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Article ID: CBB395595446

Astronomical or political: Interpretation of comets in times of crisis in Qing China (2022)

Ting Chen (Author)
Lingfeng Lü (Author)

Journal for the History of Astronomy
Volume: 53
Issue: 1
Pages: 13-26

URI: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00218286211070275

DOI: 10.1177/00218286211070275

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Science and culture Science and politics Divination; prognostication Comets; meteors; meteorites Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence Astronomy Astrology Controversies and disputes Traditional knowledge Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912) China

By the late Qing dynasty, Western scientific learning had been disseminated among the Chinese literati. However, astronomical knowledge was still interpreted in the traditional Chinese astrological manner and served as an instrument in political affairs, especially in times of crisis. This paper examines controversies over astronomical observations between the proponents of traditional astrology and Western learning by presenting two cases of comet sightings. The first case is of a comet sighting between 1880 and 1882, and the second is of comets sighted before the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The reasons for the recurrence of ancient cometary prognostication in the early 20th century, when modern knowledge of comets was widespread in China, were explored as well.

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