Conclusions: A View from Purple Mountain

Appendix Probing Feng Shui Landscapes
The Azimuth-Altitude Reference System
The Horizon Formula
The Use of Virtual Globe Software
Palaeomagnetic Models Chronology of Imperial China

Monographs in Tang Official Historiography: Perspectives from the Technical Treatises of the History of Sui (Sui Shu)

Editors:
Daniel Patrick Morgan, Damien Chaussende

Publication date:
09/09/2019

Publisher:
Springer International Publishing

Abstract:

This book examines the role of medieval authors in writing the history of ancient science. It features essays that explore the content, structure, and ideas behind technical writings on medieval Chinese state history. In particular, it looks at the Ten Treatises of the current History of Sui 隋書, which provide insights into the writing on the history of such fields as astronomy, astrology, omenology, economics, law, geography, metrology, and library science. Three treatises are known to have been written by Li Chunfeng 李淳風, one of the most important mathematicians, astronomers, and astrologers in Chinese history.

The book not only opens a new window on the figure of Li Chunfeng by exploring what his writings as a historian of science tell us about him as a scientist and vice versa, it also discusses how and on what basis the individual treatises were written.

The essays address such themes as (1) the recycling of sources and the question of reliability and objectivity in premodern history-writing; (2) the tug of war between conservatism and innovation; (3) the imposition of the author’s voice, worldview, and personal and professional history in writing a history of a field of technical expertise in a state history; (4) the degree to which modern historians are compelled to speak to their own milieu and ideological beliefs.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Prologue (Daniel P. Morgan and Damien Chaussende)


PART I: THE WORK OF LI CHUNFENG


Chapter 2: The Life and Intellectual Work of Li Chunfeng (602–670) (Howard L. Goodman)


Chapter 3: Numbers with Histories: Li Chunfeng on Harmonics and Astronomy (Daniel P. Morgan and Howard L. Goodman)


Chapter 4: Scholarship and Politics in Seventh Century China from the Viewpoint of Li Chunfeng’s Writing on Histories (Zhu Yiwen)


Chapter 5: The Compilation of the Astronomical Portion of the ‘Treatise on Harmono-Metrology and Mathematical Astronomy’ and its Impact (Li Liang)

Chapter 6: Heavenly Patterns (Daniel P. Morgan)


Chapter 7: The ‘Treatise on the Wuxing’ (Wuxing zhi) (Michael Nylan)


PART II: THE ANONYMOUS TREATISES


Chapter 8: The Treatise on Economics and Its Influences (Béatrice L'Haridon)


Chapter 9: The Treatise on Law (Frédéric Constant)


Chapter 10: Intertextuality, Customs and Regionalism in the ‘Geographical Treatise’ (Alexis Lycas)


Chapter 11: The Art of Producing a Catalogue: the Meaning of ‘Compilations’ for the Organisation of Ancient Knowledge in Tang Times (Pablo Ariel Blitstein)


Chapter 12: Epilogue: Treatises According to Tang Historian Liu Zhiji (Damien Chaussende)

張衡の天文学思想

Author:
髙橋 あやの

Publication date:
December 2018

Publisher:
汲古書院

Table of Contents:

序章　本書の立場
　　　 一　中国における天文学と天の思想　　二　科学と術数　　　　　三　張衡について
　　　　　四　中国古代の宇宙論　　　　　　　　五　本書の構成と目的　　（参考）張衡年譜

第一章　「渾」の用法に見る渾天説の原義
　　　一　上古音から見る「渾」の類型　　　二　「渾天」の用例
　　　三　古代の文献に見られる「渾」　　　四　揚雄における「渾」の用法
　　　五　張衡における「渾」の用法
  おわりに――渾天説の原義

第二章　『霊憲』と『渾天儀』の比較
   一　『霊憲』と『渾天儀』の比較　　　　二　『渾天儀』は張衡の作か
   三　『霊憲』と『渾天儀』の扱いの相違の要因
   （参考）『渾天儀』の張衡著作部分と後世の注釈部分について

第三章　渾天説の天文理論
　　　一　張衡の渾天説――張衡は地球概念をもっていたか
　　　二　天文理論の継承と発展

第四章　渾天説と尚水思想
　　　一　尚水思想の系譜　　　　　　　　　二　渾天説における尚水思想
  三　張衡と尚水思想と崑崙山　　　　　四　天・地・水の思想

第五章　張衡「思玄賦」の世界観
　　　一　張衡と「思玄賦」　　　　　　　　二　「思玄賦」の内容と構成
　　　三　崑崙と黄帝、西王母の位置　　　　四　天上世界の描写
  おわりに――「思玄賦」と張衡 

第六章　張衡と占術
  一　「思玄賦」の占術表現　　　　　　二　『霊憲』の占術表現
　　　三　讖緯に対する態度

第七章　張衡佚文の考察
　　　一　張衡の星・星座・惑星の知識　　　二　張衡の佚文
　　　三　張衡佚文と『晋志』、『史記正義』　四　張衡佚文の検討
  （附表）張衡の佚文対照表

第八章　『海中占』関連文献に関する基礎的考察
　　　一　目録中の「海中」諸文献　　　　　二　「海中」諸文献の「海中」に対する認識
　　　三　『海中星占』、『海中占』の佚文　　四　『海中占』の占辞の特徴
　　　五　「海中」の検討　　　　　　　　　附　『海中占』の輯佚

終章　本書のまとめ

[Dissertation] In Tune With The Cosmos: Tuning Theory, Cosmology, And Concepts Of Sound In Early China

Author:
Noa Hegesh

School:
University of Pennsylvania

Date of Award:
2018

Abstract:

This dissertation explores tuning theories, concepts of sound, and their relation to cosmology in China between the mid-third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E. My overall argument is twofold: First, I argue that to truly understand musical thought in early China, we must realize that it was perceived as a technology. Sound and tuning, especially in a cosmological context, were often discussed in mathematical terms. Second, I argue that for the same reason, we must understand how this technology functioned not only in relation to musical performance per se, but also in what we consider today as non-musical settings, such as mathematical astronomy, the standardization of weights and measures, and divination techniques. Early Chinese authors thought about sound as resonating qi emanating from the cosmos. Its calculation, manipulation, categorization, and measuring were central to the synchronization between the human and cosmic realms.

Part one of the dissertation discusses the gradual introduction of cosmological ideas into existing musical systems around the mid-third century B.C.E. As a result, some texts began discussing sound in numerical terms, as part of theories that aimed to measure the regularities of cosmic processes. Part two explores developments in acoustics and the concept of cosmological sound, through an analysis of a case study from the Western Han: Jing Fang 京房 and his tuning theory, which divided the octave into sixty tuning standards. I also provide an annotated translation of the first section of the “Treatises on Tuning Standards and Mathematical Astronomy” (“Lüli zhi” 律歷志) in the History of the Later Han. Part Three explores the concept of imperial control in Wang Mang’s brief Xin dynasty, examining the connections between sound, metrological practices, and the ideologies and philosophies that provided cosmological meaning to metrological choices. I argue that despite the court’s rhetoric of universal standardization, anchored in the dimensions of the Huangzhong pitch pipe, in reality these acts of standardization may not have succeeded far beyond the court’s immediate sphere of influence.

The Nivison Annals: Selected Works of David S. Nivison on Early Chinese Chronology, Astronomy, and Historiography

Editor:
Adam C. Schwartz

Publisher:
De Gruyter

Publication date:
July 2018

Abstract:

In his last essay just weeks before his death at the age of 91, David S. Nivison says, "Breaking into a formal system - such as a chronology - must be like breaking into a code. If you are successful, success will show right off." Since the late 1970's Nivison has focused his scholarship on breaking the code of Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang, Zhou) chronology by establishing an innovative methodology based on mourning periods, astronomical phenomenon, and numerical manipulations derived from them. Nivison is most readily known in the field for revising (and then revising again) the date of the Zhou conquest of Shang, and for his theory that Western Zhou kings employed two calendars (His so-called "Two yuan" theory), the second being set in effect upon the death of the new king's predecessor and counted from the completion of post-mourning rites for him (i.e., a "second 'first' year").

Nivison's enabling discovery that the Bamboo Annals (BA) had a historical basis was initially designed to make Wang Guowei's analysis of lunar phase terms (the so-called "Four quarter" theory that separated each month into four quarters) work for Western Zhou bronze inscriptions. In order to do so he had to assume that some inscriptions used a second yuan counted from completion of mourning. The king's death was the most important event late in a reign, so this implied that a king's reign-of-record was normally counted from the second yuan, omitting initial mourning years. It follows that when the unexpressed mourning years are forgotten (or edited out) but the dates of the beginning and end of the dynasty are still known, the remaining reigns-of-record cluster toward the beginning and end, and a reign in the middle is enlarged.

Problems, ideas, and solutions like the one described above are found throughout this new collection of important works on chronology, astronomy, and historiography.

Table of Contents:

Preface

1.The He zun Inscription and the Beginning of Zhou
Pages 1-16

2.Supplement to the “The ‘Question’ Question”— British Museum Scapula and British Museum Library Deer Horn
Pages 17-21

3. The King and the Bird: a Possible Genuine Shang Literary Text and Its Echoes in Later Philosophy and Religion
Pages 22-28

4. The Hampers of Zeng: Some Problems in Archaeoastronomy
Pages 29-41

5.New Study of Xiaotun Yinxu Wenzi Jiabian (小屯殷墟文字簡編) 2416
Pages 42-54

6. Research Notes On Yin Li Chronology per Zheng Xuan
Pages 55-61

7. A Tell-tale Mistake in the Lü shi Chunqiu 呂氏春秋: The Earthquake Supposedly in the Eighth Year of Wen Wang of Zhou
Pages 62-68

8. The Origin of the Chaochen Rule
Pages 69-83

9. A New Analysis of the Guoyu 國語 Astrological Text
Pages 84-101

10. Qingming Day, 1040 BC
Pages 102-115

11. Kong Jia of Xia, 1577–1569 BC
Pages 116-127

12. Shaughnessy’s Slip
Pages 128-134

13. Review of Sun, Xiaochun, and Jacob Kistemaker, The Chinese Sky during the Han: Constellating Stars and Society
Pages 135-141

14. Zhang Peiyu on the Dayuan Li yi and the “Jinben” Zhushu jinian 竹書紀年
Pages 142-162

15. The 1046 Hypothesis
Pages 163-194

16. Huang Di 黃帝 to Zhi Bo 岐伯: A Problem in Historical Epistemology
Pages 195-201

17. Was Warring States China Ahead of Greece in Science?
Pages 202-207

18. Notes on Royal Ontario Museum, White Collection, #1908
Pages 208-210

19. 90th Birthday Address
Pages 211-219

20.Two yuan and Four quarters
Pages 220-238

21. The “31 Years” Problem
Pages 239-255

22. The Nivison-Shaughnessy Debate on the Bamboo Annals (Zhushu jinian)
Pages 256-285

23.Important Discoveries and Bad Mistakes
Pages 286-297

[Dissertation] The Rhetoric and Ritual of Celestial Signs in Early Imperial China

Author:
Jesse Chapman

School:
University of California, Berkeley

Defended:
2015

Abstract:

The Rhetoric and Ritual of Celestial Signs in Early Imperial China investigates the circulation of signs such as planets in retrograde motion, comets, oddly-shaped clouds, inclement weather, and rainbows in the Western Han (206 BCE–8 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE) dynasties. Building on scholarship in the history of science and previous historical studies of omenology, the present work focuses on the rhetorical and ritual dimensions of celestial signs within broader political, literary, and technical networks. It examines technical treatises in the standard histories, manuscripts on astro-omenology from the tombs of the ruling family of Dai at Mawangdui 馬王堆 (terminus ad quem 168 BCE), memorials to the throne, liturgical repertoires, poetic celestial journeys, and early exegetical works to illuminate how celestial signs both created discursive possibilities and were themselves shaped by generic contexts and performative goals. The dissertation argues that celestial signs became meaningful always in relation to surrounding contexts, as they were read against the constellations in which they appeared, historical circumstances, present conditions in the empire, and through the voices of the deities, supplicants, rulers, and ministers that invoked them. By examining a broad range of contexts in which celestial signs appeared, this dissertation contributes to a fuller and more balanced appreciation of the variegated roles celestial signs played in the shifting culture of early imperial China.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction: Celestial Signs, Culture, and the Cosmos

Chapter 2: Celestial Signs at the Local Court of Dai: The Mawangdui Manuscripts

Chapter 3: Celestial Signs in the Writing of History

Chapter 4: Etiology, Contingency, and Textual Authority: The Suasive Power of Celestial Signs

Chapter 5: Celestial Signs, Ritual, and the Performance of Voice

Chapter 6: Conclusion and Supplement: “Cloudy River” and the Problem of Ritual Failed

Routledge Handbook of Early Chinese History

Editor：
Paul R. Goldin 

Publisher:
Routledge

Publication Date:
May 2018

Abstract:

The study of early China has been radically transformed over the past fifty years by archaeological discoveries, including both textual and non-textual artifacts. Thanks to the huge fund of new data provided by archaeology, historians are now keenly aware that traditional accounts of the period are inadequte because they are partisan, prescriptive, and incomplete. Excavations of settlements and tombs have demonstrated that most people did not lead their lives in accordance with the rituals canons, while previously unknown documents have shown that most received histories were written retrospectively by victors, and present a correspondingly skewed and anachronistic perspective.

This handbook provides an authoritive survey of  Chinese history from the Stone Age to A.D. 220. It is the first volume to include not only a comprehensive review of political history, but also detailed treatments of topics that transcend particular historical moments, such as warfare, cities, literature, and science. The contributions from doyens in the field and up and coming scholars reflect the cutting edge research that is redefining the study of Early Chinese history.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: What Is Early Chinese History?, Paul R. Goldin

Part I: Chronology

1. Main Issues in the Study of the Chinese Neolithic, Gideon Shelach-Lavi

2. Of Millets and Wheat: Diet and Health on the Central Plain of China during the Neolithic and Bronze Age, Kate Pechenkina

3. The Bronze Age before the Zhou Dynasty, Robert Bagley

4. The Western Zhou State, Li Feng

5. The Age of Territorial Lords, Chen Shen

6. The Qin Dynasty, Charles Sanft

7. The Former Han Empire, Vincent S. Leung

8. The Latter Han Empire and the End of Antiquity, Wicky W.K. Tse


Part II: Topical Studies

9. The Old Chinese Language, Axel Schuessler

10. Writing, Luo Xinhui; tr. Zachary Hershey and Paul R. Goldin

11. The Spirit World, Jue Guo

12. Religious Thought, Ori Tavor

13. Political Thought, Yuri Pines

14. Food and Agriculture, Roel Sterckx

15. Warfare, Wicky W.K. Tse

16. Currency, François Thierry

17. Women in Early China: Views from the Archaeological Record, Anne Behnke Kinney

18. An Overview of the Qin-Han Legal System from the Perspective of Recently Unearthed Documents, Kyung-ho Kim and Ming-chiu Lai

19. Literature, Stephen Durrant

20. Art, Wang Haicheng

21. "Medicine" in Early China, Miranda Brown

22. Mathematics, Karine Chemla


23. Astronomy, David Pankenier

Heavenly Numbers : Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China

Author:
Christopher Cullen

Publication Date:
16 November 2017

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract:

This book is a history of the development of mathematical astronomy in China, from the late third century BCE, to the early 3rd century CE - a period often referred to as 'early imperial China'. It narrates the changes in ways of understanding the movements of the heavens and the heavenly bodies that took place during those four and a half centuries, and tells the stories of the institutions and individuals involved in those changes. It gives clear explanations of technical practice in observation, instrumentation, and calculation, and the steady accumulation of data over many years - but it centres on the activity of the individual human beings who observed the heavens, recorded what they saw, and made calculations to analyse and eventually make predictions about the motions of the celestial bodies. It is these individuals, their observations, their calculations, and the words they left to us that provide the narrative thread that runs through this work. Throughout the book, the author gives clear translations of original material that allow the reader direct access to what the people in this book said about themselves and what they tried to do.

Table of Contents:

1: The astronomical empire
2: Li in everyday life: dates and calendars
3: The Emperor's Grand Inception, and the defeat of the Grand Clerk
4: The Triple Concordance system & Liu Xin's 劉歆 'Grand Unified Theory'
5: The measures and forms of heaven
6: Restoration and re-creation in the Eastern Han
7: The age of debates
8: Liu Hong 劉洪 and the conquest of the moon
9: Epilogue

[Dissertation] Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in the Tang Dynasty

Author:
Jeffrey Kotyk

School:
Leiden University

Defended:
2017

Abstract:

This study demonstrates that various systems of foreign astrology, originating in India, Iran and the Hellenistic world, played a significant, albeit hitherto largely unrecognized role, in the development of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, which subsequently deeply influenced religious traditions across East Asia for several centuries. Although Indian astrology was made available in China from the fourth to seventh centuries, it was never widely implemented in China in these centuries, for it was only in the eighth century with the introduction of Mantrayāna that Chinese Buddhists came to have a pressing need to observe astrology. This subsequently sparked popular interest in foreign astrology among Buddhist and non-Buddhist communities in China, a development that
fostered the simultaneous development of astral magic comprised of elements from multiple sources, including some traced back to Greco-Egyptian and Near Eastern traditions. Around the turn of the ninth century, translation of astrological materials shifted from Indian to Iranian sources as a result of Persian astronomers operating at the court. The popularity of astrology additionally facilitated the proliferation of uniquely Chinese astral deities in Chinese Buddhism, most notably Tejaprabhā Buddha and the seven stars of the Big Dipper. This understudied interaction that resulted from deep interest in astrology marks a significant transmission of cultural and religious knowledge
through multiple civilizations.

Table of Contents:

Abstract
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Abbreviations and Conventions

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Preliminary Considerations
1.2. State of the Field
1.3. Aims of this Study
1.4. Primary Sources
1.5. Methodology
1.6. Chapter Outlines

Chapter 2: Astrology and Eurasian Civilizations
2.1. Definitions: What is Astrology?
2.2. The Ecliptic in Three Civilizations
2.3. Occidental Astrology
2.4. Chinese Astrology
2.5. Astrology in Early Buddhism and Brahmanism
2.6. Astrology in Sūtra and Vinaya Literature
2.7. Astrology in Mahāyāna and Tantra
2.8. Astrology in the Chinese Buddhist Context
2.9. Conclusion

Chapter 3: Early Buddhist Buddhist Astrology in China: the Fourth to Seventh Centuries
3.1. Translations of the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna
3.2. Astrological Elements in the Mahāsaṃnipāta
3.3. Early Buddhist Hemerology in China
3.4. Brahmanical Astrological Literature in Chinese Translation
3.5. Conclusion

Chapter 4: Buddhist Astrology in the Mid-Tang: the Eighth Century
4.1. The Historical Yixing 一行: Buddhist Monk and Astronomer
4.2. Tantric Hemerology
4.3. Early Astral Iconography
4.4. Amoghavajra and Astrology
4.5. Xiuyao jing 宿曜經 (T 1299)
4.6. Indian and Persian Astronomers at the Tang Court
4.7. The Duli yusi jing 都利聿斯經: Dorotheus in China
4.8. Cao Shiwei’s Futian li 符天曆
4.9. Conclusion

Chapter 5: The Sinicization of Occidental Astrology: the Ninth Century
5.1. Popular Astrology in the Late-Tang
5.2. The Tejaprabhā and Sudṛṣṭi Cults
5.3. Qiyao rangzai jue 七曜攘災決 (T 1308): Mature Buddhist Astrology
5.4. Buddhist and Daoist Astral Magic in the Late-Tang
5.5. The Legendary Yixing
5.6. Xiuyao yigui 宿曜儀軌 (T 1304)
5.7. Qiyao xingchen bie xingfa 七曜星辰別行法 (T 1309)
5.8. Beidou qixing humo fa 北斗七星護摩法 (T 1310)
5.9. Fantian huoluo jiuyao 梵天火羅九曜 (T 1311)
5.10. Worship of the Big Dipper
5.11. Conclusion

Chapter 6: Astrology in Post-Tang East Asia
6.1. Dunhuang and Bezeklik
6.2. Astrology and Astral Deities: Song to Ming Dynasties
6.3. Astrology in Korea, the Liao and Tangut Xixia
6.4. Astrology and Astral Magic in Japan
6.5. Sukuyōdō Horoscopy
6.6. Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography
Appendix 1: Timeline of Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in China
Appendix 2: Tejaprabhā Maṇḍala
Appendix 3: Tejaprabhā and the planets. Khara-Khoto
Appendix 4: Planetary deities from Kuyō hiryaku 九曜秘曆

Astral Science in Early China: Observation, Sagehood and Society

Author:
Daniel Morgan

Publisher:
Cambridge University Press

Publication Date:
August, 2017

Abstract:

Challenging monolithic modern narratives about 'Chinese science', Daniel Patrick Morgan examines the astral sciences in China c.221 BCE–750 CE as a study in the disunities of scientific cultures and the narratives by which ancients and moderns alike have fought to instill them with a sense of unity. The book focuses on four unifying 'legends' recounted by contemporary subjects: the first two, redolent of antiquity, are the 'observing of signs' and 'granting of seasons' by ancient sage kings; and the other two, redolent of modernity, involve the pursuit of 'accuracy' and historical 'accumulation' to this end. Juxtaposing legend with the messy realities of practice, Morgan reveals how such narratives were told, imagined, and re-imagined in response to evolving tensions. He argues that, whether or not 'empiricism' and 'progress' are real, we must consider the real effects of such narratives as believed in and acted upon in the history of astronomy in China.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Conventions
1. The world below
2. Observing the signs
3. Granting the seasons
4. Reverent accordance with prodigious heaven
5. What the ancients had yet to learn
6. Conclusion

The Foundations of Celestial Reckoning: Three Ancient Chinese Astronomical Systems

Author:
Christopher Cullen

Publisher:
Routledge

Publication Date:
November 28, 2016

Abstract:

The Foundations of Celestial Reckoning gives the reader direct access to the foundational documents of the tradition of calculation created by astronomers of the early Chinese empire between the late second century BCE and the third century CE. The paradigm they established was to shape East Asian thought and practice in the field of mathematical astronomy for centuries to come. It was in many ways radically different from better known traditions of astronomy in other parts of the ancient world.

This book includes full English translations of the first three systems of mathematical astronomy adopted for use by imperial astronomical officials, together with introductory material explaining the origin and nature of each system, and a general introduction to the work as a whole. The translations, which are accompanied by the original Chinese text, give a consistent rendering of all technical terms, and include detailed explanatory notes. The text in which the second of the three systems is found also includes a unique collection of documents compiled around 178 CE by two experts in the field, one of whom was the author of the third system translated in this book. Using material transcribed from government archives of the two preceding centuries, these scholars carefully document and review controversies and large-scale official debates on astronomical matters up to their own time. Nothing equivalent in detail and clarity has survived from any other ancient culture. The availability of the totality of this material in English opens new perspectives to all historians of pre-modern astronomy.


Table of contents: 

Chapter 1. General Introduction 
A. The world of early imperial China  
B. What was a li , and what did it do? 
C. How did a li work? 
D. Dates  
E. How was a li calculated? 
F. How were the data of a li determined? 
G. A note on translating computational procedures 
H. Arrangement of the text 
I. Works consulted 

Chapter 2. The Triple Concordance astronomical system: San tong li 三統曆
I. Introduction 
A. An astronomical system and its creator B. Structure of the system 
C. Organisation of the text  D. Text used 

II. Text, translation and comments 
A. Concordance constants B. Sequence Constants  C. The Five Pacers 
D. Concordance Workings E. Sequence Workings F. Year Workings  G. [The Twelve Stations] H. The 28 Lodges I. [The Nine Roads] J. [Concordances and Rule Heads] K. APPENDIX 1: Intercalations in theory and practice 

Chapter 3. The Han Quarter Remainder system: Han si fen li 漢四分曆

I. Introduction 
A. The system and its background B. Authorship of the text C. Structure of the system D. Organisation of the text E. Methods of calculation F. Text used 

II. Text, translation and comments 
A. Methods for [astronomical] systems B. Basic solar and lunar constants C. [Lunar eclipse constants] D. Procedures for sun and moon E. Planetary constants F. Planetary Procedures G. Planetary Motions H. [Months, qi and lodges] I. [The solar table] J. The system origin K. Discussion 

Chapter 4. The Uranic Manifestation astronomical system: Qian xiang li 乾象曆

I. Introduction 
A. Liu Hong 劉洪 and his work B. The historical background of Liu Hong's work C. The structure of the system D. Organisation of the text E. The question of 'months' and the finding of true lunar motion F. Text used 

II. Text, translation and comments 
A. [System Origin] B. [Basic solar and lunar constants] C. [Predicting times of lunar and solar events] D. [Predicting positions of sun and moon] E. [Lunar eclipses] F. [Predicting hexagrams and phases in effect] G. [Finding times of day of events] H. Advance and retardation I. [Retardation and acceleration of lunar motion] J. [Lunar speed sequence] K. [Lunar speed constants] L. [Calculating true lunar motion] M. [Lunar latitude] N. [Constants for lunar latitude] O. [Calculating lunar latitude] P. [Epoch; repeated] Q. Predictions for the Five Stars [sc. planets] R. [Constants for the Five Planets] S. Predictions for the Five Planets T. [Planetary Phases] U. [Planetary Motions] 

Chapter 5. Han discussions of astronomical systems and their development: two texts 

I. Introduction 

II. Ban Gu 班固 on li c. 90 CE 
A. [Astronomical systems from High Antiquity to Qin] 
B. [The Grand Inception reform] 
C. [Zhang Shouwang] 
D. [Liu Xiang 劉向 and Liu Xin 劉歆] 

III. The Documentary Collection of Cai Yong 蔡邕 and Liu Hong, 178 CE 
A. [Materials presented] 
B. [Failure of the Grand Inception system in early Eastern Han; proposals for revision deferred.] C. [Observed errors in lunar eclipse predictions in 62 - 69 CE lead to experiments in partial use of Quarter Remainder methods.] 
D. [The fruitless discussions of 66 CE; increased divergence of prediction from observation; Zhangdi's commission of 85 CE to Bian Xin 編訢 and Li Fan 李梵.] 
E. [The edict of March 18th 85 CE reviews the imperative need for revision, and commands use of the Quarter Remainder system.] 
F. [Bian Xin and Deng Fan propose use of an initial long month; Jia Kui 賈逵successfully controverts this.] 
G. [The memorial of Jia Kui, 92 CE] 
H. [103 CE: The edict to construct Jia Kui's instrument; failure of officials to use it.] 
I. [Jia Kui on the varying speed of lunar motion] 
J. [Editorial note on two late Eastern Han attempts to reconstruct a 'Nine Roads' procedure for the moon] 
K. [Seasonal changes in clepsydra graduations] 
L. [Eastern Han disputes on system origin: introduction.] 
M. [Lunar eclipses: Eastern Han discussions.] 

Bibliography 
Index

Astronomy and Calendars - The Other Chinese Mathematics: 104 BC - AD 1644

Authors:
Martzloff, Jean-Claude

Publication Date:
September 2, 2016

Publisher:
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Abstract:

Presented from the viewpoint of the history of mathematics, this book explores both epistemological aspects of Chinese traditional mathematical astronomy and lunisolar calendrical calculations. The following issues are addressed: (1) connections with non-Chinese cultural areas; (2) the possibility or impossibility of using mathematics to predict astronomical phenomena, a question that was constantly raised by the Chinese from antiquity through medieval times; (3) the modes of representation of numbers, and in particular the zero, found in the context of Chinese calendrical calculations; and (4) a detailed analysis of lunisolar calendrical calculations. Fully worked-out examples and comparisons between the results of calculations and the content of Chinese historical calendars from various periods are provided.

Traditional Chinese calendrical and mathematical astronomy consists of permanently reformed mathematical procedures designed to predict, but not explain, phenomena pertaining to astronomy and related areas. Yet, despite appearances, models of the mathematical techniques hidden behind this voluminous corpus reveal that they depend on a limited number of clear-cut mathematical structures. Although only a small fraction of these techniques have been fully studied, what is known surprisingly broadens our knowledge of the history of Chinese mathematics.

Sinologists interested in the history of Chinese science, and anyone interested in the history of Chinese mathematics, the Chinese calendar, and the history of Chinese mathematical astronomy from its origin (104 BC) to its European reform (AD 1644) will find this book very useful. The present English language edition is a fully revised and updated version of the French original. Even though this is a research monograph in sinology, no particular sinological background is required, although a basic understanding of ‘concrete mathematics’ is needed.

Table of contents:

Part I Chinese Astronomical Canons and Calendars
      II Calculations
      III Examples of Calculations
Appendix
Bibliography

The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World

Editor: 
John M. Steele

Publication Year: 
2016

Publisher:
Brill

Abstract:

Astronomical and astrological knowledge circulated in many ways in the ancient world: in the form of written texts and through oral communication; by the conscious assimilation of sought-after knowledge and the unconscious absorption of ideas to which scholars were exposed. The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World explores the ways in which astronomical knowledge circulated between different communities of scholars over time and space, and what was done with that knowledge when it was received. Examples are discussed from Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Greco-Roman world, India, and China.

Table of Contents:

Front Matter
pp i –x

Introduction
pp 1 –4

The Brown School of the History of Science: Historiography and the Astral Sciences
pp 5 –17

Astral Knowledge in an International Age: Transmission of the Cuneiform Tradition, ca. 1500–1000 B.C.
pp 18 –54

Traditions of Mesopotamian Celestial-Divinatory Schemes and the 4th Tablet of Šumma Sin ina Tāmartišu
pp 55 –82

The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge between Babylon and Uruk
pp 83 –118

The Micro-Zodiac in Babylon and Uruk: Seleucid Zodiacal Astrology
pp 119 –138

Virtual Moons over Babylonia: The Calendar Text System, Its Micro-Zodiac of 13, and the Making of Medical Zodiology
pp 139 –229

On the Concomitancy of the Seemingly Incommensurable, or Why Egyptian Astral Tradition Needs to be Analyzed within Its Cultural Context
pp 230 –244

Some Astrologers and Their Handbooks in Demotic Egyptian
pp 245 –286

The Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria
pp 287 –315

Interpolated Observations and Historical Observational Records in Ptolemy’s Astronomy
pp 316 –349

Mesopotamian Lunar Omens in Justinian’s Constantinople
pp 350 –395

A Parallel Universe: The Transmission of Astronomical Terminology in Early Chinese Almanacs (Ethan Harkness)
pp 396 –415

Mercury and the Case for Plural Planetary Traditions in Early Imperial China
(Daniel Patrick Morgan)
pp 416 –450

Calendrical Systems in Early Imperial China: Reform, Evaluation and Tradition
(Yuzhen Guan)
pp 451 –477

The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac during the Tang and Song Dynasties: A Set of Signs Which Lost Their Meanings within Chinese Horoscopic Astrology
pp 478 –526

On the Dunhuang Manuscript P.4071: A Case Study on the Sinicization of Western Horoscope in Late 10th Century China
pp 527 –558

Were Planetary Models of Ancient India Strongly Influenced by Greek Astronomy?
pp 559 –575

Indexes
pp 577 –585

Early China 37 (2014) 《古代中國》第37期

Table of Contents:


Letter from the Editor..........SARAH ALLAN


ARTICLES

Did Babylonian Astrology Influence Early Chinese  Astral Prognostication Xing zhan shu 星占書..........DAVID  W. PANKENIER

The Total Lunar  Eclipse on June 16, 2011: A Key to Dating  the Yin Lunar Eclipse in Yingcang 885/886..........LIU  XUESHUN

Marital  Alliances and Affinal Relatives  (sheng 甥 and hungou 婚購) in the Society and Politics of Zhou  China  in the Light of Bronze  Inscriptions.......... MARIA KHAYUTINA

Scribal Variation and  the Meaning of the Houma and  Wenxian Covenant Texts' Imprecation Ma yi fei shi 麻夷非是.......... CRISPIN  WILLIAMS

Texts, Performance, and  Spectacle:  The Funeral Procession of Marquis Yi of Zeng, 443 B.C.E........... LUKE  HABBERSTAD

Delinquent Fathers  and  Philology:  Lunyu 論語 13.18 and  Related  Texts.......... OLIVER WEINGARTEN

Promoting Action in Warring States Political  Philosophy: A First Look at the Chu Manuscript, Cao Mie's Battle Arrays.......... ERNEST CALDWELL

Xunzi's  Criticism of Zisi-New Perspectives.......... KUAN-YUN HUANG

New  Information on Qin Religious  Practice:  Evidence  from Liye and Zhoujiatai 周家台.......... CHARLES  SANFT

All Merged in One: The First Emperor's Tumulus.......... JIE SHI

Epiphanies of Sovereignty and  the Rite of Jade Disc Immersion in Weft Narratives.......... GRÉGOIRE  ESPESSET

ARTICLES FROM THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EXCAVATED MANUSCRIPTS, MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE, 2004

Collaterality in Early Chinese Cosmology: An Argument for Confucian Harmony (he 和) as Creatio In Situ.......... ROGER  T. AMES

"Only the Human Way May Be Followed": Reading the Guodian Manuscripts against the Mozi.......... ANDREW MEYER

New Light on the Li ji 禮記: The Li ji and the Related Warring States Period Guodian Bamboo Manuscripts.......... XING WEN


REVIEW ARTICLES

Newly Excavated Texts in the Digital Age: Reflections  on New Resources.......... LEE-MOI PHAM AND KUAN-YUN  HUANG

Hail to the King: A Review of Two Books by David  N. Keightley.......... MAGNUS FISKESJÖ


REVIEW FORUM

Wai-yee Li. The Readability of the Past in Early Chinese Historiography.......... ERIC HENRY

The Shape of History: On Reading Li Wai-yee.......... KAI VOGELSANG


BOOK REVIEW

Elisabeth  Hsu.  Pulse Diagnosis in Early Chinese Medicine: The Telling Touch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010........... MIRANDA  BROWN

Dissertation Abstracts......... CLAIRE  V. BESKIN, Comp.

Annual Bibliography.......... XIUCAI  ZHENG,  Comp.