SHOOTING STARS
The UK-China Leonid Meteor Shower
Observation Project

China has a rich astronomical legacy. Some of the earliest surviving records of astronomical events were collected by Chinese astronomers and are still in existence today.

Beijing is the home to one of the world's earliest observatories (left). The oldest parts date from around the year 555AD and through the centuries it has been maintained and enlarged. The present structure dates mainly from the time of Kublai Khan, around 1280. It was once part of the colossal system of walls that surrounded the city of Beijing. Today, the Observatory and a few other tower-sized fragments are all that now remains of this wonder. The tower itself is a solid structure. Unlike European buildings of this type, it had no internal rooms. Instead it was built as a hollow shell and then filled with sand. This was the traditional method used by the Chinese for the construction of permanent defences, and is still practiced today in some types of building construction.

Observation was performed from the top of the tower. At the time it was built it was one of the highest buildings in the city, offering a commanding view across the landscape to the horizon. Sadly today, modern skyscrapers surround and dwarf the old tower and the polluted atmosphere of Beijing seldom offers a glimpse to the horizon between the hotels and offices.

At least one Armillary Sphere at the Ancient Observatory is graduated in Chinese degrees, 365.25 to the circumference, to match the year length. It was built by Guo Shoujing, official astronomer under Kublai Khan, about AD 1276 and replaced an earlier one built around 1050.  Many of the other instruments are later in date, from the early Qing period, and are associated with a remarkable Belgium Jesuit priest,  Ferdinand Verbeist .

Traditional Chinese culture places particular regard on four constellations. These are related to four animals which have associations with the cardinal points. 

• Green Dragon  (Qing Long)of the East

• Red Sparrow (Zhu Que) of the South

• White Tiger (Bai Hu) of the West

• Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) of the North (Image: below right)

Star maps, laid out in stones have been discovered in ancient burials dating from around 4000BC. These showed the the four primary constellations of Chinese culture, including the one most people know of, as the Great Bear.

Obviously, in the past in China, as everywhere else in the ancient world, astronomy and astrology were deeply entwined. Astronomical events held deep religious and spiritual meaning. When studying ancient astronomy in China this should always be kept in mind.

The Chinese have always felt the Heavens were important in everyday life, from the mundane way the calendar works, foretelling the changing of the seasons, to the more speculative and emotional study of the signs from the heavens that could predict the future on a personal level. Interpretation of such signs was thought to be invaluable, so great efforts were made to maintain records of the sky so predictions could be made.

Many of these have survived, and while they may not have done much by way of foretelling anybody's future, they have provided us with an amazing legacy of astronomical data. We have:-

• The earliest records of Sun spots, dating from 28 BC.

• The earliest supernova record, dating from 14 BC.

• A record of the supernova in 1054, now generally associated with the Crab Nebula.

• 700 meteorite records.

• Some of the oldest star maps, dating from the Song Dynasty (1247). These show 1400 stars.

• The earliest eclipse records, dating from 1300 BC in the Yin Dynasty.

• There are also around 1000 records of eclipses up to the end of the Qing Dynasty.

• The earliest record of a comet, dating from 613 BC.

• In total there are 360 Records of Comets from Yin Dynasty up until 1911.

• 31 records of Halley's Comet.

Next Page: A brief overview of Chinese astronomy.

Find out about Ferdinand Verbeist

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  Updated: July 2003