Heavenly numbers : astronomy and authority in early imperial China / Christopher Cullen (Needham Research Institute and Darwin College, Cambridge, CRCAO, Paris, Sometime scholar of University College, Oxford, and Research Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge).

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cullen, Christopher, author.

Contributor:

UPSO (University Press Scholarship Online)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astronomy--China--History.

Astronomy.

China.

History.

China--History--221 B.C.-960 A.D.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 426 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

First Edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, 2017.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

From the time of the foundation of the Chinese empire over two thousand years ago, its rulers believed that signs in the heavens conveyed vital messages about the way government should be conducted. They therefore maintained a large staff of astronomical specialists whose duty it was to observe and interpret the movements of the sun, moon and planets in order to guide the rulers in the task of governance. Those same specialists also produced a complex calendar, whose regularities were intended to show ordinary people that the empire was in competent hands. This book tells the story of those specialists, and describes how they did their work. It gives clear explanations of the development of technical practice in observation, instrumentation and calculation, and the steady accumulation of data over many years-but it centres on the activity of the individual human beings who observed the heavens, recorded what they saw and made calculations to analyse and eventually make predictions about the motions of the celestial bodies. Thanks to the preservation of a rich documentary record, much of the story can be told through the words in which imperial astronomers reported on their work, explained their calculations and debated with their colleagues on how to carry out their duties. Their words, translated and explained in this book, bring out the deep links between astronomy and the wider political, social and intellectual life of the world in which they lived. This book is designed to be accessible to a broad readership interested in the history of science, the history of China and the comparative history of ancient cultures, while still being useful to specialists in the history of astronomy. Book jacket.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-413) and index.

Electronic reproduction. Oxford Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780191797705

0191797707

Publisher Number:

99976048231

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.