Knowledge of ancient astronomical calendars 1. Ancient literature knowledge about astronomical geography
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The origin of ancient eastern scientific and technological civilization
1. astrogeography
The ancients said that heaven is reason, and the ancients viewed the source of everything from heaven.
Astronomical records of solar eclipse, meteor nova and supernova comet, five-star renju sunspot stone carving records
Comparison between Chinese and Western solar terms in calendar: taichu calendar, Daming calendar, Dayan calendar and chronograph calendar.
Astronomical instrument, sundial, missing armillary sphere, geodetic instrument, simple instrument, solar instrument, water transport instrument platform.
Famous astronomer Gander Luoxia Zhang Hongheng Zu Chongzhi Zhang Sui (a monk and his party) Guo Shoujing Shen Kuo.
Astronomical works Shi Gan's Astrology and Lingxian.
Famous geographer Pei Daoyuan Xu Xiake Wei Yuan
Draw six-body wind observation, instrumental precipitation observation, instrumental humidity observation, instrumental cloud observation and other achievements, as well as Cloud Map: Notes on Water Classics, Travel Notes of Xu Xiake and Atlas of Sea and Country.
2. Ancient Mathematics
The earliest use of decimal fractions and decimals in abacus calculation of achievement is the pioneer of the binary idea of calculating pi with negative numbers.
His works include Zhou Kuai Shu Jing, Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, Island Shu Jing and Grandson Shu Jing.
Mathematician Liu Heng Zu Chongzhi
3. Ancient military
Military Thought Sun Tzu's Art of War Six Towers Sima Binbing Fa Wei Liao Zi Wu Zi
Military Invention The invention and spread of the stirrup of the ancient chariot The invention and spread of the crossbow of the ancient rocket powder fire-breathing device in China.
Personality soldier Sun Wu national hero Yue Fei Zhuge Liang
4. Traditional medicine in China
General situation of traditional Chinese medicine history basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine foundation of traditional Chinese medicine
Acupuncture, scraping, massage and cupping.
The meaning of diet therapy and health diet therapy; Four characteristics and five flavors of food; Traditional Chinese medicine health products: tea and medicinal liquor.
Featured invention Acupuncture Tongren traditional Chinese medicine needle tongue coating model internal classic map iron ball wuqinxi Tai Ji Chuan
Ancient famous doctor Ge Huangfu Shuhe Hua Boren Chunyu Dongyuan Dai Sigong Zhang Chao Zhongjing Yuanfang Sun Simiao Sun Yikui Hua Tuo Liu Wansu
5. Ancient agriculture
Ancient Water Conservancy China Ancient Water Conservancy Project Dujiangyan Zhengbai Canal Diversion Zhangshi No.2 Canal Tashan Yanshao Beiling Canal
Houtao Badaqu Hangou
Ancient agricultural tools China waterwheel bone shovel iron hoe iron plow
Ancient agricultural science and technology figures, Xu Guangqi and Song.
Achievements in Agricultural Technology: Hybrid Rice of Qigong Agriculture and Government Book
6. Ancient architecture
China's self-contained traditional architecture began its urban planning as early as the Zhou Dynasty. The development track of modern architecture in China, the historical stages of architecture in China and the characteristics of architecture in China.
7. China ancient machinery
China's achievements in the spread of western learning to the east: an investigation of mechanical technology: a record of far-west exotic figures
Household utensils are covered with incense burners, and you can smell the tripod.
Belt drive of hydraulic spinning wheel for producing square plate chain pump
Paddle, rudder and boat: unicycle in the south guide car
8. China Textile Printing and Dyeing
China Ancient Textile China Ancient Clothing China Silk Weaving Art China Embroidery Art China Ancient Printing and Dyeing Ancient Mineral Pigments Dyeing and Weaving Varieties Silk Dyeing and Finishing Technology in the Development of Ancient Silk China Four Famous Embroidered Natural Fabric Dyes
9. China navigation technology
Review of Ancient Shipbuilding Three Kinds of Ancient Famous Ships in China Ancient Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding invented watertight cabin ships and small boats with keel structure with sail and stern rudder
Invention of navigation technology, application of navigation compass, star pulling, log and other navigation knowledge.
Maritime memorabilia Xu Fudong crossed the Maritime Silk Road in Han Dynasty in Japan, and Jian Zhen Eastern Airlines went to Zheng He's voyage to the West.
10. China Paper Printing
Papermaking, the original writing materials, the invention process of paper, the development of papermaking, the improvement and spread of papermaking in Cai Lun.
Character Cai Lun is more than Sheng Wang Town Lake Yan Zheng.
The invention of printing, the invention of block printing, the invention of movable type printing and the spread of printing technology.
Featured inventions: rubbing, overprinting and color printing of rice paper pen and ink seals.
1 1. China's ancient philosophy
Philosophy school Taoist philosophy Confucian philosophy Legalist philosophy famous philosopher Mohist philosophy Yin and Yang philosophy
Thinker Laozi Confucius Han Feizi Mozi
Philosophical works Tao Te Ching, The Analects of Confucius and the Book of Changes.
Key words of philosophy: Tao, Yin and Yang, Eight Diagrams and Five Elements, Taiji, Harmony between Man and Nature.
12. China ancient craft
China porcelain, China furniture, Chinese bronzes, China pottery, China sculpture, China lacquerware, China decoration, Four Treasures of the Study cloisonne, China wood carving, Chinese paper-cutting, Chinese bell ding, Chinese kite, Tang Sancai, Chinese lantern color, Chinese New Year painting, paper binding art, Yunnan paper horse, autumn art, Chinese fans, Chinese jade, Chinese stickers, metal crafts, silver crafts, stone carving art.
2. China ancient culture common sense astronomy geography.
China has a vast territory, with a total area of about 9.6 million square kilometers, ranking third in the world and fourth in the United States, second only to Russian and Canadian countries. Almost as big as the whole of Europe. The four ends of China's territory are: the easternmost end is at the intersection of the middle line of Heilongjiang main channel and Wusuli River (above135 E), and the westernmost end is near Pamir Plateau (73 E), with a span of more than 60 degrees from east to west and a distance of about 5,000 kilometers from east to west. The southernmost point is in Zengmu shoal (4° N), and the northernmost point is on the center line of Heilongjiang main channel, north of Mohe River.
Land and Sea Location of China: East Asia and the West Coast of the Pacific Ocean.
00 hemispheres are located in China: the Eastern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere.
00 latitude and longitude position of China: the latitude across the north and south in China is nearly 50 degrees, most of which are in temperate zone, a few are in tropical zone, and there is no frigid zone. China's territory [1] has a total area of about 9.6 million square kilometers, ranking third in the world, next only to Russia and Canada, and the fourth is the United States. Almost as big as the whole of Europe. The four ends of China's territory are: the easternmost end is at the intersection of the central lines of the main waterways of Heilongjiang River and Wusuli River (135 2' 30'' e), the westernmost end is near the Pamirs (73 40' e), and the southernmost end is in the Shoal (latitude 3 degrees 5 1 minute 00 seconds, 1 12 degrees east longitude 17 minutes and 09 seconds (in English: Lidi Ansha or Lydishoul) is a shoal in Nansha Islands in the South China Sea of China, which is the southernmost part of the actual territory of China (not the Zengmu shoal located about 15 nautical mile northeast of it). According to the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China, the ruins shoal is under the jurisdiction of Sansha City, Hainan Province. The northernmost point is on the center line of Heilongjiang main channel (53 33 ′ n,124 20 ′ e) north of Mohe. The east-west span of China is over 60 degrees, and the easternmost Wusuli River is separated from the westernmost Pamirs by five time zones.
Compared with the west, China's ancient astronomical system also has its own characteristics. China's astronomical system inherited China's philosophy. For example, the constellation Ursa Major in China astronomy consists of three stars: Beidou, Wenchang and Santai. Beidou is very familiar with it, so I won't go into details; Wenchang is a satellite in folklore, which is in charge of the imperial examination. Santai refers to the three stages of imperial examination in real life, namely, provincial examination, general examination and palace examination. Completely different from western astronomy, the sky is full of gods and has nothing to do with the world. Personally, I like to name Mokexing after China astronomy, because it has cultural connotation and is easy to remember.
However, the astronomical system in China also restricted the development of astronomy in China. For example, the solar eclipse, according to the legislative forecast, should exist, but it did not happen. In the west, I'm afraid the calendar will be revised. In China, officials kowtowed to the emperor to congratulate him on his great kindness (even Yao Chong did the same).
3. What is ancient astronomy in China? What is a calendar?
China is one of the countries with the earliest development of astronomy in the world.
Due to the needs of production and life, people have been observing astronomical phenomena since ancient times. Through continuous efforts from generation to generation, they have accumulated more and more astronomical knowledge and gradually formed an astronomical system with rich content and unique style. China ancient astronomy has been in the leading position in the world for a long time in many fields, and has written a brilliant chapter in the history of world astronomy and China culture.
The most important part of ancient astronomy in China is the calendar. In other words, the calendar is the core of ancient astronomy in China. The ancient calendar in China is not only about the arrangement of the calendar system, but also includes the operation and position calculation of the sun, the moon and the five planets of earth, wood, fire, gold and water. Calculation of star position; Calculate the length of shadow and the length of day and night in the afternoon; A wide range of topics such as solar eclipse forecast.
In a sense, the compilation of ancient calendars in China is equivalent to the compilation of modern astronomical calendars. Therefore, ancient astronomers in China carried out a series of observation and research activities, such as the selection of epoch, the elaboration of astronomical concepts, the calculation of astronomical constants, the compilation of astronomical tables, the selection and improvement of specific calculation methods, astrometry methods and mathematical methods.
These constitute the basic framework and main contents of the ancient calendar in China. Of course, China's ancient astronomy also includes a wider range of contents, such as the design and manufacture of precise astronomical instruments unique to ancient China, the discussion of the theory of the universe, and the long-term systematic observation and recording of a series of astronomical phenomena, especially strange astronomical phenomena. Together with the calendar, they constitute a very colorful system of ancient astronomy in China.
The ancient astronomical system in China experienced a long evolution process of occurrence, development, perfection and decline, and finally merged into modern astronomy. Let's briefly introduce it in six stages (namely, the following six plates).
Astronomical knowledge before the Western Zhou Dynasty This is a long historical period in which astronomical knowledge began to sprout and initially accumulate. Due to the needs of production and life, from observing the appearance of stars and the movement of the sun and the moon, people gradually formed the concept of time length closely related to these needs, and then produced the original calendar system.
Due to the need of divination activities, people pay great attention to the changes of astronomical phenomena, especially the appearance of abnormal astronomical phenomena, which also makes people pay attention to astronomical observation, thus gradually forming the tradition of astronomical records. All these have had a far-reaching impact on the development of later generations.
1. Our ancestors lived in the vast land of China when they observed the images. In their own production and life practice, people gradually found that the rise and fall of the sun, moon and stars, the cold weather in nature, the existence of prey, the prosperity and decline of plants and other natural phenomena are closely related to human survival. Therefore, consciously observing and understanding these natural phenomena in order to conform to nature and seek their own development has become one of the issues of interest to our ancestors, from which the seeds of astronomical knowledge have gradually sprouted.
The sun is undoubtedly vital to people. The ancients worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, which is the objective basis of the schedule of work and rest.
The alternation of light and shade caused by the sun's entry and exit must have given our ancestors a deep feeling, so the "day" with the sun's entry and exit as the cycle should be the earliest time unit they realized. Naturally, the change of the moon's profit and loss is another obvious and important astronomical phenomenon.
It is of great significance, because bright moonlight is a key factor in arranging people's activities at night. After long-term observation and counting, people gradually found that the moon's cycle is about 30 days, which led to the emergence of a longer time unit "month".
It is much more difficult to understand the longer time unit "year" than "day" and "month", but it is a cycle of greater significance to people's production and life, because cold and summer, rain and drought, fishing and hunting, gathering and even agricultural production activities are related to it. To this end, people have made unremitting exploration for a long time.
From the observation of phenology-vegetation withering, animal migration, access and so on. This is about the earliest way to explore the length of a year, followed by the observation of some stars. The latter result is more accurate than the former.
According to legend, in the era of Emperor Zhuan Xu, the "Huozheng" (1) was set up to observe the great Mars (Antares, the alpha star of Scorpio). When the great Mars just rose from the eastern horizon at dusk, it was the beginning of the year, that is, the coming of this spring. It is not difficult to deduce the length of a year.
This is an early form of observing images and timing in ancient China. According to research, this is about 2400 BC.
According to "Yao Dian of Shangshu", in the legendary Yao Di, "those who are ordered to respect the sky like the sun, the moon and the stars to teach others are what xi is". The specific observation methods and results are as follows: "The stars in the sun are in Yin Zhongchun", "The sun is always sparking in midsummer", "The stars at night are empty in Yin Zhongqiu" and "The stars in the sun are short in midsummer", that is, the days when birds, fire, emptiness and dragons are observed in the south of dusk.
According to calculation, this is about the actual astronomical phenomena in 2000 BC. From the above records, we can also infer that the original standard table appeared at that time, otherwise people would not be able to determine the south transit of a star.
At this time, the standard table is only used to determine the orientation, but not to determine the length of the sun shadow. Observing the southern transit of the star to determine the season can reduce the influence of refraction and light seepage on the horizon, and its accuracy is naturally higher than that of observing the appearance of the star.
In addition, from the expressions of "at noon", "in the middle of the night", "in an eternal day" and "in a short day" (respectively referring to the longest and shortest day), we can know that some kind of instrument for measuring time has been used at that time (this can also be proved from the relevant records in Xia Zheng Xiao below). All these indicate that we have entered a quite developed era of observing images and timing.
Its sign is that the number of observed stars has increased from one to many, and the number of observed stars has changed from Dongsheng to south Zhongtian, and some instruments have been used. What is more noteworthy is that Yao Dian also described that people adopted the "60-day and 300-day cycle" at this time.
4. Ancient astronomical knowledge in China.
Astronomy and agriculture
Astronomy in ancient China was very developed, and the calculation of annual cycle in Song Dynasty was accurate to the second. Some textbooks in China say that ancient astronomy guides agricultural production. To this end, I consulted my grandmother who is a farmer. Grandma's understanding of the one-year cycle is limited to the calculation of the lunar leap month and the calculation of the twenty-four solar terms. First, she follows the crowd, and second, she refers to the solar terms, which means that the error may be as much as half a month. Besides astronomical knowledge, it is limited to the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. "Agricultural production" is far less developed than ancient astronomy in China. In fact, just refer to the phenology to see if the willows have sprouted and set a suitable sowing date. Frogs are dying, and when they move in the solar calendar, they will come out of their hibernating holes every year, regardless of wind, frost, rain and snow. These astronomical frogs will definitely not survive the cold spring.
China ancient astronomy is actually astrology.
The stars in the sky correspond to the movements of emperors and ministers on earth, as well as planets and comets. All indicate major events on earth. So "the sky is hanging like an elephant." Wise kings of past dynasties, when they see some celestial phenomena, will bow down and reflect. Astronomy has always been supported by the royal family and monopolized by the royal family. In the twenty-four histories, many of them are devoted to astronomy, telling how astronomical phenomena predict human events. What I want to mention here is that modern meteorology, which belongs to astronomy in ancient times, is a part of the awesome astronomical phenomena.
Modern astronomy tends to "the origin, evolution and destination of the universe" and wants to predict and control meteorology. This is also modern "exploration" and "control".
The ancients said, "A gentleman is afraid of heaven." The sky is just some signals that the sky shows people. People know that they have violated God's will, so they should correct it as soon as possible. How to explore heaven? Let alone control it.
5. I want to know about the astronomical astrological calendar in ancient China as a whole.
The time concept of China cultural astrological calendar 2005-7-1421:15: 47 is unknown. According to the data in Shangshu, the history and culture of China, starting from Tang Yao and passing through Yu Shun to Yu Xia, has been adhering to the ancient tradition for a long time, taking the lunar calendar as the benchmark to determine the time.
A year is divided into twelve months; Each month is divided into thirty days; Twelve o'clock every day-Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai; It was once divided into three quarters. This concept of time in the astrological calendar has a long history, and it is said that it can be traced back to the era of the Yellow Emperor. Whether this matter is credible or not is another matter.
But they are all based on the lunar (moon), so the twelve symbols representing twelve o'clock are called "earthly branches". Expand the application of "earthly branch" symbol, and it can also be used as the code of years, such as sub-year and ugly year, and then the periodic laws of sub-year and ugly year.
The difference between the twenty-four solar terms: the ancient "astrological calendar" is also based on the movement of the sun in celestial bodies. So China used to use the lunar calendar; Actually, it's a combination of yin and yang.
In addition to the benchmark of one year 12 months and January 30 days, according to the movement of the sun on celestial bodies and the change and influence of the ground weather, 12 months are ruled by four seasons. It is also equal to the four virtues of "Yuan, Heng, Reason and Truth" in the Book of Changes.
In addition to the twelve months of the four seasons, it is further divided into 24 solar terms, such as "Winter Solstice Day, Slight Cold (December Festival), Great Cold, Rain in beginning of spring (January Festival), Spring Equinox (February Festival), Tomb-Sweeping Day (March Festival), Xiaoman in Grain Rain, Long Summer (April Festival) and Miscanthus (May Festival). The standard of these 24 solar terms is based on the relationship between the sun and the earth's meteorology, not on the profit and loss of the lunar calendar (month).
The division of five phases and six qi: except that the four seasons are twelve months ahead, two? Admire? Hey? Loyalty? Five days is a period, "three periods are one interest" and "six periods are one section" are the benchmarks for seasonal climate division. According to this rule, by extension, we can redraw hexagrams in 30 years as a generation and 60 years as a second generation, which is in line with the Book of Changes.
Reduced to a very small size, it can be used in the subtle relationship of twelve hours, minutes and seconds a day. This ancient astronomy, meteorology and astrology, as well as the establishment of calendars, are based on the profit and loss of the lunar (moon), but they also conform to the latitude of the sun on celestial bodies and its seasonal changes with the moon and the earth.
But in addition to these, China's ancient astronomical astrology extended "time" to the "space" of celestial bodies and the universe, and explored the world life theory of cosmic time, which was not only incomplete, but also really lacking. It was only after the Qin and Han Dynasties that the formula of astronomical astrology was gradually formed, and the theory of "the division of stars and stars" in China's geography was barely formed. It can be said that it is a unified concept of "time" and "space" in China ancient culture.
Unfortunately, this theory of the unification of time and space is still confined to China, and the "time" and "space" beyond the four seas are still unknown. Besides, the theory of "the division of the stars" is also a far-fetched idea in China's geography, and it has no good basis.
When young students are reading Chinese, they see the so-called "wings of the stars" in Wang Bo's Preface to Wang Teng-ting, which is derived from this concept of "the stars are divided into images". Shao Zi's Development of "Time" and "Space" Thought. During the hundreds of years from the end of the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the concepts of "time" and "emptiness" in Buddhism entered China, which made the world outlook in China culture leap to a new realm.
Unfortunately, the cultural tentacles of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties have been talking about metaphysical rationality in the field of "literary philosophy" or "philosophical literature", without paying attention to this exotic worldview, and further exploring the subtle relationship between the change of cosmic physics and the evolution of personnel. What's more, people at that time were limited to the scope of knowledge and regarded it as absurd and illusory.
(About the Buddhist world outlook and world outlook, we must make supplementary explanations in another monograph to be more detailed. It was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that the Buddhist concept of "success, living, evil and emptiness" was summed up in the beginning, and the ideas of "surplus, emptiness, elimination, growth" and "poverty, communication, change and transformation" in the Book of Changes were integrated, which constituted the "historical philosophy" and "change" in the Book of Changes.
In fact, Shao Zi created the method of "Yi-ology of history" in Huang Shi. I think his original intention is to combine complexity with simplicity. I hope everyone can understand it and see it at a glance. Therefore, "knowing heaven", "know life" and "reflexive sincerity" are in line with the benevolence of heavenly heart.
This is not a mystery. I hope that people in thousands of years will not be able to pass. However, after the comments of later scholars, Shao Zixue became more and more confused.
In Shao Kangjie's masterpiece A Quiet History of Huang Ji, the most basic concept is that he built the historical life of the human world on the principle of Li Yi's image number. Specify a simple and memorable formula.
His naming of this formula. It is called "Yuan, Hui, Yun and Shi".
Simply put, it is based on the year, month, day and time of the year. The so-called one yuan is the representative in one year.
There are twelve months in a year, the beginning and the end of each month. The so-called dusk is when the sun and the moon meet, so it is called meeting.
In other words, between one dollar, there are twelve meetings. Every month, the earth itself runs 30 times, so it will contain 30 luck in a moment.
But there are twelve hours in a day, and each hour is thirty minutes. So summing up the twelfth and first is 30 points.
Expand it and fill it up, which constitutes "30 years is a lifetime, 12, and * * * counts 360 years as luck. For the 30th National Games, * * * counts as 1,800 years, and for the 12th National Games, * * counts as 1 yuan for 129,600 years. "
The monism is the cardinal number representing the formation of this world civilization to the end of its destruction. The evolution of the intermediate process is divided into twelve meetings from the beginning to the end, and each meeting has its own destiny.
6. Comprehensive study of ancient cultural knowledge, astronomy and geography.
Regarding the structural classification of China ancient culture, the standards of various schools are different, and the classification is also different: there is a dichotomy between matter and spirit; There is a dichotomy of matter, system and spirit; There are four divisions: material, system, behavior and mentality; There are also six branches: material, social, spiritual, art, language and customs. Although these divisions have different levels, they are all based on the development process of human creation culture, from material to spirit, from perceptual to rational, which is suitable for professionals to study and study. The ancient culture of China in middle school students' learning materials should be divided according to different educational functions.
The ancient cultural knowledge involved in middle school Chinese textbooks includes astronomy, geography, literature and art, philosophy and religion, administrative calendar, military criminal law, yin and yang elements, family etiquette, music and art, food and clothing, crown of horses and chariots, cultural foundation, political and economic system, strategy of governing the country with talents, values and moral sentiments. However, because there is no special text in the textbook to introduce China's ancient cultural knowledge, this knowledge is scattered. Teachers are difficult to teach and students are even more difficult to learn. Therefore, in teaching, we should sort out and classify the scattered ancient cultural knowledge according to the different functions of education. Each category is divided into several knowledge points. Taking an ancient cultural knowledge point as a breakthrough, it is fanned out, broadening the scope and developing in depth. Then discuss the next knowledge point. This has three advantages: first, classify the scattered knowledge in the text into systems and establish knowledge chains. Second, when teachers spread scattered knowledge of ancient culture, they can adopt the method of special lectures. The third is to provide students with a research-based learning method, open their minds and develop good academic habits.
7. Who has detailed information about the ancient astronomical calendar in China?
The Evolution of Ancient Astronomical Calendar in China China is one of the earliest countries with advanced astronomy in the world.
Due to the needs of production and life, people have been observing astronomical phenomena since ancient times. Through continuous efforts from generation to generation, they have accumulated more and more astronomical knowledge and gradually formed an astronomical system with rich content and unique style. China ancient astronomy has been in the leading position in the world for a long time in many fields, and has written a brilliant chapter in the history of world astronomy and China culture.
The most important part of ancient astronomy in China is the calendar. In other words, the calendar is the core of ancient astronomy in China. The ancient calendar in China is not only about the arrangement of the calendar system, but also includes the operation and position calculation of the sun, the moon and the five planets of earth, wood, fire, gold and water. Calculation of star position; Calculate the length of shadow and the length of day and night in the afternoon; A wide range of topics such as solar eclipse forecast.
In a sense, the compilation of ancient calendars in China is equivalent to the compilation of modern astronomical calendars. Therefore, ancient astronomers in China carried out a series of observation and research activities, such as the selection of epoch, the elaboration of astronomical concepts, the calculation of astronomical constants, the compilation of astronomical tables, the selection and improvement of specific calculation methods, astrometry methods and mathematical methods.
These constitute the basic framework and main contents of the ancient calendar in China. Of course, China's ancient astronomy also includes a wider range of contents, such as the design and manufacture of precise astronomical instruments unique to ancient China, the discussion of the theory of the universe, and the long-term systematic observation and recording of a series of astronomical phenomena, especially strange astronomical phenomena. Together with the calendar, they constitute a very colorful system of ancient astronomy in China.
The ancient astronomical system in China experienced a long evolution process of occurrence, development, perfection and decline, and finally merged into modern astronomy. Let's briefly introduce it in six stages (namely, the following six plates).
Astronomical knowledge before the Western Zhou Dynasty This is a long historical period in which astronomical knowledge began to sprout and initially accumulate. Due to the needs of production and life, from observing the appearance of stars and the movement of the sun and the moon, people gradually formed the concept of time length closely related to these needs, and then produced the original calendar system.
Due to the need of divination activities, people pay great attention to the changes of astronomical phenomena, especially the appearance of abnormal astronomical phenomena, which also makes people pay attention to astronomical observation, thus gradually forming the tradition of astronomical records. All these have had a far-reaching impact on the development of later generations.
1. Our ancestors lived in the vast land of China when they observed the images. In their own production and life practice, people gradually found that the rise and fall of the sun, moon and stars, the cold weather in nature, the existence of prey, the prosperity and decline of plants and other natural phenomena are closely related to human survival. Therefore, consciously observing and understanding these natural phenomena in order to conform to nature and seek their own development has become one of the issues of interest to our ancestors, from which the seeds of astronomical knowledge have gradually sprouted.
The sun is undoubtedly vital to people. The ancients worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, which is the objective basis of the schedule of work and rest.
The alternation of light and shade caused by the sun's entry and exit must have given our ancestors a deep feeling, so the "day" with the sun's entry and exit as the cycle should be the earliest time unit they realized. Naturally, the change of the moon's profit and loss is another obvious and important astronomical phenomenon.
It is of great significance, because bright moonlight is a key factor in arranging people's activities at night. After long-term observation and counting, people gradually found that the moon's cycle is about 30 days, which led to the emergence of a longer time unit "month".
It is much more difficult to understand the longer time unit "year" than "day" and "month", but it is a cycle of greater significance to people's production and life, because cold and summer, rain and drought, fishing and hunting, gathering and even agricultural production activities are related to it. To this end, people have made unremitting exploration for a long time.
From the observation of phenology-vegetation withering, animal migration, access and so on. This is about the earliest way to explore the length of a year, followed by the observation of some stars. The latter result is more accurate than the former.
According to legend, in the era of Emperor Zhuan Xu, the "Huozheng" (1) was set up to observe the great Mars (Antares, the alpha star of Scorpio). When the great Mars just rose from the eastern horizon at dusk, it was the beginning of the year, that is, the coming of this spring. It is not difficult to deduce the length of a year.
This is an early form of observing images and timing in ancient China. According to research, this is about 2400 BC.
According to "Yao Dian of Shangshu", in the legendary Yao Di, "those who are ordered to respect the sky like the sun, the moon and the stars to teach others are what xi is". The specific observation methods and results are as follows: "The stars in the sun are in Yin Zhongchun", "The sun is always sparking in midsummer", "The stars at night are empty in Yin Zhongqiu" and "The stars in the sun are short in midsummer", that is, the days when birds, fire, emptiness and dragons are observed in the south of dusk.
According to calculation, this is about the actual astronomical phenomena in 2000 BC. From the above records, we can also infer that the original standard table appeared at that time, otherwise people would not be able to determine the south transit of a star.
At this time, the standard table is only used to determine the orientation, but not to determine the length of the sun shadow. Observing the southern transit of the star to determine the season can reduce the influence of refraction and light seepage on the horizon, and its accuracy is naturally higher than that of observing the appearance of the star.
In addition, from the expressions of "at noon", "in the middle of the night", "in an eternal day" and "in a short day" (respectively referring to the longest and shortest day), we can know that some kind of instrument for measuring time has been used at that time (this can also be proved from the relevant records in Xia Zheng Xiao below). All these indicate that we have entered a quite developed era of observing images and timing.
Its sign is that the number of observation stars has increased from one to many, from the observation star to the south transit, and some instruments have been used.