China's ancient astronomical records are a precious legacy left by China's ancient astronomy. In particular, the records of sunspots, comets, meteor showers and guest stars are rich and systematic, showing important scientific value. At the same time, it also reflects the work style of China ancient astronomers who are diligent in observation and good at recording.
Our ancestors attached great importance to the observation and recording of astronomical phenomena. According to Yao Dian of Shangshu, Emperor Yao arranged for Xi Zhong, Uncle Xi Zhong, Uncle He Zhongshu and Uncle He Zhongshu to obey God's will, observe the running rules of the sun, moon and stars, understand and master the living conditions of people, birds and beasts, and arrange corresponding affairs according to seasonal changes.
When Yao calculated his age, he made a calendar and creatively proposed to set up a "leap month" to adjust the months and seasons.
From here, we can easily see that in the legendary Yao era, there were already full-time civil servants engaged in observing images and timing. Shi Zaiyao was born in 22 14 BC and died in 2097 BC at the age of 1 17. He made an important contribution to the cause of ancient astronomy in China.
Since the reign of Emperor Yao, China has been diligent in observing and recording astronomical phenomena in ancient times. In the long-term observation, the ancient records of sunspots, comets, meteor showers, guest stars and weather and meteorology left us precious ancient astronomical heritage, which enabled us to see the ancient sky and feel the ancient weather and meteorology.
Sunspots, appearing as black areas on the surface of the sun, are constantly changing due to the violent movement of matter. Some exist for less than a day, some for more than a month, and some for half a year. This phenomenon was carefully observed by our ancestors and reflected in the records.
At present, the earliest record of sunspots in the world is the book "Huainanzi Spiritual Practice", which was written in BC 140, and there is a narrative of "Japan-China scandal". Black spot phenomenon.
Later than the record in Huai Nan Zi Ling Xiu, there is also a record in Hanshu Wuxing Zhi quoted from Yi Zhuan, a scholar of the Western Han Dynasty: "In April 43 BC, the sun was dark and as big as a projectile." This shows that there are sunspots on the side of the sun, which are inclined and about the size of projectiles.
Sunspots not only exist for a long time, but also have different forms in the process of growth and decline. At first, only circular black spots appeared at the edge of the sun, and then they gradually increased, so that they became two separate large sunspot groups with countless small sunspots in the middle. This phenomenon was also noticed by ancient observers.
"Song Shi Tian" records: "112 In April, there were sunspots in Japan and China. At first glance, they were as big as chestnuts." This record is a portrayal of an extremely large sunspot group.
According to statistics, during the period of 1.600 years from the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the shape and number of sunspots recorded in China ancient books were 1.06 times.
China recorded comets for a long time, and gave them names such as comet, comet and comet. Comet records began in the Spring and Autumn Annals: "In July of June13, a star entered the Beidou." This is the earliest record of Halley's comet in the world.
"Historical Records Six Kingdoms Table" records: "See you in Qin Li for ten years." The tenth year of Emperor Li of Qin Dynasty was the second year of King Zhou's reign, that is, 467 BC. This is another photo of Halley's comet.
The average period of Halley's comet orbiting the sun is 76 years, and it appears huge and bright. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the late Qing Dynasty, * * * appeared, with a record of 3 1 time.
Among them, the five elements recorded in Hanshu in BC 12 are the most detailed. The book vividly describes the running route, apparent velocity and appearance time of the magnificent comet in vivid and concise language.
Other records of Halley's Comet are also quite clear and accurate, which can be found in historical books such as chronicles of past dynasties. The history of ancient comets in China is not limited to Halley's Comet. According to preliminary statistics, from ancient times to 19 10, there were no fewer than 500 records, which fully proved the hard work of the ancients in observation.
Our ancestors attached great importance to comets, and some comets were inevitably divined, but they were diligent in observation and kept records so that future generations could inquire. European scholars often use China Classics to calculate the behavior and period of comets to explore their regression and other problems. The achievements recorded by our predecessors are indelible!
The discovery and record of meteor shower was also the earliest in China. In the annals of bamboo books, there is a record that "the stars fell like rain in the fifteenth year of Xia Emperor". The most detailed record can be found in Zuo Zhuan: "On the night of Xinmao in the summer and April of the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the stars disappeared and the night stars fell like rain." The seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu was 687 BC, which was the earliest record of Lyra meteor shower in the world.
There were about 180 meteor showers in ancient China. Among them, Lyra meteor shower recorded about 9 times, Perseid meteor shower recorded about 12 times, and Leo meteor shower recorded 7 times. These records will also be important information for studying the orbital evolution of meteor groups.
The appearance of meteor shower, the scene is quite touching, and the ancient records in China are also wonderful.
According to Song Shu, Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, "In the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty ... in March, the moon covered Xuanyuan ... with tens of millions of meteors, long or short, big or small, facing west until dawn." This is in 46 1 year. Of course, the so-called "tens of millions" here is not an exact number, but a general term for "extremely many".
The fact that meteoroids fall to the ground and become meteorites or iron is also recorded in China. There is an explanation in the history books that "stars fall to the ground and are also stones". By the Northern Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo discovered meteorites with iron as the main component, which were "as color as iron and as heavy as iron."
The oldest preserved meteorite in China is the Longchuan meteorite in Sichuan Province, which fell in the Ming Dynasty and was excavated at 17 16, weighing 58.5 kg. Now it is preserved in Chengdu Institute of Geology.
Some stars were once so dark that most of them were invisible to the naked eye. But at a certain moment, its brightness suddenly increases by thousands to millions of times, which is called "new star"; Some are enhanced to 100 million to several hundred million times, which is called "supernova".
Later, it gradually weakened, and it took several years or 10 years to restore the original brightness, as if it were a guest in the starry sky, so it was named "guest star".
In ancient China, comets were occasionally listed as guest stars; However, after analyzing the guest star records, most of the "guest stars" refer to nova and supernova.
There are records of new stars in Oracle bones of Yin Dynasty in China. Systematic records in ancient books began in the Han Dynasty. There is a saying in Tian Han Wen Zhi: "In June of the first year of Yuanguang, the guest star was seen in the room." The room is the room in Twenty-eight Nights, which is equivalent to the head of Scorpio now. The first year of Yuan Guang in Han Dynasty was 134 BC, which was the first new star recorded in Chinese and foreign history.
From the Yin Dynasty to 1700, China recorded about 90 new stars and supernovae. One of the most striking is the supernova near the Taurus star in 1054, which darkened two years later.
The supernova in Cassiopeia 1572 was visible to the naked eye at noon at the brightest time.
"Shi Minglu" records:
On the third day of October, in Qin Long, the guest star saw the northeast like a shell ... On the night of Renshen in19th century, its star was red and yellow, as big as a lamp, and it shone everywhere ... From1October, guest stars could see it that day.
This record in China was at the leading level in the world at that time.
There are also records of weather and meteorology in China ancient books.
The Xia Dynasty deduced the vernal equinox, autumnal equinox, summer solstice and winter solstice. Dongyi Stone Carving Lianyungang Jiangjun Cliff Rock Painting has a positive north-south line related to Sheshi.
Shang dynasty paid attention to different weather and different phenomena. There are records and descriptions of weather phenomena such as wind, clouds, rainbow, rain, snow and thunder in Oracle Bone Inscriptions.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the use of soil rules to determine the orientation and know whether various meteorological conditions were abnormal would have an impact on agricultural and animal husbandry production. The Book of Songs in Windy July records weather and climate proverbs, which have phenomena and knowledge about phenology. Zheng Xiao written by Xia is the earliest phenological work in China.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, physicians and doctors in Qin began to regard weather factors as external causes of diseases. Zeng Shen explained the causes of weather phenomena such as wind, thunder, fog, rain, dew and graupel with the theory of Yin and Yang.
The Spring and Autumn Annals lists abnormal weather in historical records. Sun Tzu's Art of War lists weather as one of the five important factors that affect the success or failure of military affairs. The Book of Changes says that "Heaven, Earth, Fire, Wind, Thunder and Mountain Ze" represents natural objects.
During the Warring States period, we attached importance to the application of meteorological conditions in combat. Zhuang Zhou pointed out that the formation of wind comes from the influence of airflow, and sunlight and wind can make water evaporate. Su Wen, the Yellow Emperor's internal classic, explained in detail the relationship between climate, season and health preservation and treatment.
The relevant legal system was formed in the Qin Dynasty, and all localities should report to the imperial court the rain situation and the area of heaven and earth affected by rain or meteorological disasters. Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals divides clouds into four categories: mountain clouds, water clouds, dry clouds and rain clouds.
Twenty-four solar terms with the same modern names were listed in the Han Dynasty, and instruments for measuring weather conditions such as wind direction appeared. Dong Zhongshu, a famous idealist philosopher and master of Confucian classics in the Western Han Dynasty, pointed out that the size and density of raindrops are related to the influence of wind.
Wang Chong, a philosopher in the Eastern Han Dynasty, pointed out in Lun Heng that the formation of thunder and lightning is related to solar heat and seasons, and thunder is caused by explosion. Ying Shao, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, put forward the names of Plum Rain and Trade Wind in Custom Yi Tong.
During the Three Kingdoms period, the relationship between solar terms and the movement of the sun was further mastered. Mathematician Zhao's "Weekly Parallel Calculation Classics" introduced "seven levels and six diagrams", which theoretically explained the relationship between the 24 solar terms and the sun's movement.
During the Jin Dynasty, "wooden birds related to the wind" and wind direction measuring instruments prevailed. Li Jiang, a philosopher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, pointed out that floating clouds close to the ground can reduce the inter-satellite sight distance and make the colors of the stars turn red in the morning and evening when they rise. Zhou Chu, a celebrity in Jin Dynasty, put forward the concept of plum rain in Local Records.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they not only understood the influence of climate on agricultural production, but also began to explore the use of different climatic conditions to promote agricultural production.
The Book of Qi Yao Min written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty fully discussed the influence of meteorology on agriculture, and put forward the methods of using smoke to prevent frost and using snow to kill insects and keep moisture. The Zheng Guang calendar of the Northern Wei Dynasty included 72 kinds of climate. The Chronicle of Jingchu in Liang Zonggu of the Southern Dynasties pointed out that the ninth year of winter was the coldest period of the year.
During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Bing Wang, a medical scientist, divided the climate of China into regions and took the lead in putting forward the concept of temperature gradient in the world. Du Taiqing in Sui Dynasty wrote Jade Candles Collection, which extracted solar terms, government decrees, farming, customs and allusions. It is contained in various books before the Sui Dynasty, and many lost articles on agrometeorology are preserved. Li, an astronomer in Tang Dynasty, recorded the structure, installation and usage of anemometer.
The understanding of meteorology in Song Dynasty was richer and more detailed, and the prediction and calculation of rain and snow were more accurate.
Shen Kuo, a geographer in the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a short article about Meng Xi, involving meteorology, such as Emei Baoguang, lightning, thunder axe, rainbow, Dengzhou Haicheng, claw whirlwind, bamboo fossils, tile frost painting, hail shape, boating method, vertical climate zone, weather forecast and so on. Several Books and Nine Chapters, a Shaoxing wine of Qin Dynasty in the Southern Song Dynasty, lists four formulas for measuring rain and snow, explaining how to measure the depth of rain and snow on the flat ground.
Xiong Ming, the minister of the Ministry of Industry in the Ming Dynasty, met with Ge Zhicao and analyzed the relationship between natural changes and historical disasters and meteorological phenomena such as wind, clouds, thunder and rain according to western scientific principles. His "Solar Fire Descending Gas Ascending Diagram" systematically explains the formation of convective weather.
In the Qing Dynasty, a series of talks on measuring the sky was translated, and Heliocentrism was used to comprehensively introduce the ground heating caused by solar radiation, as well as atmospheric phenomena and meteorological theories such as sea breeze, land breeze, typhoon, Hadley circulation, atmospheric tides, frost, dew, clouds, fog, rain, snow, hail, thunder, mean value and year, calculation of daily range, atmospheric light image, etc.
As time went on, the sky changed. Our ancestors worked hard and left precious astronomical records, all of which reflected the rigorous attitude of their ancestors who were tireless and diligent in observation, and all of them shone with the brilliance of our national wisdom. These are precious heritages in China's ancient rich cultural treasure house, which will play a due role in further exploring the laws of the universe in the future.