Book ID: CBB761549004

Heavenly Numbers: Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China (2018)

unapi

Cullen, Christopher (Author)


Oxford University Press


Publication Date: 2018
Physical Details: 432
Language: English

This book is a history of the development of mathematical astronomy in China, from the late third century BCE, to the early 3rd century CE - a period often referred to as 'early imperial China'. It narrates the changes in ways of understanding the movements of the heavens and the heavenly bodies that took place during those four and a half centuries, and tells the stories of the institutions and individuals involved in those changes. It gives clear explanations 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. It is these individuals, their observations, their calculations, and the words they left to us that provide the narrative thread that runs through this work. Throughout the book, the author gives clear translations of original material that allow the reader direct access to what the people in this book said about themselves and what they tried to do.

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Reviewed By

Review Daniel Patrick Morgan (2019) Review of "Heavenly Numbers: Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China". Historia Mathematica (pp. 96-99). unapi

Review Joseph W. Dauben (2020) Review of "Heavenly Numbers: Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China". British Journal for the History of Mathematics (pp. 247-251). unapi

Review Li Liang (2019) Review of "Heavenly Numbers: Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China". Journal for the History of Astronomy (pp. 97-98). unapi

Review Will Wakeling (2019) Review of "Heavenly Numbers: Astronomy and Authority in Early Imperial China". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 391-392). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB761549004/

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Authors & Contributors
Tang, Quan
Qu, Anjing
Jiang, Xiaoyuan
Wenan, Chen
Goldin, Paul R.
Hegesh, Noa
Concepts
Cosmology
Astronomy
East Asia, civilization and culture
Calendars
Science and culture
Astronomical chronology
Time Periods
Ancient
17th century
Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912)
Ming dynasty (China, 1368-1644)
Six dynasties (China, 220-589)
Han dynasty (China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.)
Places
China
Greece
India
Rome (Italy)
Middle and Near East
Portugal
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
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