CHAPTER XXXIII.
[CONCERNING THE ASTROLOGERS IN THE CITY OF CAMBALUC.]
[There are in the city of Cambaluc, what with Christians, Saracens, and
Cathayans, some five thousand astrologers and soothsayers, whom the
Great Kaan provides with annual maintenance and clothing, just as he
provides the poor of whom we have spoken, and they are in the constant
exercise of their art in this city.
They have a kind of astrolabe on which are inscribed the planetary
signs, the hours and critical points of the whole year. And every year
these Christian, Saracen, and Cathayan astrologers, each sect apart,
investigate by means of this astrolabe the course and character of the
whole year, according to the indications of each of its Moons, in order
to discover by the natural course and disposition of the planets, and
the other circumstances of the heavens, what shall be the nature of the
weather, and what peculiarities shall be produced by each Moon of the
year; as, for example, under which Moon there shall be thunderstorms
and tempests, under which there shall be disease, murrain, wars,
disorders, and treasons, and so on, according to the indications of
each; but always adding that it lies with God to do less or more
according to His pleasure. And they write down the results of their
examination in certain little pamphlets for the year, which are called
_Tacuin_, and these are sold for a groat to all who desire to know what
is coming. Those of the astrologers, of course whose predictions are
found to be most exact, are held to be the greatest adepts in their
art, and get the greater fame.{1}
And if any one having some great matter in hand, or proposing to make a
long journey for traffic or other business, desires to know what will
be the upshot, he goes to one of these astrologers and says: “Turn up
your books and see what is the present aspect of the heavens, for I
am going away on such and such a business.” Then the astrologer will
reply that the applicant must also tell the year, month, and hour of
his birth; and when he has got that information he will see how the
horoscope of his nativity combines with the indications of the time
when the question is put, and then he predicts the result, good or bad,
according to the aspect of the heavens.
You must know, too, that the Tartars reckon their years by twelves;
the sign of the first year being the Lion, of the second the Ox, of
the third the Dragon, of the fourth the Dog, and so forth up to the
twelfth;{2} so that when one is asked the year of his birth he answers
that it was in the year of the Lion (let us say), on such a day or
night, at such an hour, and such a moment. And the father of a child
always takes care to write these particulars down in a book. When the
twelve yearly symbols have been gone through, then they come back to
the first, and go through with them again in the same succession.]
NOTE 1.—It is odd that Marsden should have sought a Chinese
explanation of the Arabic word _Taḳwím_ even with Tavernier before
him: “They sell in Persia an annual almanac called _Tacuim_, which
is properly an ephemeris containing the longitude and latitude
of the planets, their conjunctions and oppositions, and other
such matter. The _Tacuim_ is full of predictions regarding war,
pestilence, and famine; it indicates the favourable time for
putting on new clothes, for getting bled or purged, for making a
journey, and so forth. They put entire faith in it, and whoever can
afford one governs himself in all things by its rules.” (Bk. V. ch.
xiv.)
The use of the term by Marco may possibly be an illustration of
what I have elsewhere propounded, viz. that he was not acquainted
with Chinese, but that his intercourse and conversation lay chiefly
with the foreigners at the Kaan’s Court, and probably was carried
on in the Persian language. But not long after the date of our Book
we find the word used in Italian by Jacopo Alighieri (Dante’s son):—
“A voler giudicare
Si conviene adequare
Inprimo il _Taccuino_,
Per vedere il cammino
Come i Pianeti vanno
Per tutto quanto l’anno.”
—_Rime Antiche Toscane_, III. 10.
Marco does not allude to the fact that almanacs were published by
the Government, as they were then and still are. Pauthier (515
_seqq._) gives some very curious details on this subject from the
Annals of the Yuen. In the accounts of the year 1328, it appears
that no less than 3,123,185 copies were printed in three different
sizes at different prices, besides a separate almanac for the
_Hwei-Hwei_ or Mahomedans. Had Polo not omitted to touch on the
issue of almanacs by Government he could scarcely have failed to
enter on the subject of printing, on which he has kept a silence so
singular and unaccountable.
The Chinese Government still “considers the publication of a
Calendar of the first importance and utility. It must do everything
in its power, not only to point out to its numerous subjects the
distribution of the seasons, ... but on account of the general
superstition it must mark in the almanac the lucky and unlucky
days, the best days for being married, for undertaking a journey,
for making their dresses, for buying or building, for presenting
petitions to the Emperor, and for many other cases of ordinary
life. By this means the Government keeps the people within the
limits of humble obedience; it is for this reason that the Emperors
of China established the Academy of Astronomy.” (_Timk._ I. 358.)
The acceptance of the Imperial Almanac by a foreign Prince is
considered an acknowledgment of vassalage to the Emperor.
It is a penal offence to issue a pirated or counterfeit edition of
the Government Almanac. No one ventures to be without one, lest
he become liable to the greatest misfortunes by undertaking the
important measures on black-balled days.
The price varies now, according to Williams, from 1½_d._ to 5_d._
a copy. The price in 1328 was 1 _tsien_ or cash for the cheapest
edition, and 1 _liang_ or tael of silver for the _édition de luxe_;
but as these prices were in paper-money it is extremely difficult
to say, in the varying depreciation of that currency, what the
price really amounted to.
[Illustration: Mongol “Compendium Instrument” _Keen-e_ in the
Observatory Garden.]
[Illustration: Mongol Armillary Sphere in the Observatory Garden.]
[“The Calendars for the use of the people, published by Imperial
command, are of two kinds. The first, _Wan-nien-shu, the Calendar
of Ten Thousand Years_, is an abridgment of the Calendar,
comprising 397 years, viz. from 1624 to 2020. The second and
more complete Calendar is the _Annual Calendar_, which, under
the preceding dynasties, was named _Li-je, Order of Days_, and
is now called _Shih-hsien-shu, Book of Constant Conformity (with
the Heavens)_. This name was given by the Emperor _Shun-chih_, in
the first year of his reign (1644), on being presented by Father
John Schall (_Tang Jo-wang_) with a new Calendar, calculated on
the principles of European science. This _Annual Calendar_ gives
the following indications: (1°) The cyclical signs of the current
year, of the months, and of all the days; (2°) the _long_ and
_short_ months, as well as the _intercalary_ month, as the case
may be; (3°) the designation of each day by the 5 _elements_, the
28 constellations, and the 12 _happy presages_; (4°) the day and
hour of the new moon, of the full moon, and of the two dichotomies,
_Shang-hsien_ and _Hsia-hsien_; (5°) the day and hour for the
_positions_ of the sun in the 24 zodiacal signs, calculated for the
various capitals of China as well as for Manchuria, Mongolia, and
the tributary Kingdoms; (6°) the hour of sunrise and sunset and the
length of day and night for the principal days of the month in the
several capitals; (7°) various superstitious indications purporting
to point out what days and hours are auspicious or not for such or
such affairs in different places. Those superstitious indications
are stated to have been introduced into the Calendar under the
_Yüan_ dynasty.” (_P. Hoang, Chinese Calendar_, pp. 2–3.)—H. C.]
We may note that in Polo’s time one of the principal officers of
the Mathematical Board was _Gaisue_, a native of _Folin_ or the
Byzantine Empire, who was also in charge of the medical department
of the Court. Regarding the Observatory, see note at p. 378,
_supra_.
And I am indebted yet again to the generous zeal of Mr. Wylie of
Shanghai, for the principal notes and extracts which will, I trust,
satisfy others as well as myself that the instruments in the garden
of the Observatory belong to the period of Marco Polo’s residence
in China.[1]
The objections to the alleged age of these instruments were
entirely based on an inspection of photographs. The opinion was
given very strongly that no instrument of the kind, so perfect in
theory and in execution, could have been even imagined in those
days, and that nothing of such scientific quality could have been
made except by the Jesuits. In fact it was asserted or implied that
these instruments must have been made about the year 1700, and were
therefore not earlier in age than those which stand on the terraced
roof of the Observatory, and are well known to most of us from the
representation in Duhalde and in many popular works.
The only authority that I could lay hand on was Lecomte, and what
he says was not conclusive. I extract the most pertinent passages:
“It was on the terrace of the tower that the Chinese astronomers
had set their instruments, and though few in number they occupied
the whole area. But Father Verbiest, the Director of the
Observatory, considering them useless for astronomical observation,
persuaded the Emperor to let them be removed, to make way for
several instruments of his own construction. The instruments set
aside by the European astronomers are still in a hall adjoining the
tower, buried in dust and oblivion; and we saw them only through a
grated window. They appeared to us to be very large and well cast,
in form approaching our astronomical circles; that is all that we
could make out. There was, however, thrown into a back yard by
itself, a celestial globe of bronze, of about 3 feet in diameter.
Of this we were able to take a nearer view. Its form was somewhat
oval; the divisions by no means exact, and the whole work coarse
enough.
“Besides this in a lower hall they had established a gnomon....
This observatory, not worthy of much consideration for its ancient
instruments, much less for its situation, its form, or its
construction, is now enriched by several bronze instruments which
Father Verbiest has placed there. These are large, well cast,
adorned in every case with figures of dragons,” etc. He then
proceeds to describe them:
“(1). Armillary Zodiacal Sphere of 6 feet diameter. This sphere
reposes on the heads of four dragons, the bodies of which after
various convolutions come to rest upon the extremities of two
brazen beams forming a cross, and thus bear the entire weight of
the instrument. These dragons ... are represented according to the
notion the Chinese form of them, enveloped in clouds, covered above
the horns with long hair, with a tufted beard on the lower jaw,
flaming eyes, long sharp teeth, the gaping throat ever vomiting a
torrent of fire. Four lion-cubs of the same material bear the ends
of the cross beams, and the heads of these are raised or depressed
by means of attached screws, according to what is required. The
circles are divided on both exterior and interior surface into
360 degrees; each degree into 60 minutes by transverse lines, and
the minutes into sections of 10 seconds each by the sight-edge[2]
applied to them.”
Of Verbiest’s other instruments we need give only the names: (2)
Equinoxial Sphere, 6 feet diameter. (3) Azimuthal Horizon, same
diam. (4) Great Quadrant, of 6 feet radius. (5) Sextant of about 8
feet radius. (6) Celestial Globe of 6 feet diameter.
As Lecomte gives no details of the old instruments which he
saw through a grating, and as the description of this zodiacal
sphere (No. 1) corresponds in some of its main features with
that represented in the photograph, I could not but recognize
the _possibility_ that this instrument of Verbiest’s had for
some reason or other been removed from the Terrace, and that the
photograph might therefore possibly _not_ be a representation of
one of the ancient instruments displaced by him.[3]
The question having been raised it was very desirable to settle
it, and I applied to Mr. Wylie for information, as I had received
the photographs from him, and knew that he had been Mr. Thomson’s
companion and helper in the matter.
“Let me assure you,” he writes (21st August, 1874), “the Jesuits
had nothing to do with the manufacture of the so-called Mongol
instruments; and whoever made them, they were certainly on the
Peking Observatory before Loyola was born. They are not made
for the astronomical system introduced by the Jesuits, but are
altogether conformable to the system introduced by Kúblái’s
astronomer Ko Show-king.... I will mention one thing which is
quite decisive as to the Jesuits. _The circle is divided into 365¼
degrees_, each degree into 100 minutes, and each minute into 100
seconds. The Jesuits always used the sexagesimal division. Lecomte
speaks of the imperfection of the division on the Jesuit-made
instruments; but _those on the Mongol instruments are immeasurably
coarser_.
“I understand it is not the ornamentation your friend objects
to?[4] If it is, I would observe that there is no evidence of
progress in the decorative and ornamental arts during the Ming
Dynasty; and even in the Jesuit instruments that part of the
work is purely Chinese, excepting in one instrument, which I am
persuaded must have been made in Europe.
“I have a Chinese work called _Luh-King-t’oo-Kaou_, ‘Illustrations
and Investigations of the Six Classics.’ This was written in A.D.
1131–1162, and revised and printed in 1165–1174. It contains a
representation of an armillary sphere, which appears to me to be
much the same as the sphere in question. There is a solid horizon
fixed to a graduated outer circle. Inside the latter is a meridian
circle, at right angles to which is a graduated colure; then the
equator, apparently a double ring, and the ecliptic; also two
diametric bars. The cut is rudely executed, but it certainly shows
that some one imagined something more perfect. The instrument
stands on a cross frame, with 4 dragon supporters and a prop in the
centre.[5]
“It should be remembered that under the Mongol Dynasty the
Chinese had much intercourse with Central Asia; and among others
Yelewchootsae, as confidential minister and astronomer, followed
Chinghiz in his Western campaign, held intercourse with the
astronomers of Samarkand, and on his return laid some astronomical
inventions before the Emperor.
“I append a notice of the Observatory taken from a popular
description of Peking, by which it will be seen that the
construction of these instruments is attributed to Ko Show-king,
one of the most renowned astronomers of China. He was the chief
astronomer under Kúblái Kaan” [to whom he was presented in 1262; he
was born in 1231.—H. C.]
“It must be remembered that there was a special vitality among the
Chinese under the Yuen with regard to the arts and sciences, and
the Emperor had the choice of artizans and men of science from
all countries. From the age of the Yuen till the arrival of the
Jesuits, we hear nothing of any new instruments having been made;
and it is well known that astronomy was never in a lower condition
than under the Ming.”[6]
Mr. Wylie then draws attention to the account given by Trigault
of the instruments that Matteo Ricci saw at Nanking, when he went
(in the year 1599) to pay a visit to some of the _literati_ of
that city. He transcribes the account from the French _Hist. de
l’Expédition Chrestienne en la Chine_, 1618. But as I have the
Latin, which is the original and is more lucid, by me, I will
translate from that.[7]
“Not only at Peking, but in this capital also (Nanking) there is a
College of Chinese Mathematicians, and this one certainly is more
distinguished by the vastness of its buildings than by the skill
of its professors. They have little talent and less learning, and
do nothing beyond the preparation of the almanacs on the rules
of calculation made by the ancients; and when it chances that
events do not agree with their calculation they assert that what
they had calculated was the regular course of things, but that
the aberrant conduct of the stars was a prognostic from heaven of
something going to happen on the earth. This something they make
out according to their fancy, and so spread a veil over their
own blunders. These gentlemen did not much trust Father Matteo,
fearing, no doubt, lest he should put them to shame; but when at
last they were freed from this apprehension they came and amicably
visited the Father in hope of learning something from him. And when
he went to return their visit he saw something that really was new
and beyond his expectation.
“There is a high hill at one side of the city, but still within the
walls. On the top of the hill there is an ample terrace, capitally
adapted for astronomical observation, and surrounded by magnificent
buildings which form the residence of the Professors.... On this
terrace are to be seen astronomical instruments of cast-metal,
well worthy of inspection whether for size or for beauty; _and we
certainly have never seen or read of anything in Europe like them_.
For nearly 250 years they have stood thus exposed to the rain, the
snow, and all other atmospheric inclemencies, and yet they have
lost absolutely nothing of their original lustre. And lest I should
be accused of raising expectations which I do not justify, I will
do my best in a digression, probably not unwelcome, to bring them
before the eyes of my readers.
“The larger of these instruments were four in number. First
we inspected a great globe [A], graduated with meridians and
parallels; we estimated that three men would hardly be able to
embrace its girth.... A second instrument was a great sphere [B],
not less in diameter than that measure of the outstretched arms
which is commonly called a geometric pace. It had a horizon and
poles; instead of circles it was provided with certain double
hoops (_armillæ_), the void space between the pair serving the
purpose of the circles of our spheres. All these were divided into
365 degrees and some odd minutes. There was no globe to represent
the earth in the centre, but there was a certain tube, bored like
a gun-barrel, which could readily be turned about and fixed to
any azimuth or any altitude so as to observe any particular star
through the tube, just as we do with our vane-sights;[8]—not at all
a despicable device! The third machine was a gnomon [C], the height
of which was twice the diameter of the former instrument, erected
on a very large and long slab of marble, on the northern side of
the terrace. The stone slab had a channel cut round the margin, to
be filled with water in order to determine whether the slab was
level or not, and the style was set vertical as in hour-dials.[9]
We may suppose this gnomon to have been erected that by its aid the
shadow at the solstices and equinoxes might be precisely noted, for
in that view both the slab and the style were graduated. The fourth
and last instrument, and the largest of all, was one consisting
as it were of three or four huge astrolabes in juxtaposition [D];
each of them having a diameter of such a geometrical pace as I
have specified. The fiducial line, or _Alhidada_, as it is called,
was not lacking, nor yet the _Dioptra_.[10] Of these astrolabes,
one having a tilted position in the direction of the south,
represented the equator; a second, which stood crosswise on the
first, in a north and south plane, the Father took for a meridian;
but it could be turned round on its axis; a third stood in the
meridian plane with its axis perpendicular, and seemed to stand
for a vertical circle; but this also could be turned round so as
to show any vertical whatever. Moreover all these were graduated,
and the degrees marked by prominent studs of iron, so that in the
night the graduation could be read by the touch without a light.
All this compound astrolabe instrument was erected on a level
marble platform with channels round it for levelling. On each
of these instruments explanations of everything were given in
Chinese characters; and there were also engraved the 24 zodiacal
constellations which answer to our 12 signs, 2 to each.[11] There
was, however, one error common to all the instruments, viz. that,
in all, the elevation of the Pole was assumed to be 36°. Now there
can be no question about the fact that the city of Nanking lies in
lat. 32¼°; whence it would seem probable that these instruments
were made for another locality, and had been erected at Nanking,
without reference to its position, by some one ill versed in
mathematical science.[12]
[Illustration: Observatory Terrace.]
[Illustration: Observatory Instruments of the Jesuits.]
“Some years afterwards Father Matteo saw similar instruments at
Peking, or rather the same instruments, so exactly alike were
they, insomuch that they had unquestionably been made by the
same artist. And indeed it is known that they were cast at the
period when the Tartars were dominant in China; and we may without
rashness conjecture that they were the work of some foreigner
acquainted with our studies. But it is time to have done with these
instruments.”—(_Lib._ IV. _cap._ 5.)
In this interesting description it will be seen that the Armillary
Sphere [B] agrees entirely with that represented in illustration
facing p. 450. And the second of his photographs in my possession,
but not, I believe, yet published, answers _perfectly_ to the
curious description of the 4th instrument [D]. Indeed, I should
scarcely have been able to translate that description intelligibly
but for the aid of the photograph before me. It shows the three
_astrolabes_ or graduated circles with travelling indexes arranged
exactly as described, and pivoted on a complex frame of bronze; (1)
circle in the plane of the equator for measuring right ascensions;
(2) circle with its axis vertical to the plane of the last, for
measuring declinations: (3) circle with vertical axis, for zenith
distances? The Gnomon [A] was seen by Mr. Wylie in one of the lower
rooms of the Observatory (see below). Of the Globe we do not now
hear; and that mentioned by Lecomte among the ancient instruments
was inferior to what Ricci describes at Peking.
I now transcribe Mr. Wylie’s translation of an extract from a
Popular Description of Peking:
“The observatory is on an elevated stage on the city wall, in the
south-east corner of the (Tartar) city, and was built in the year
(A.D. 1279). In the centre was the _Tze-wei_[13] Palace, inside
of which were a pair of scrolls, and a cross inscription, by
the imperial hand. Formerly it contained the _Hwan-t’ien-e_ [B]
‘Armillary Sphere’; the _Keen-e_ [D?] ‘Transit Instrument’ (?);
the _Tung-kew_ [A] ‘Brass Globe’; and the _Leang-t’ien-ch’ih_,
‘Sector,’ which were constructed by Ko Show-king under the Yuen
Dynasty.
“In (1673) the old instruments having stood the wear of long past
years, had become almost useless, and six new instruments were
made by imperial authority. These were the _T’ien-t’ee_ ‘Celestial
Globe’ (6); _Chih-taoue_ ‘Equinoctial Sphere’ (2); _Hwang-taoue_
‘Zodiacal Sphere’ (1); _Te-p’ing kinge_ ‘Azimuthal Horizon’ (3);
_Te-p’ing weie_ ‘Altitude Instrument’ (4); _Ke-yene_ ‘Sextant’
(5). These were placed in the Observatory, and to the present
day are respectfully used. The old instruments were at the same
time removed, and deposited at the foot of the stage. In (1715)
the _Te-ping King-wei-e_ ‘Azimuth and Altitude Instrument’ was
made;[14] and in 1744 the _Ke-hang-foo-chin-e_ (literally ‘Sphere
and Tube instrument for sweeping the heavens’). All these were
placed on the Observatory stage.
“There is a wind-index-pole called the ‘Fair-wind-pennon,’ on which
is an iron disk marked out in 28 points, corresponding in number to
the 28 constellations.”[15]
✛ Mr. Wylie justly observes that the evidence is all in accord,
and it leaves, I think, no reasonable room for doubt that the
instruments now in the Observatory garden at Peking are those
which were cast aside by Father Verbiest[16] in 1673 (or 1668);
which Father Ricci saw at Peking at the beginning of the century,
and of which he has described the duplicates at Nanking; and which
had come down from the time of the Mongols, or, more precisely, of
Kúblái Khan.
Ricci speaks of their age as nearly 250 years in 1599; Verbiest
as nearly 300 years in 1668. But these estimates evidently point
to the _termination_ of the Mongol Dynasty (1368), to which the
Chinese would naturally refer their oral chronology. We have seen
that Kúblái’s reign was the era of flourishing astronomy, and that
the instruments are referred to his astronomer Ko Shéu-king; nor
does there seem any ground for questioning this. In fact, it being
once established that the instruments existed when the Jesuits
entered China, all the objections fall to the ground.
We may observe that the _number_ of the ancient instruments
mentioned in the popular Chinese account agrees with the number of
important instruments described by Ricci, and the titles of three
at least out of the four seem to indicate the same instruments. The
catalogue of the new instruments of 1673 (or 1668) given in the
native work also agrees _exactly_ with that given by Lecomte.[17]
And in reference to my question as to the _possibility_ that one
of Verbiest’s instruments might have been removed from the terrace
to the garden, it is now hardly worth while to repeat Mr. Wylie’s
assurance that there is no ground whatever for such a supposition.
The instruments represented by Lecomte are all still on the
terrace, only their positions have been somewhat altered to make
room for the two added in last century.
Probably, says Mr. Wylie, more might have been added from Chinese
works, especially the biography of Ko Shéu-king. But my kind
correspondent was unable to travel beyond the books on his own
shelves. Nor was it needful.
It will have been seen that, beautiful as the art and casting of
these instruments is, it would be a mistake to suppose that they
are entitled to equally high rank in scientific accuracy. Mr.
Wylie mentioned the question that had been started to Freiherr
von Gumpach, who was for some years Professor of Astronomy in the
Peking College. Whilst entirely rejecting the doubts that had been
raised as to the age of the Mongol instruments, he said that he had
seen those of Tycho Brahe, and the former are quite unworthy to be
compared with Tycho’s in scientific accuracy.
The doubts expressed have been useful in drawing attention to these
remarkable reliques of the era of Kúblái’s reign, and of Marco
Polo’s residence in Cathay, though I fear they are answerable for
having added some pages to a work that required no enlargement!
[Mr. Wylie sent a most valuable paper on _The Mongol Astronomical
Instruments at Peking_ to the Congress of Orientalists held at St.
Petersburg, which was reprinted at Shanghai in 1897 in _Chinese
Researches_. Some of the astronomical instruments have been removed
to Potsdam by the Germans since the siege of the foreign Legations
at Peking in 1900.—H. C.]
On these auguries, and on diviners and fortune-tellers, see
_Semedo_, p. 118 _seqq._; _Kidd_, p. 313 (also for preceding
references, _Mid. Kingdom_, II. 152; _Gaubil_, 136).
NOTE 2.—✛ The real cycle of the Mongols, which was also that of
the Chinese, runs: 1. Rat; 2. Ox; 3. Tiger; 4. Hare; 5. Dragon; 6.
Serpent; 7. Horse; 8. Sheep; 9. Ape; 10. Cock; 11. Dog; 12. Swine.
But as such a cycle [12 earthly branches, _Ti-chih_] is too short
to avoid confusion, it is combined with a co-efficient cycle of
_ten_ epithets [celestial Stems, _T’ien-kan_] in such wise as to
produce a 60-year cycle of compound names before the same shall
recur. These co-efficient epithets are found in four different
forms: (1) From the Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water,
attaching to each a masculine and feminine attribute so as to make
ten epithets. (2) From the Colours: Blue, Red, Yellow, White,
Black, similarly treated. (3) By terms without meaning in Mongol,
directly adopted or imitated from the Chinese, _Ga_, Yi, Bing,
Ting, etc. (4) By the five Cardinal Points: East, South, Middle,
West, North. Thus 1864 was the first year of a 60-year cycle:—
1864 = (Masc.) _Wood-Rat_ Year = (Masc.) _Blue-Rat_ Year.
1865 = (Fem.) _Wood-Ox_ Year = (Fem.) _Blue-Ox_ Year.
1866 = (Masc.) _Fire-Tiger_ Year = (Masc.) _Red-Tiger_ Year.
1867 = (Fem.) _Fire-Hare_ Year = (Fem.) _Red-Hare_ Year.
1923 = (Fem.) _Water-Swine_ Year = (Fem.) _Black-Swine_ Year.
And then a new cycle commences just as before.
This Calendar was carried by the Mongols into all their
dominions, and it would appear to have long survived them in
Persia. Thus a document issued in favour of Sir John Chardin by
the _Shaikh-ul-Islám_ of Ispahan, bears the strange date for a
Mahomedan luminary of “The year of the Swine.” The Hindus also had
a 60-year cycle, but with them each year had an independent name.
The Mongols borrowed their system from the Chinese, who attribute
its invention to the Emperor Hwang-ti, and its initiation to the
61st year of his reign, corresponding to B.C. 2637. [“It was
Ta-nao, Minister to the Emperor Hwang-ti, who, by command of his
Sovereign, devised the sexagenary cycle. Hwang-ti began to reign
2697 B.C., and the 61st year of his reign was taken for the first
cyclical sign.” _P. Hoang_, _Chinese Calendar_, p. 11.—H. C.] The
characters representing what we have called the ten co-efficient
epithets are called by the Chinese the “Heavenly Stems”; those
equivalent to the twelve animal symbols are the “Earthly Branches,”
and they are applied in their combinations not to years only, but
to cycles of months, days, and hours, such hours being equal to
two of ours. Thus every year, month, day, and hour will have two
appropriate characters, and the four pairs belonging to the time
of any man’s birth constitute what the Chinese call the “Eight
Characters” of his age, to which constant reference is made in
some of their systems of fortune-telling, and in the selection
of propitious days for the transaction of business. To this
system the text alludes. A curious account of the principles of
prognostication on such a basis will be found in _Doolittle’s
Social Life of the Chinese_ (p. 579 _seqq._; on the Calendar, see
Schmidt’s Preface to _S. Setzen_; _Pallas, Sammlungen_, II. 228
_seqq._; _Prinsep’s Essays_, _Useful Tables_, 146).
[“Kubilai Khan established in Peking two astronomical boards
and two observatories. One of them was a Chinese Observatory
(_sze t’ien t’ai_), the other a Mohammedan Observatory (_hui
hui sze t’ien t’ai_), each with its particular astronomical and
chronological systems, its particular astrology and instruments.
The first astronomical and calendar system was compiled for the
Mongols by Ye-liu Ch’u-ts’ai, who was in Chingis Khan’s service,
not only as a high counsellor, but also as an astronomer and
astrologer. After having been convinced of the obsoleteness and
incorrectness of the astronomical calculations in the _Ta ming li_
(the name of the calendar system of the Kin Dynasty), he thought
out at the time he was at Samarcand a new system, valid not only
for China, but also for the countries conquered by the Mongols in
Western Asia, and named it in memory of Chingis Khan’s expedition
_Si ching keng wu yüan li_, _i.e._ ‘Astronomical Calendar
beginning with the year _Keng wu_, compiled during the war in the
west.’ Keng-wu was the year 1210 of our era. Ye-liu Ch’u-ts’ai
chose this year, and the moment of the winter solstice, for the
beginning of his period; because, according to his calculations,
it coincided with the beginning of a new astronomical or planetary
period. He took also into consideration, that since the year 1211
Chingis Khan’s glory had spread over the whole world. Ye-liu
Ch’u-ts’ai’s calendar was not adopted in China, but the system of
it is explained in the _Yuen-shi_, in the section on Astronomy and
the Calendar.
“In the year 1267, the Mohammedans presented to Kubilai their
astronomical calendar (_wan nien li_, _i.e._), the calendar of
ten thousand years. By taking this denomination in its literal
sense, we may conclude that the Mahommedans brought to China the
ancient Persian system, founded on the period of 10,000 years.
The compilers of the _Yuen-shi_ seem not to have had access to
documents relating to this system, for they give no details
about it. Finally by order of Kubilai the astronomers _Hui-Heng_
and _Ko Show-King_ composed a new calculation under the name
of _Shou-shi-li_, which came into use from the year 1280. It is
thoroughly explained in the _Yuen-shi_. Notwithstanding the fame
this system generally enjoyed, its blemishes came soon to light.
In the sixth month of 1302 an eclipse of the sun happened, and the
calculation of the astronomer proved to be erroneous (it seems
the calculation had anticipated the real time). The astronomers
of the Ming Dynasty explained the errors in the _Shou-shi-li_ by
the circumstance, that in that calculation the period for one
degree of precession of the equinox was taken too long (eighty-one
years). But they were themselves hardly able to overcome these
difficulties.” (_Palladius_, pp. 51–53.)—H. C.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Besides the works quoted in the text I have only been able to
consult Gaubil’s notices, as abstracted in Lalande; and the
Introductory Remarks to Mr. J. Williams’s _Observations of Comets
... extracted from the Chinese Annals_, London, 1871.
[2] _Pinnula_. The French _pinnule_ is properly a sight-vane at the end
of a traversing bar. The _transverse lines_ imply that minutes were
read by the system of our _diagonal scales_; and these I understand
to have been subdivided still further by aid of a divided edge
attached to the sight-vane; qu. a Vernier?
[3] Verbiest himself speaks of the displaced instruments thus ... “ut
nova instrumenta astronomica facienda mihi imponeret, quæ scilicet
more Europæo affabre facta, et in specula Astroptica Pekinensi
collocata, æternam Imperii Tartarici memoriam apud posteritatem
servarent, _prioribus instrumentis Sinicis rudioris Minervæ,
quæ jam a_ trecentis _proxime_ annis _speculam occupabant, inde
amotis_. Imperator statim annuit illorum postulatis, et totius
rei curam, publico diplomate mihi imposuit. Ego itaque intra
quadriennis spatium sex diversi generis instrumenta confeci.” This
is from an account of the Observatory written by Verbiest himself,
and printed at Peking in 1668 (_Liber Organicus Astronomiæ
Europææ apud Sinas Restitutæ_, etc.). My friend Mr. D. Hanbury
made the extract from a copy of this rare book in the London
Institution Library. An enlarged edition was published in Europe.
(Dillingen, 1687.)
[4] On the contrary, he considered the photographs interesting, as
showing to how late a period the art of fine casting had endured.
[5] This ancient instrument is probably the same that is engraved in
Pauthier’s _Chine Ancienne_ under the title of “The Sphere of the
Emperor Shun” (B.C. 2255!).
[6] After the death of Kúblái astronomy fell into neglect, and when
Hongwu, the first Ming sovereign, took the throne (1368) the
subject was almost forgotten. Nor was there any revival till the
time of Ching. The latter was a prince who in 1573 associated
himself with the astronomer Hing-yun-lu to reform the state of
astronomy. (_Gaubil_.)
What Ricci has recorded (in Trigautius) of the dense ignorance
of the Chinese _literati_ in astronomical matters is entirely
consistent with the preceding statements.
[7] I had entirely forgotten to look at Trigault till Mr. Wylie sent
me the extract. The copy I use (_De Christianâ Expeditione apud
Sinas ... Auct. Nicolao Trigautio_) is of _Lugdun_. 1616. The first
edition was published at _August. Vindelicorum_ (Augsburg) in 1615:
the French, at Lyons, in 1616.
[8] “Pinnulis.”
[9] “_Et stilus eo modo quo in horologiis ad perpendiculum collocatus_.”
[10] The _Alidada_ is the traversing index bar which carries the
_dioptra_, _pinnules_, or sight-vanes. The word is found in some
older English Dictionaries, and in France and Italy is still
applied to the traversing index of a plane table or of a sextant.
Littré derives it from (Ar.) _’adád_, enumeration; but it is really
from a quite different word, _al-iḍádat_ عضادة “a door-post,” which
is found in this sense in an Arabic treatise on the Astrolabe. (See
_Dozy and Engelmann_, p. 140.)
[11] 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. The names of
these _Kung_ are entirely different from those of our sign, though
since the 17th century the Western Zodiac, with paraphrased names,
has been introduced in some of their books. But besides that, they
divide the heavens into 28 stellar spaces. The correspondence of
this division to the Hindu system of the 28 Lunar Mansions, called
_Nakshatras_, has given rise to much discussion. The Chinese _sieu_
or stellar spaces are excessively unequal, varying from 24° in
equatorial extent down to 24′. (_Williams_, op. cit.) [See _P.
Hoang_, _supra_ p. 449.]
[12] Mr. Wylie is inclined to distrust the accuracy of this remark, as
the only city nearly on the 36th parallel is P’ing-yang fu.
But we have noted in regard to this (Polo’s Pianfu, vol. ii. p. 17)
that a college for the education of Mongol youth was instituted
here, by the great minister Yeliu Chutsai, whose devotion to
astronomy Mr. Wylie has noticed above. In fact, two colleges were
established by him, one at Yenking, _i.e._ Peking, the other at
P’ing-yang; and astronomy is specified as one of the studies to be
pursued at these. (See _D’Ohsson_, II. 71–72, quoting _De Mailla_.)
It seems highly probable that the two sets of instruments were
originally intended for these two institutions, and that one set
was carried to Nanking, when the Ming set their capital there in
1368.
[13] The 28 _sieu_ or stellar spaces, above spoken of, do not extend to
the Pole; they are indeed very unequal in extent on the meridian
as well as on the equator. And the area in the northern sky not
embraced in them is divided into three large spaces called _Yuen_
or enclosures, of which the field of circumpolar stars (or circle
of perpetual apparition) forms one which is called _Tze-Wei_.
(_Williams_.)
The southern circumpolar stars form a fourth space, beyond the 28
_sieu_. _Ibid._
[14] “This was obviously made in France. There is nothing Chinese about
it, either in construction or ornament. It is very different from
all the others.” (_Note by Mr. Wylie._)
[15] “There follows a minute description of the brass clepsydra, and
the brass gnomon, which it is unnecessary to translate. I have seen
both these instruments, in two of the lower rooms.”—Id.
[16] [Ferdinand Verbiest, S.J., was born at Pitthens, near Courtrai; he
arrived in China in 1659 and died at Peking on the 29th January,
1688.—H. C.]
[17] We have attached letters A, B, C, to indicate the correspondences
of the ancient instruments, and cyphers 1, 2, 3, to indicate the
correspondences of the modern instruments.