Understanding the Cosmos – A Journey through Chinese Astronomy, by Dr Tania de Sales Marques

We have a very “western” view of the history of astronomy, and tonight we heard that the Chinese were observing and mapping the heavens long before Europe and the impact it had on both their culture and their way of living.

We heard from Tania how Chinese astronomy dates back 5000 years, and how their observations of the sky influenced calendars, agriculture and governance. Astronomy in China integrated science, philosophy and culture, and was unique, and developed independently from the west.

There is an ancient observatory in Taosi, dating to around 2300–1900 BCE, and it contains the oldest known gnomon in China, dating to about 2300-2000 BCE.

Master Shi Shen, writing around 355 BCE, is most likely responsible for one of the oldest surviving star catalogues, which contains descriptions of about 120 stars. This is part of a long tradition of depictions of Sun, stars and supernovae marked in pottery, bones and buildings.

The Mandate of Heaven – Zhou Dynasty (c 1046–256 BCE) – established the emperor, the Tianzi or “Son of Heaven”. It was important for the power of the emperor to be seen as being ruler of the heavens as well as the earth, so observing and charting became a key part of their rule.

The Chinese constructed “lunar mansions” and divided the sky into 28, each mansion containing different asterisms. They mapped out this system and named each part.

The system also included 3 circumpolar enclosures and 4 guardians, and by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912 CE) they had identified 283 asterisms and 3240 stars. Many observations were made of comets and supernovae.

Thanks to Tania for a fascinating and enjoyable talk.

If you would like to know more about this, you can look at the International Dunhuang Programme at:

https://idp.bl.uk/learning/chinese-astronomy/articles/the-chinese-sky/

(Images by Simon Hurst)