Observations of Comets, from B.C. 611 to A.D. 1640: Extracted from the Chinese Annals |
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Common terms and phrases
10th moon 1st moon 2nd moon 3rd moon 6th moon Andromeda April Aquarii astronomical August Auriga Chaou Chin Chinese Chinese astronomy Ching Choo Chung circle of perpetual Coma Berenices comet appeared comet was seen cubits in length day Jin day Jin Seuh day Jin Woo day Kea day Kwei day Ting day Yih determined by ẞ dynasty Emperor epoch Keen Geminorum Heen Yuen Hwang January Jeen July June Kaou Kwan Kwang Leo and Virgo Leo Minor March Ming Ming dynasty November Ophiuchus Pegasi perpetual apparition Pih Tow S. D. Chang S. D. Maou S. D. Peih S. D. Tsing S. D. Wei determined Sagittarii Scorpio seen in S. D. September Serpens Shang space between stars stars in Leo stellar divisions Ta Keo Tae Wei Teen She Yuen Tsan Tsin Tsoo Tsze Kung Tsze Wei Yuen Ursa Major Ursa Majoris Virginis Virgo Wan Chang Wang
Popular passages
Page xxi - Chinese divide the visible heaven into thirty-one portions ; twenty-eight of these may be termed the stellar divisions, and receive their names from, or are determined by. an asterism. generally forming the central or principal one of the division. The determination by an asterism having the same name has been preferred by me to that by any particular star in that asterism, as being, to the best of my judgment, more in accordance with the Chinese mode of proceeding; in...
Page ix - BC, being the 05th year of Chuen Kuh. Should this, on further investigation, prove correct, it will afford a strong presumption of the authenticity of the early Chinese annals, as there is no appearance of their astronomers having been at any time able to compute the places of the planets so far back ; and the account is found in works published long before any intercourse with Europeans had taken place.
Page x - Yaou is described as commanding lie and Ho ' to observe the heavens, to compute the calendar, to form an instrument by which the motions of the Sun, Moon, and twelve signs might be represented, and with due respect to impart information respecting the seasons to the people.
Page x - Hydra, culminated at sunset on the day of the vernal equinox in the time of...
Page ix - King/ one of their five classical works, which is considered by the Chinese as the most ancient of their books. We have it as revised by Confucius, about the sixth century before our era. It was even then considered as of extremely remote antiquity, and from the peculiarities of the style of the early portions of that work there is but little doubt of such being the fact.
Page xxii - Engelmann, p. 140.) § This is an error of Ricci's, as Mr. Wylie observes, or of his reporter. The Chinese divide their year into 24 portions of 15 days each. Of these 24 divisions twelve called Kung mark the twelve places in which the sun and moon come into conjunction, and are thus in some degree analogous to our 12 signs of the Zodiac.
Page xi - ... year of that reign. This may be considered sufficiently near for a rough computation like the present, and thus a strong presumptive proof is again afforded of the veracity of Chinese history as recorded in the
Page viii - European sinologists, and is borne out by its archaic style and construction). Mr. Williams mentions several tests by which the accuracy of these accounts may be verified. One of the most interesting is the following : — '• In the Chinese annals it is recorded, that in the reign of Chuen Kuh, the grandson of Hwang Te, in the spring of the year, on the first day of the first moon, a conjunction of the five planets occurred in the heavens in Ying Shih. Ying Shih, or as it is more usually denominated...
Page 58 - Ducas, describes it as having been as large as the full moon, and at first without a tail, on the appearance of which it diminished in size : thus corroborating the Chinese accounts, as given in ' MTL
Page vii - ... of Astronomy among the Chinese is a subject of the highest interest, whether it be considered as recording observations of the heavenly bodies made by one of the most ancient and primitive races of mankind, which appears in extremely remote times to have advanced to a high degree of civilisation ; peculiar, however, to itself ; and which has preserved the manners and customs established by its early rulers, more than two thousand years before the Christian em, in a great measure unaltered to...