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Chinese Star Maps
Chinese star maps (Chinese: s , t , ''xīngtú'') are usually directional or graphical representations of Chinese astronomical alignments. Throughout the history of China, numerous star maps have been recorded. This page is intended to list or show the best available version of each star map. Star catalogs are also listed. For academic purposes, related star maps found in East Asia outside China are also listed. List of star maps See also * Chinese constellations * Traditional Chinese star names Chinese star names ( Chinese: , ''xīng míng'') are named according to ancient Chinese astronomy and astrology. The sky is divided into star mansions (, ''xīng xiù'', also translated as "lodges") and asterisms (, ''xīng guān''). The system of ... References External links * *https://web.archive.org/web/20080117162040/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/StarShine/HKSkyMap/e_starshine_hkskymap.htm *{{cite web, url=http://www.tsm.toyama.toyama.jp/curators/aroom/edo/se-bun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suchow Star Chart Rubbing
Suchow, Soochow, Su-chow, and Soo-chow are irregular romanizations of various Chinese placenames. They generally refer to: * Xuzhou in Jiangsu * Suzhou in Jiangsu * Suzhou, Gansu, a former name of Jiuquan in Gansu * Xuzhou, Sichuan, a former name of Yibin in Sichuan * Soochow University (Suzhou), Suzhou, China * Soochow University (Taiwan), in Taipei * Soochow (crater) on Mars Other uses * Suchów in Poland * "MV Soochow", ship with China Navigation Company The China Navigation Company. Pte. Ltd. is registered in Singapore, with parent entity - The China Navigation Company Limited (CNCo), trading brands as Swire Shipping & Swire Bulk, is a merchant shipping company based in Singapore. It is part of ... of Hong Kong See also * Suzhou (other) * Xuzhou (other) {{dab, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the ChuHan contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the #Western Han, Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the #Eastern Han, Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age (metaphor), golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the History of China, Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han Chinese, Han people", the Sinitic langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Siddha
Gautama Siddha, (fl. 8th century) astronomer, astrologer and compiler of Indian descent, known for leading the compilation of the ''Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era'' during the Tang Dynasty. He was born in Chang'an, and his family was originally from India, according to a tomb stele uncovered in 1977 in Xi'an. The Gautama family had probably settled in China over many generations, and might have been present in China prior even to the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. He was most notable for his translation of Navagraha calendar into Chinese. He also introduced Indian numerals with zero (〇) in 718 in China as a replacement of counting rods Counting rods () are small bars, typically 3–14 cm long, that were used by mathematicians for calculation in ancient East Asia. They are placed either horizontally or vertically to represent any integer or rational number. The written .... References * * Footnotes 8th-century births 8th-century deaths Chinese astr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treatise On Astrology Of The Kaiyuan Era
The ''Great Tang Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era'', also called the ''Kaiyuan Star Observations''Deng, Yinke. 005(2005). Chinese Ancient Inventions. (''Kaiyuan Zhanjing''),Needham, Volume 3, 109. is a Chinese astrology encyclopedia compiled by Gautama Siddha and a team of scholars between 714 and 724 AD during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty. The book is divided into 120 volumes and consists of about 600,000 words. The ''Kaiyuan Zhanjing'' incorporates many fragments of other works, including the star catalogues of Shi Shen and Gan De and a translated version of Indian ''Navagraha'' calendar at chapter 104. It may have made use of the ''Yisizhan'', compiled by Li Chunfeng around 645. Aryabhata's sine table by the eponymous Indian astronomer, was also translated into the ''Kaiyuan Zhanjing''. The ''Kaiyuan Zhanjing'' ceased to be copied in the 10th century, but was received attention from the scholar Cheng Mingshan Cheng may refer to: Chinese states * Chen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liang Lingzan
Liang Lingzan () was a Chinese artist, astronomer, inventor, mechanical engineer and politician of the Kaiyuan era during the Tang Dynasty. He invented a mechanized water clock with the Tantric monk and mathematician Yi Xing (). It was actually an astronomical instrument that served as a clock, made of bronze in the capital of Chang'an in the 720s. It was described by a contemporary text this way: twas made in the image of the round heavens and on it were shown the lunar mansions in their order, the equator and the degrees of the heavenly circumference. Water, flowing into scoops, turned a wheel automatically, rotating it one complete revolution in one day and night. Besides this, there were two rings fitted around the celestial sphere outside, having the sun and moon threaded on them, and these were made to move in circling orbit ... And they made a wooden casing the surface of which represented the horizon, since the instrument was half sunk in it. It permitted the exact d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yi Xing
Yi Xing (, 683–727), born Zhang Sui (), was a Chinese astronomer, Buddhist monk, inventor, mathematician, mechanical engineer, and philosopher during the Tang dynasty. His astronomical celestial globe featured a liquid-driven escapement, the first in a long tradition of Chinese astronomical clockworks. Science and technology Astrogeodetic survey In the early 8th century, the Tang court put Yi Xing in charge of an astrogeodetic survey.Hsu, 98. This survey had many purposes. It was established in order to obtain new astronomical data that would aid in the prediction of solar eclipses. The survey was also initiated so that flaws in the calendar system could be corrected and a new, updated calendar installed in its place. The survey was also essential in determining the arc measurement, i.e., the length of meridian arc-although Yi Xing, who did not know the Earth was spherical, did not conceptualize his measurements in these terms. This would resolve the confusion created by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astana Cemetery
The Astana Cemetery () is an ancient cemetery southeast of Turpan, in Xinjiang, China, from the ancient city of Gaochang. It served mainly as the cemetery for the descendants of Chinese settlers in Gaochang from the 4th century to the first half of the 8th century. The complex covers and contains over 1,000 tombs. Due to the arid environment many important artifacts have been well preserved at the tombs, including natural mummies. Description of the tombs The tombs consist of sloping passageways leading downwards for 4 or 5m to a rockcut entrance, about a meter wide and over a meter high. A step then leads into a brick-lined chamber, square or oblong and measuring between two and four meters wide, three to four meters long and up to two meters high. Some tombs contain one or two narrow antechambers in which there are niches on either side for guardian beasts in effigy. These figures show a variety of animal features and some have human faces. In their exuberance they resemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nüwa
Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huainanzi, there is described a great battle between deities that broke the pillars supporting Heaven and caused great devastation. There was great flooding, and Heaven had collapsed. Nüwa was the one who patched the holes in Heaven with five colored stones, and she used the legs of a tortoise to mend the pillars. There are many instances of her in literature across China which detail her in creation stories, and today remains a figure important to Chinese culture. Name The character ''nü'' ( zh, t=女, l=female) is a common prefix on the names of goddesses. The proper name is ''wa'', also read as ''gua'' ( zh, t=媧). The Chinese character is unique to this name. Birrell translates it as 'lovely', but notes that it "could be construed as 'fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuxi
Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well as the Cangjie system of writing Chinese characters around 2,000BC. Fuxi was counted as the first of the Three Sovereigns at the beginning of the Chinese dynastic period. Origin Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth. Pangu then died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which is a powerful being known as Huaxu (華胥). Huaxu gave birth to a twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nüwa. Fuxi and Nüwa are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes. Fuxi was known as the "original god", and he was said to have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunhuang Map
The Dunhuang map or Dunhuang Star map is one of the first known graphical representations of stars from ancient Chinese astronomy, dated to the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Before this map, much of the star information mentioned in historical Chinese texts had been questioned.Whitfield, Susan. 004(2004)''The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith''. British Library Staff. Serindia Publications. . The map provides a graphical verification of the star observations, and are part of a series of pictures on one of the Dunhuang manuscripts. The astronomy behind the map is explained in an educational resource posted on the website of the International Dunhuang Project, where much of the research on the map has been done. The Dunhuang Star map is to date the world's oldest complete preserved star atlas. History Early in 1900s (decade), a walled-up cave containing a cache of manuscripts was discovered by Chinese Taoist Wang Yuan-lu in the Mogao Caves. The scroll with the star cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Fan
Wang Fan (228–266), courtesy name Yongyuan, was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Wang Fan was from Lujiang Commandery (), which is located southwest of present-day Lujiang County, Anhui. He started his career in Wu as a Gentleman of Writing () during the reign of the first Wu emperor Sun Quan or second Wu emperor Sun Liang, but was dismissed from office. During the reign of the third Wu emperor Sun Xiu, Wang Fan served as a Central Regular Mounted Attendant () alongside He Shao, Xue Ying and Yu Si, and was given an additional appointment as a Chief Commandant of Escorting Cavalry (). He received much praise from his contemporaries. When the Wu government sent him as an ambassador to Wu's ally state, Shu, he was also highly regarded by the Shu government. Upon returning to Wu, he served as a military supervisor at the Wu military garrison in Xiakou (). During the reign of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lu Ji (Gongji)
Lu Ji (188–219), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese politician and scholar serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was also one of the 24 Filial Exemplars. Life Lu Ji was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. His father, Lu Kang, served as the Administrator of Lujiang Commandery () towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. The Lu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery and also in the Jiangdong region at the time. When Lu Ji was six years old, his father brought him to Jiujiang Commandery () to visit Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu treated his guests to mandarin oranges. Lu Ji secretly took three oranges and hid them in his sleeve. When Lu Ji and his father were preparing to leave, the oranges suddenly rolled out of his sleeve. Yuan Shu said: "Young Man Lu, you came as a guest. Why did you hide the oranges?" Lu Ji knelt down and replied: "I want to bring them home f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
