The ancient Chinese were profoundly influenced by the Sun, Moon and stars, making persistent efforts to mirror astral phenomena in shaping their civilization. In this pioneering text, David W. Pankenier introduces readers to a seriously understudied field, illustrating how astronomy shaped the culture of China from the very beginning and how it influenced areas as disparate as art, architecture, calendrical science, myth, technology, and political and military decision-making. As elsewhere in the ancient world, there was no positive distinction between astronomy and astrology in ancient China, and so astrology, or more precisely, astral omenology, is a principal focus of the book. Drawing on a broad range of sources, including archaeological discoveries, classical texts, inscriptions and paleography, this thought-provoking book documents the role of astronomical phenomena in the development of the 'Celestial Empire' from the late Neolithic through the late imperial period.
• Revolutionary new approach to understanding Chinese history and civilization • Introduces readers to a seriously understudied field, explaining how astronomy shaped the culture and social organization of ancient China • Draws on a formidable array of sources and scholarship, ranging from classical texts to archaeology to astronomy
Contents
Introduction; Part I. Astronomy and Cosmology in the Time of Dragons: 1. Astronomy begins at Taosi; 2. Watching for dragons; Part II. Aligning with Heaven: 3. Looking to the supernal lord; 4. Bringing heaven down to earth; 5. Astral revelation and the origins of writing; Part III. Planetary Omens and Cosmic Ideology: 6. The cosmo-political mandate; 7. The rhetoric of the supernal; 8. Cosmology and the calendar; Part IV. Warring States and Han Astral Portentology: 9. Astral prognostication and the battle of Chengpu; 10. A new astrological paradigm; Part V. One With the Sky: 11. Cosmic capitals; 12. Temporality and the fabric of space-time; 13. The sky river and cosmography; 14. Planetary portentology east and west; Epilogue; Appendix. Astrology for an empire: the 'treatise on the celestial offices' in The Grand Scribe's Records (ca. 100 BCE); Glossary; Index.
Printer friendly version