DOCSLIB.ORG

Astronomical Instruments with Two Scales Drawn on Their Common Circumference of Rings in the Joseon Dynasty

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Astronomical Instruments with Two Scales Drawn on Their Common Circumference of Rings in the Joseon Dynasty Research Paper J. Astron. Space Sci. 34(1), 45-54 (2017) https://doi.org/10.5140/JASS.2017.34.1.45 Astronomical Instruments with Two Scales Drawn on Their Common Circumference of Rings in the Joseon Dynasty Byeong-Hee Mihn1,2†, Goeun Choi1,2, Yong Sam Lee3 1Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, Korea 2Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea 3Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea This study examines the scale unique instruments used for astronomical observation during the Joseon dynasty. The Small Simplified Armillary Sphere (小簡儀, So-ganui) and the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument (日星定時儀, Ilseong-jeongsi-ui) are minimized astronomical instruments, which can be characterized, respectively, as an observational instrument and a clock, and were influenced by the Simplified Armilla (簡儀, Jianyi) of the Yuan dynasty. These two instruments were equipped with several rings, and the rings of one were similar both in size and in scale to those of the other. Using the classic method of drawing the scale on the circumference of a ring, we analyze the scales of the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere and the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument. Like the scale feature of the Simplified Armilla, we find that these two instruments selected the specific circumference which can be drawn by two kinds of scales. If Joseon’s astronomical instruments is applied by the dual scale drawing on one circumference, we suggest that 3.14 was used as the ratio of the circumference of circle, not 3 like China, when the ring’s size was calculated in that time. From the size of Hundred-interval disk of the extant Simplified Sundial in Korea, we make a conclusion that the three rings’ diameter of the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument described in the Sejiong Sillok (世宗實錄, Veritable Records of the King Sejong) refers to that of the middle circle of every ring, not the outer circle. As analyzing the degree of 28 lunar lodges (lunar mansions) in the equator written by Chiljeongsan-naepyeon (七政算內篇, the Inner Volume of Calculation of the Motions of the Seven Celestial Determinants), we also obtain the result that the scale of the Celestial-circumference-degree in the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere was made with a scale error about 0.1 du in root mean square (RMS). Keywords: astronomical instrument, ring’s scale, ratio of the circumference of a circle, Celestial-circumference-degree ring, Hundred-interval ring, Joseon 1. INTRODUCTION (日星定時儀, Ilseong-jeongsi-ui) are the representative ones in the Joseon dynasty. During a 5.5 year period that started in 1432, King Sejong The parts structurally integrated in the Small Simplified (r. 1418-1450) and his officials made 15 kinds of astronomical Armillary Sphere and the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining and timekeeping instruments. Some instruments were Instrument and how to use them has been previously described reconstructions of instruments that had previously been based on records in the Sejong Sillok (世宗實錄, Veritable made in China, and others were created by using designs that Records of the King Sejong) (Needham et al. 1986). It has been blended various functional parts and applied them toward a pointed out that the major parts and its function of these two specific aim (Mihn et al. 2015). Among the newly-developed instruments originated from the Simplified Armilla (簡儀, Jianyi) instruments, the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere (小簡儀, So- of the Yuan dynasty (Kim et al. 2012). Nha et al. (1994) and Lee ganui) and the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument (1996) have investigated the Simplified Armilla remained in This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Received 27 SEP 2016 Revised 20 DEC 2016 Accepted 22 DEC 2016 Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https:// †Corresponding Author creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, Tel: +82-42-865-2044, E-mail: [email protected] provided the original work is properly cited. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1603-3769 Copyright © The Korean Space Science Society 45 http://janss.kr plSSN: 2093-5587 elSSN: 2093-1409 J. Astron. Space Sci. 34(1), 45-54 (2017) China and suggested a Joseon period reconstruction model of the observation instrument and clock, respectively, by extracting Simplified Armilla. Lee & Kim (2002) gathered records about the the corresponding function from the Simplified Armilla (Kim et Small Simplified Armillary Sphere and analyzed its structure. al. 2012). Lee et al. (1995) reviewed the function and specifications of Mihn et al. (2015) summarized the specifications of the parts of the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument, Small Simplified Armillary Sphere and the Sun-and Star while Lee & Nam (1998) proposed its reconstruction model and Time-Determining Instrument in detail. The Sun-and Star explained the possibility of the association with the Automatic- Time-Determining Instrument has three concentric rings striking Clepsydra (自擊漏, Jagyeok-ru). Nam (2002) has asserted which are placed on the equator; the Celestial-circumference that the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument was used degree-and-fraction ring, the Sundial Hundred-interval to adjust time of the Automatic-striking. Rufus (1936) has first ring, and the Star-dial Hundred-interval ring. The outermost introduced two instruments that are similar to the Sun-and- ring is 2.00 ja (41.4 cm) in diameter and is also engraved by Stars Time-Determining Instrument, and Song et al. (1994) has graduations of the Celestial-circumference degree, which reported their specifications. is 365.25 du in a turn. The middle and the inner ring have It has been contended that the ring’s size of Joseon period Hundred-interval graduations with 1.84 ja (38.1 cm) and 1.68 astronomical instruments was appropriately selected to ja (43.8 cm) in diameter respectively (Mihn et al. 2015). The draw the scale on the ring’s circumference (Mihn et al. 2015). scale of the Hundred-interval comes from 12 double-hours Though several cases have been studied, there have been no and 100 intervals per day in Chinese astronomy. conclusions reached about the association between a ring’s The Small Simplified Armillary Sphere also has concentric size and its scale of the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere rings; two concentric rings and the other ring perpendicular and the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument. The to them. On the equatorial plane, the Hundred-interval ring diameters of the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere are ring is fixed within the equatorial ring. The former is 1.84 ja analogous to those of the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining in diameter and the latter is 2.00 ja (Mihn et al. 2015). It is Instrument, and the scale reveals such similarity. These different from that the fixed Hundred-interval ring of the points enable us to grasp the characteristics of the ring’s size Simplified Armilla is out of its equatorial ring (Lee 1996). of those instruments as well as their scales. The specifications The declination ring of the Small Simplified Armillary of the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument are Sphere is perpendicular to the equatorial plane but identical confirmed in the Sejong Sillok, while those of the Small to the equatorial ring in terms of the size and the scale. Simplified Armillary Sphere are established in the Gukjo- The equatorial ring has the scale of 28 lunar lodges as well Ryeoksang-Go (國朝曆象考, Reference for Astronomy and its as Celestial-circumference degree, while the declination Calendar of Our Country) (Lee & Moon 2004). The type of the ring has a half of the Celestial-circumference degree scale ring scale can be seen from the ring’s name described in the on each of the two semicircles, which is divided by the inscription and the memoir of the Sejong Sillok (Needham et two poles; the North pole and South pole. The analysis of al. 1986). the connection between a ring’s size and its scale is made We explain the scale drawn on the ring in Section 2, and only with those of the Sun-and Star Time-Determining analyze the scale’s characteristics and error of the Small Instrument, which is greatly similar to aspects of the Small Simplified Armillary Sphere and the Sun-and Star Time- Simplified Armillary Sphere. Determining Instrument in Section 3. In Section 4, we make some conclusions on the three rings featured on these two 2.2 Shape instruments of the Joseon dynasty. There are two shapes of rings historically employed in astronomical instruments of Korea and China; one is a thin 2. RING’S SIZE AND SCALE flat ring which resembles a washer like Fig. 1(a) and the other is a thin band ring like Fig. 1(b). Because the ticks for scale 2.1 Specification and Graduations were drawn on the circumference of the ring (Mihn et al. 2015), a thin flat ring has at least two circumferences of an The Small Simplified Armillary Sphere and the Sun-and- outer diameter and an inner diameter on which t scales can Stars Time-Determining Instrument were first made in 1433 be marked (see the Fig. 1). In this paper, the inner, the middle, and 1437, respectively, under the reign of King Sejong of and the outer circumference of a thin flat ring are considered. Joseon. Both two instruments have all three rings, with the scale The specifications of a ring are expressed as diameter, engraved on each. The instruments can be characterized as width and thickness. In the Chinese literature, the diameter https://doi.org/10.5140/JASS.2017.34.1.45 46 Byeong-Hee Mihn et al.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sphere Confusion: a Textual Reconstruction of Instruments and Observational Practice in First-Millennium CE China Daniel Patrick Morgan
    Sphere confusion: a textual reconstruction of instruments and observational practice in first-millennium CE China Daniel Patrick Morgan To cite this version: Daniel Patrick Morgan. Sphere confusion: a textual reconstruction of instruments and observa- tional practice in first-millennium CE China . Centaurus, Wiley, 2016, 58 (1-2), pp.87-103. halshs- 01374805v3 HAL Id: halshs-01374805 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01374805v3 Submitted on 4 Oct 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike| 4.0 International License Centaurus, 58.1 (2016) Sphere Confusion: a Textual Reconstruction of Astronomical Instruments and Observational Practice in First-millennium CE China * Daniel Patrick MORGAN Abstract: This article examines the case of an observational and demonstration- al armillary sphere confused, one for the other, by fifth-century historians of astronomy He Chengtian and Shen Yue. Seventh-century historian Li Chunfeng dismisses them as ignorant, supplying the reader with additional evidence. Using their respective histories and what sources for the history of early imperial ar- millary instruments survive independent thereof, this article tries to explain the mix-up by exploring the ambiguities of ‘observation’ (guan) as it was mediated through terminology, text, materiality and mathematics.
    [Show full text]
  • Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi and His Book of the Fixed Stars: a Journey of Re-Discovery
    ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Hafez, Ihsan (2010) Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and his book of the fixed stars: a journey of re-discovery. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ 5.1 Extant Manuscripts of al-Ṣūfī’s Book Al-Ṣūfī’s ‘Book of the Fixed Stars’ dating from around A.D. 964, is one of the most important medieval Arabic treatises on astronomy. This major work contains an extensive star catalogue, which lists star co-ordinates and magnitude estimates, as well as detailed star charts. Other topics include descriptions of nebulae and Arabic folk astronomy. As I mentioned before, al-Ṣūfī’s work was first translated into Persian by al-Ṭūsī. It was also translated into Spanish in the 13th century during the reign of King Alfonso X. The introductory chapter of al-Ṣūfī’s work was first translated into French by J.J.A. Caussin de Parceval in 1831. However in 1874 it was entirely translated into French again by Hans Karl Frederik Schjellerup, whose work became the main reference used by most modern astronomical historians. In 1956 al-Ṣūfī’s Book of the fixed stars was printed in its original Arabic language in Hyderabad (India) by Dārat al-Ma‘aref al-‘Uthmānīa.
    [Show full text]
  • "Dialling Guides" Equatorial Ring Sundial
    created by 1 The Sundial Primer - "Dialling Guides" Carl Sabanski Equatorial Ring Sundial The purpose of the "Dialling Guides" is to provide an easy method for laying out the hour lines for a number of equatorial ring sundials located at any latitude in either the Northern or Southern Hemispheres. The equatorial ring sundial is a universal sundial and can be used anywhere in the world. All that is required is to tilt the sundial so the gnomon points to the celestial pole. Please go to "The Sundial Primer" and visit the "Equatorial Ring Sundial" page for more details. The "Dialling Guides" are very easy to use and will help you lay out a variety of equatorial ring sundials. They come in two sizes if printed out at full scale. One set can be printed on 8-1/2" by 11" paper and the other on 11" by 17" paper. The scaling is in inches and will help in determining the required size of the hour ring. The "Dialling Guides" can be printed to any size but then the scaling in inches is no longer valid. This gives you the flexibility to create any size of "Dialling Guide" you need to meet your requirements. There is another method of creating larger sundials that will be discussed later. The following summarizes the equatorial ring sundial "Dialling Guides" available: 1. Sizes: 4 to 10 inches in diameter in 1/4 inch increments; Time Range: as required; Time Increment: 10 minutes 2. Sizes: 4 to 10 inches in diameter in 1/4 inch increments; Time Range: as required; Time Increment: 15 minutes 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Armillary Sphere
    Armillary Sphere Inventory no. 45453 Armillary sphere Armillary sphere for demonstration of the heavenly spheres made and signed by Carlo Plato, Rome, c.1588. The armillary sphere is an instrument that extends right back to the ancients, and was certainly in used by the second-century astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy, of Alexandria. It was a mathematical instrument designed to demonstrate the movement of the celestial sphere about a stationary Earth at its centre. The concept of the celestial sphere was fundamental to astronomy from Antiquity through the Middle Ages and into the Early-Modern era. At the centre of the sphere is the Earth. As the Earth is stationary in this model, it is the celestial sphere which rotates about it and acts as a reference system for locating the celestial bodies – stars, in particular – from a geocentric perspective. The instrument survived throughout the medieval period into the early modern era, and in many respects came to symbolise the queen of the sciences, astronomy. It wasn’t until the middle of the sixteenth-century that the basis of the instrument – a geocentric concept of the Universe – was seriously challenged by the Polish mathematician, Nicolaus Copernicus. Even then, the instrument still continued to serve a useful purpose as a purely mathematical instrument. Portrait of Nicolas Copernicus 1580 Held stationary at the centre is a small brass sphere representing the Earth. About it rotate a set of rings representing the heavens – the celestial sphere – one complete revolution approximating to a day or 24 hours. The sphere is mounted at the celestial poles which define the axis of rotation, and its structure includes an equatorial ring and, parallel to this, above and below, two smaller rings representing the Tropic of Cancer to the north, and the Tropic of Capricorn to the south.
    [Show full text]
  • Ring Current -Atmosphere Interactions Model with Stormtime Magnetic Field
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Fall 2007 Ring current -atmosphere interactions model with stormtime magnetic field Alexander Emilov Vapirev University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Vapirev, Alexander Emilov, "Ring current -atmosphere interactions model with stormtime magnetic field" (2007). Doctoral Dissertations. 406. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/406 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. R i n g C u r r e n t - A t m o s p h e r e I nteractions M o d e l W i t h S t o r m t i m e M a g n e t i c F i e l d b y ALEXANDER EMILOV VAPIREV M.S., Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1999 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics September 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3277150 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.
    [Show full text]
  • Climatic Effects of an Impact Induced Equatorial Debris Ring
    SAND2001-2464J Climatic Effects of an Impact Induced Equatorial Debris Ring Peter J. Fawcett’ Mark B.E. Boslough’ 1. University of New Mexico 220 Northrop Hall Albuquerque, NM 87131 2. Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, NM To be submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres Abstract Several theoretical and laboratory studies suggest that some large impact events are capable of inserting material into space depending on mechanics of the impact. This material would quickly coalesce to form a temporary debris ring in orbit around the equator, which would cast its shadow on the winter hemisphere. The results of an atmospheric GCM simulation where an orbiting equatorial debris ring is applied as a boundary condition to the model show how the longer-term effects of a major impact could affect the climate system. The primary effect is a severe cooling in the tropics and the subtropics, especially under the seasonally migrating ring shadow. The globe cools and becomes drier, with the exception of monsoonal regions that become wetter. The Hadley Cell is weakened resulting in drier tropics and weaker subtropical high pressure cells in the winter hemisphere. Because the tropics cool more than middle latitude regions, the equator-to-pole temperature gradient becomes shallower resulting in weaker tropospheric winds and less high-latitude storminess. We suggest that the late Eocene impact(s) (35.5 Ma) could have generated a geologically temporary orbiting debris ring based on the global distribution of tektites associated with these events and patterns of climate change immediately above the iridiummicrotektite layer. The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary event, while larger, did not produce a debris ring.
    [Show full text]
  • Magnetic Interconnection of Saturn's Polar Regions: Comparison of Modelling Results with Hubble Space Telescope UV Auroral
    EGU Journal Logos (RGB) Open Access Open Access Open Access Ann. Geophys., 31, 1447–1458, 2013 www.ann-geophys.net/31/1447/2013/ Advances in Annales Nonlinear Processes doi:10.5194/angeo-31-1447-2013 © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License.Geosciences Geophysicae in Geophysics Open Access Open Access Natural Hazards Natural Hazards and Earth System and Earth System Sciences Sciences Magnetic interconnection of Saturn’s polar regions: comparisonDiscussions of Open Access Open Access modelling results with HubbleAtmospheric Space Telescope UV auroralAtmospheric images Chemistry Chemistry E. S. Belenkaya1, S. W. H. Cowley2, V. V. Kalegaevand Physics1, O. G. Barinov1, and W. O. Barinova1 and Physics 1 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1(2), Leninskie gory, GSP-1, MoscowDiscussions Open Access 119991, Russian Federation Open Access 2Department of Physics & Astronomy, UniversityAtmospheric of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK Atmospheric Correspondence to: E. S. Belenkaya ([email protected])Measurement Measurement Techniques Techniques Received: 14 May 2013 – Revised: 15 July 2013 – Accepted: 16 July 2013 – Published: 28 August 2013 Discussions Open Access Open Access Abstract. We consider the magnetic interconnection of Sat- 1 Introduction Biogeosciences urn’s northern and southern polar regionsBiogeosciences controlled by the Discussions interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), studying in particular the more complex and interesting case of southward IMF, In this paper we study Saturn’s ultraviolet (UV) auroral emis- when the Kronian magnetospheric magnetic field structure sions observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in Open Access one hemisphere, and their mapping along field lines intoOpen Access is the most twisted. The simpler case of northward IMF is Climate also discussed.
    [Show full text]
  • Aristarchus' Derivation of the Sun's Distance
    A HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY APPENDICES present stabie atoms have been formed in long periods of development out of the original bulk of protons, the remainder of which appears in the spectra of the A-type stars, the prominences on the sun, and the APPENDIX A water on earth, the basic matter of all organisms, including ourselves- without water, no protoplasm and no life would have been possible. This means that in those cosmie furnaces-the central parts de ep in the ARISTARCHUS' DERIVATION OF THE stars-the entire world was, and still is, fabricated, the materials con- SUN'S DISTANCE stituting its matter as well as the radiations constituting its life. It is this life which appears, greatly weakened, at the hot stellar surfaces and, again a thousand times weakened, transformed into the life-energy of Aristarehus' seventh proposition is the most important, sinee it is there that living beings. the essential numerical result is derived. The demonstration is interesting Another difficulty arises: to penetrate into the heavier nuclei, hence enough, in .ts value to future astronomy, to reproduee it here in brief. In the to build the heavier atoms, theory may demand still greater densities figure Arepresents the position of the sun, B of the earth, C of the moon and greater veloeities of the protons, corresponding to still higher tem- when seen halved. Henee angle EBD=angle BAC=3°. Let the angle FBE( =45°) be biseeted by BG. Sinee the ratio ofa great and a small tangent peratures of hundreds or thousands of millions of degrees; these we do to a eircle is greater than the ratio of the underlying arcs and angles, the not find even in the steIlar interiors.
    [Show full text]
  • Jones Preprint Precision of Time Observation
    CHAPTER 1 PRECISION OF TIME OBSERVATION IN GRECO-ROMAN ASTROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY ALEXANDER JONES * PREPRINT, 2016 * Forthcoming in M. Morfouli and E. Nicolaidis, eds., Time Accuracy in Physics and Astronomy. Alexander Jones Page 1 7/13/19 Abstract This article reviews the evidence for the precision of observed (or allegedly observed) time determinations in the Greek astral sciences. In the practice of astrology, the determination of times—most commonly times of births—was the province of lay observers, and the precision was not normally more refined than to the seasonal hour. In astronomy, the extant observational records show a broad trend towards more refined precision, though the apparent culmination of this trend in Ptolemy is due not only to his employment of the armillary astrolabe as a precision time-telling instrument but also to his penchant for fabrication and tampering in his observation reports. Ptolemy's claims to have attained to unprecedented time precision in the observations on which his tables were ostensibly based likely contributed to their early and widespread adoption by astrologers. Introduction The practice of astrology was one of the most conspicuous points of contact between technical astronomy and the lay public in antiquity. The personal horoscope is the emblematic document of this contact. A client, who could be a person of practically any social status and who would likely be ignorant of all but the most obvious facts of astronomy, provided the astrologer with his or her date, time, and (if not local) place of birth, and the astrologer employed astronomical tables or almanacs to determine the celestial longitudes of the Sun, Moon and planets and the points of the ecliptic that were crossing the horizon and meridian planes at that time and place.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Scale Model of the Sky to the Armillary Sphere
    From the scale model of the sky to the armillary sphere Alejandro Gangui IAFE/Conicet and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Roberto Casazza Universidad Nacional de Rosario and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Carlos Paez Instituto Superior de Formación Docente N° 29, Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is customary to employ a semi-spherical scale model to describe the apparent path of the Sun across the sky, whether it be its diurnal motion or its variation throughout the year. A flat surface and three bent semi-rigid wires (representing the three solar arcs during solstices and equinoxes) will do the job. On the other hand, since very early times, there have been famous armillary spheres built and employed by the most outstanding astronomers for the description of the celestial movements. In those instruments, many of them now considered true works of art, Earth lies in the center of the cosmos and the observer looks at the whole "from the outside". Of course, both devices, the scale model of the sky and the armillary sphere, serve to represent the movement of the Sun, and in this paper we propose to show their equivalence by a simple construction. Knowing the basics underlying the operation of the armillary sphere will give us confidence to use it as a teaching resource in school. PACS: 01.40.-d, 01.40.ek, 95.10.-a An ancient astronomical instrument In Latin, armilla means ring or bracelet. From this comes the name armillary sphere, used to designate a model or three-dimensional representation of the celestial sphere, the apparent path of the Sun in the sky and some significant astronomical elements such as the celestial equator, tropics, polar circles and the ecliptic.
    [Show full text]
  • Cosmographical Discussions in China from Early
    COSMOGRAPHICAL DISCUSSIONS IN CHINA FROM EARLY TIMES UP TO THE T1ANG DYNASTY by CHRISTOPHER CULLEN, M.A. (Oxon.) Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 1977. ProQuest Number: 10672707 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672707 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 ABSTRACT Cosmography is the study of the shape, size, disposition and other properties of the large-scale com­ ponents of the physical universe. The following survey assembles and discusses available Chinese material on this subject from early times up to-the rise of the T ’ang dynasty in A.D, 6l8 , after which Chinese interest in the topic seems to have diminished. Part I discusses evidence front texts dating < before 250 B.C. A cosmography involving a number of mythical elements is thus reconstituted; heaven is a solid vault over a flat square earth. Geographical speculations about the existence of several continents are discussed. Part II describes the Kai t 1ien theory according to the Chou pei, a book possibly compiled in the first century B.C.; an umbrella-like heaven rotates over a similarly shaped earth.
    [Show full text]
  • 11 the PHYSICAL UNIVERSE of Dantel
    11 THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE OF DANTEl is an inviting speculation as to what Dante Alighieri I’ would have been had he lived as a contemporary of ourselves. Removed from the sound of the monastery bells which ordered the days of the Middle Ages, and plunged into the bustle and clangor of our own time, would Dante still have become the Divine Poet? According to some, the question must be answered in the negative, and in this strain Grandgent speaks of the Middle Ages :2 “It is the age of religion. To theology the best intellects turned as instinctively as in our day they are drawn to high finance. Had the great business organizer who has recently passed away lived in the thirteenth century, he would natu- rally have been an ecclesiastic, an eminent theologian, a pillar of the Church; and St. Thomas, were he now alive, might well be a railway magnate.” In spite of the existence of great captains and great buca- neers without the Church, and courts bursting with the op- posing spirit, like that of Frederick 11, hardly any one will contradict the fundamental idea just expressed : that the 1The author takes this occasion to thank Professors Vito Volterra and G. Vacca, and Miss Luisa Socci, of Rome, Italy, as well as his father and Professor H. W. Tyler, of Boston, for assistance in the preparation of this lecture. Professor F. Cantelli, of Palermo, Sicily, very kindly sent copies of his own papers and those of Professor Angelitti, referred to below. Readers who find this subject interesting may pursue it further in the references given from time to time in the course of the lecture, and also in Dreyer, “Planetary Systems,” Cambridge, 1906, and Orr, “Dante and the Early Astronomers,” London, 1914.
    [Show full text]