State of Astronomical Science at the Time of the Jesuits' Arrival Alexander Wylie. in his "Notes on Chinese Literature" (Chapter Astronomy and Mathe-maties, p. 108) gives on the state lof astronomy in China at the time fof the arrival of the Jesuit mis-jon aries the following appreciation:
The exceedingly low state into which the science had fallen during the Ming. dynasty (A.D. 1368- 1644), the inability of the Directors to take an observatiort, or to correct the errors which had accumulated the course of time from the imperfection of the rules then in use, all tended to prepare the way for the Jesuit missionaries, who entered China early in the '17th century. Most of the treatises on astronomy which they wrote have been handed down as. text-books among the later Chinese." The intelligent} reader can seo from the above the real state of astronomy in China at the close of the 17th and the: opening of the 18th century. Tt is also clear that the Jesuit text-books the matter have been largely, riled of, and carefully handed down from generation to generation coven to the present day.
Chinese astronomy reached flourishing condition under the early dynasties, but declined. later on.
Casting a retrospective glance lover the past, and considering both the Classics' and the particular works on astronomy which have] reached us, we find that the science reached a flourishing condition under. the early dynasties, until about the time that the "Spring and Autumn, were composed by Confucits 180). Henceforth decline set to such an extent that the calendar was no longer presented to the Emperor. Little by little the, methods of calculation, as handed down from antiquity, and Peeially from Yao of were also lost. When classical, cal works within the emp rales of computation were forgotten. Some vague traditions, a few cata-logness of stars and constellations, fragments of ancient)
srs survived the conflagration. The history and science of astrea nomy had to be made as it were anew.
Endeavours Made Under the Han Dynasty (B. C. 206—A. D. 221)
Under the Han dynasty efforts were made to publish a new calendar. (Parker's China. The Calendar. p. 296) Sze-mats tien Court recorder and annalist, with Lo Hsia-hang and a few other scholars drew up rules for ealculating the movements of the planets, conjunctions and oppositions, and the eclipses of the moon based on the efcle of 19 years. The success sors of these scholars lost themselves. imaginary and superstitious calculations based on the numbers! representing heaven and earth, and. thus astronomic science declined again.
"As the dynasties succeeded one] another, an occasional astronomer appeared, and endeavoured to draw jup the calendar according to new rales, but in too many cases incom-potency and carelessness set in, and prevented the science from making any real progress.
Astronomical Science During the Mongol Dynasty (A. D. 1280-1368)
When Kublai Khan, first emperor [of the dynasty, ascended the throne, special Astronomical Commission reported to him that in the past. 1356 years, there had been 70 calendars and 13 new methods or schools (Parker's China. The Calendar. p. 902). During his reign the astronomer Kwoh Show-king became prominent, and did much good work. President of the Board of Mathematics, he was the first Chinese who mastered spherical trigonometry. His method was, however, defective and was super soded later on by that of Fathers Ricei and Schall. Finding that the instruments constructed in the time of the Sung and Kin dynasties were incorrect to within four or' five degrees, he invented new ones, spheres, gnomons, armillary cir-les, globes, quadrants, and com-pades, all' of which ' seemed to be an advance upon previous contrivances. Most of these instruments still exist, but are kept in a building closely locked up, and withheld from public gaze il, History of Chinese Astronomy. p. 108). At the Court of Kublai, there were also some Arab for Western astronomers, and Fulin scholars (Syrian or Frank) whos methods were adopted by Showing. One of these scholars wrote treatise on astronomy for the use of the Chinese, and made instruments different from those Kwok, which he erected in Peking. All this shows, as Parker well remarks, that Hhdoo, Syrian, Arab, id in general Western influence was strong at the Mongol Court (Parker's "China.. The Calendar.
302). Kwoh Show-king worked for about 70 years, and some of his publications are ' of real value, After his death, and especially towards close of the dynasty, science was again
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.