Granting The Seasons: The Chinese Astronomical Reform Of 1280, With A Study Of Its Many Dimensions And A Translation Of Its Records : Shou Shih Li Cong Kao Shou Shih Li Cong Kao Granting The Seasons: The Chinese Astronomical Reform Of 1280, With A Study O

China's Most Sophisticated System Of Computational Astronomy Was Created For A Mongol Emperor Who Could Neither Read Nor Write Chinese, To Celebrate Victory Over China After Forty Years Of Devastating War. This Book Explains How And Why, And Reconstructs The Observatory And The Science That Made It Possible. For Two Thousand Years, A Fundamental Ritual Of Government Was The Emperor's Granting The Seasons To His People At The New Year By Issuing An Almanac Containing An Accurate Lunisolar Calendar. The High Point Of This Tradition Was The Season-granting System (shou-shih Li, 1280). Its Treatise Records Detailed Instructions For Computing Eclipses Of The Sun And Moon And Motions Of The Planets, Based On A Rich Archive Of Observations, Some Ancient And Some New. Sivin, The West’s Leading Scholar Of The Chinese Sciences, Not Only Recreates The Project's Cultural, Political, Bureaucratic, And Personal Dimensions, But Translates The Extensive Treatise And Explains Every Procedure In Minimally Technical Language. The Book Contains Many Tables, Illustrations, And Aids To Reference. It Is Clearly Written For Anyone Who Wants To Understand The Fundamental Role Of Science In Chinese History. There Is No Comparable Study Of State Science In Any Other Early Civilization. Astronomical Reform And Occupation Politics -- Orientation -- The Project: Origins And Process -- The Astronomers -- The Observatory And Its Instruments -- The Records -- Evaluation Of The Season-granting System -- Evaluation Of The Season-granting System, Part 2 -- Canon Of The Season-granting System, Part 1 -- Canon Of The Season-granting System, Part 2 -- Conclusion. Nathan Sivin ; With The Research Collaboration Of The Late Kiyosi Yabuuti, Yabuuchi Kiyosi, And Shigeru Nakayama, Nakayama Shigeru. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [617]-649) And Index. In English, With Some Terms And Proper Names In Chinese. Nathan Sivin ; With The Research Collaboration Of The Late Kiyosi Yabuuti 薮内清 And Shigeru Nakayama 中山茂. Front Matter....Pages i-18 Astronomical Reform and Occupation Politics....Pages 19-33 Orientation....Pages 35-132 The Project: Origins and Process....Pages 133-150 The Astronomers....Pages 151-170 The Observatory and its Instruments....Pages 171-225 The Records....Pages 227-247 Evaluation of the Season-Granting System....Pages 249-310 Evaluation of the Season-Granting System, Part 2....Pages 311-388 Canon of the Season-Granting System, Part 1....Pages 389-485 Canon of the Season-Granting System, Part 2....Pages 487-550 Conclusion....Pages 551-559 Back Matter....Pages 561-664 Introduction Astronomical reform and occupation politics Orientation The project : origins and process The astronomers The observatory and its instruments The records Evaluation of the Season-granting system Canon of the Season-granting system Appendix A: The instruments of Kuo Shou-ching Appendix B: The account of conduct of Kuo Shou-ching Appendix C: Technical terms. China's most sophisticated system of computational astronomy was created for a Mongol emperor who could neither read nor write Chinese, to celebrate victory over China after forty years of devastating war. This book explains how and why, and reconstructs the working group, the observatory and the science that made it possible