What is the ancient astronomical calendar? (For example: Chuyang, 4 o'clock)

Selected from ancient Chinese

The ancient calendar began before the Shang Dynasty, and then gradually improved. Through the research of astronomers Zu Chongzhi, monks and their entourage, Guo Shoujing and others, by the Qing Dynasty, China's calendar had reached a perfect level. Here is a brief introduction to the ancient calendar of China (1). Because the calendar is closely related to astronomy, we also talk about some common sense of ancient astronomy in China.

One year old, one year old

Year and year are two different concepts (2).

Twelve months is a year. There are thirteen months in a leap year. There are 354 days in a normal year (including six big months and six small months) and 383 days in a leap year.

The sun is one year old every week. The so-called "sun day" is the time when the sun passes through vernal equinox, travels eastward along the ecliptic (3) and returns to vernal equinox. In fact, it is a cycle of the earth's revolution. The so-called ancient year, that is, the so-called tropic year in modern astronomy, is also called the solar year. This one-year-old is 365 1/4 days (actually 365 38+099 days). The Book of Scriptures says, "There are six days in 300 years." "I" means one year old, and there are six days in 360 years, which means an integer. This is actually a year of the solar calendar, which is called "the year of the year" in the China calendar.

Note: 1. Main reference book: Qin Huitong's Viewing Images and Timing (Qing Shi, Volume 35)

2. Every year is old, but it is mixed. Erya says, "Summer is old, business is old, Zhou is old, and Tang Yu is old."

The ecliptic is the orbit of the sun's annual movement imagined by the ancients, that is, the orbit of the sun's annual apparent movement.

The year 2008 is a lunar calendar and the year 2008 is a solar calendar, so the ancient calendar in China is a combination of yin and yang. The solar term in China is the solar calendar (II). The leap moon in China is used to solve the contradiction of the lunar calendar (below).

The meaning of "year old" comes from the year old star, which is Jupiter. This year is about twelve years. The ancients divided the week around the ecliptic into twelve stars from west to east, and the annual star runs once a year. The names of twelve o'clock are Jixing, Xu Anbi, Su 'an, Loulou, Daliang, Shishen, Quail Head, Quail Fire, Quail Tail, Shouxing, Fire and Shimu. In Zuo Zhuan's Twenty-eight Years of "xianggong", the age is in the age of stars; After thirty years of "xianggong", the age is declining; And in Guoyu. In this division, age is in fire, and all these are based on years. This is the earliest chronology. Later generations wrote articles in order to be archaized, and this chronological method was also adopted. For example, the "Western Expedition" has "the times are mysterious".

Because the old star runs counterclockwise from west to east, it is not convenient in practical application To this end, the ancients conceived a false year-old star called "Tai Sui", which runs counter to the true year-old star from east to west, and divides the vicinity of the ecliptic into twelve equal parts from east to west, which is called the Twelve Chens, that is, the ugly son Mao Yinchen has applied for the sea at noon, consistent with the direction of the Twelve Chens. This is the "Tai Sui Chronology Method". See you at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year.

According to the astronomical records of the Warring States recorded in Han Shitian Wenzhi, a certain year-old star is in the astrology, and the old man is analyzing the wood (yin). This year, it is "Tai sui is in the yin"; In the second year, the old star went, and the old man went to the fire (Mao). This year is "Tai sui is in Mao". And so on. In addition, the ancients also made some nicknames for Twelve Chens, namely Sheti (Yin), Shane (Sound of Good and Evil, Mao), (Chen), (Luo), (Wu), (Fei) and Qitan (Shen). "The song of the south. Li Sao: "I was photographed in Meng Xi to raise my virginity, but I was surrendered by Geng Yin." In other words, Qu Yuan was born in Yinri, silver moon (1).

Note: 1. Recently, Mr Lin Geng said that Qu Yuan was not born in silver moon.

According to Erya, twelve days of taking Teague and others are called old Yin, and ten days of another year are called old Yang. Emperor Yangdi's names are Fufeng (a), Youmeng (b), Rouzhao (c), (d), (e), Tu Wei (Ji), (g), (Xin) and Xuannuo (Ren). Jiazi can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the earlier chronology was based on the combination of Yang and Yin years. Records in Historical Records and Almanac include "How to take pictures in the first year of Tai Chu (Jiayin)", "How to take pictures in the second year of Duan Meng ()," How to take pictures in the third year of You Zhaoxu () "and" How to take pictures in the fourth year of Qiang Wu (Ding Si) ". Antiques of later generations also adopted traditional chronological methods, such as Sima Guang's Zi Tong Zhi Jian.

Jupiter's orbit around the sky is actually not twelve years, but 1 1.86 years. So every 83 years there will be a star error, which is called "timeout" or "timeout". (Liu Xin discovered Chen Chao in the Han Dynasty, but he said that Chen Chao was the first one in 144. Due to the super-Chen relationship, the old star chronology after the Han Dynasty is gradually out of touch with reality, and the error is getting bigger and bigger. Therefore, the age of Sima Guang's Zi Tong Zhi Jian is actually only equal to that of Jia Zi.

Note: 1. Whenever you meet, you will be met, and finally covered, and you will be covered. You are soft when you are Zhao, and strong when you are strong.

Second, the month

The moon runs between the sun and the earth and appears at the same time as the sun. The ancients thought it was the meeting of the sun and the moon, and called it Chen (writing Chen, also known as writing Chen), also known as the new moon. It takes 29,499/940 days for the moon to orbit the earth once (actually 29.53059 days), and then it returns to Heshuo, which is called a month. This number ranges from 30 days to 29 days, so the lunar calendar is as big as the moon. The month is 30 days older, the month is 29 days younger, and the big month and the small month alternate, almost the same. It's all the same, so sometimes two months are big months.

The ancients had the so-called moon tower, which linked the twelve months of a year with the twelve days in the sky. According to the Gregorian calendar: bucket handle (the handle of Beidou) refers to yin, which means the first month (January), bucket handle refers to Mao, which means February, Chen means March, Si means April, noon means May, non-June means July, United as August, Xu means September, Hai means October, Zi means November, and Ugly means December. But according to the lunar calendar, ugliness is the first month, according to the weekly calendar, ugliness is the first month. The calendars of three generations are different. The Book of Songs in July is a combination of the summer calendar and the weekly calendar, in which the so-called "April" and "July" refer to the summer calendar, and the so-called "one day (January)" and "two days (February)" refer to the weekly calendar. From the first year of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (BC 104) to the end of Qing Dynasty, China always used the summer calendar, with Yin Jianyue as the beginning of the year. Today's so-called old calendar also refers to the summer calendar.

Three, darkness, new moon, hope, licking, string

The last day of each month is called darkness and the first day is called new moon. The new moon is the day when the sun and the moon meet. The ancients attached great importance to the new moon, because the date of the new moon was set wrong and the time arrangement was chaotic. The emperor sued the ministers, and the ministers sued the palace master. Historians point out that when an event happened in the new moon, it must be clearly stated. "The book of books. Shundian ""I patrol in January. " "The Book of Songs. Xiaoya. At the turn of October: "At the turn of October, the sun shines high and there is food every day." "Zuo Zhuan Xi Gong Five Years": "The first month of spring, the king of spring, the new moon in 1911, arrived in the south, and everyone looked forward to it." This method was adopted by later history books.

In ancient times, the date of the month was not recorded in the history books, but the date of the month, so we must find out the date of the month, and then infer the date of the month according to the date of the month (as follows). You can check Du Yu's Long Calendar in the Spring and Autumn Period and Chen Yuan's Historical Records 22.

Every month 15 (sometimes 16 or even 17) is called Want Want. At this time, the earth runs between the moon and the sun. Because the sun and the moon rise and fall, one east and one west, far away from each other, it is called hope. Interpretation of the name and the sky: "Looking at the moon is also the name of the full moon. On June 16th and 15th, the sun is in the east and the moon is in the west, far away from each other. " Future generations look forward to fifteen and sixteen. Su Shi's Ode to the Red Cliff: "In the autumn of Ren Xu, I hope (1) that in July, Perilla and her guests will take a boat trip under the Red Cliff." "Post-Red Cliff Fu": "It is the hope of October. From stepping, it will return to Lingao."

The third day of each month is called "Liao": "Liao, the moon is not full, and the moon is also out." "Geng" means that the moon is out, but it is not very bright.

The moon and the sun make an angle of 90 degrees, which is called a string. Interpretation of the name and the sky: "A string, also known as a half moon, is curved and straight, like a bow and a string." There is a difference between the upper chord and the lower chord. The first chord refers to the seventh or eighth day, and the second chord refers to the 22nd or 23rd day.

In the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, a month was divided into four parts. The first part is called the first few days, which refers to the period from the first day to the seventh day or the eighth day, that is, the first day to the first quarter. Bronze inscription "Dun (left and right ears)": "At the beginning of the first month of the second year, Wang was in Zhoushao Palace." The second part is called "instant birth", which refers to the period from the eighth or ninth day to the fourteenth or fifteenth day, that is, from winding to looking up at the sun. "The book of books. Wucheng: "That is, I was born with spirit, and all the soldiers and workers in Shu state were ordered by Zhou." The third part is called hope, which refers to the period from 15 or 16 to 22 or 23, that is, watching the sun to the last quarter of the moon. "The book of books. Calling for oysters: "Only in February, the sixth day has not passed, and it is rich to step on the week." The fourth part is called Dead Soul, which refers to the period from 23rd to 29th or 30th, that is, from the first quarter moon to the dark day (2). Jinwen "Xiboji Floating Plate": "I died in March of five years." There is also a nourishing spirit, which refers to the second or third day of junior high school. "The book of books. Gao Kang: "Only in March, Duke Zhou began to build a new city in Dongguoluo." Dying refers to the 25th. "The book of books. Wucheng: "Duyue died next to Chen Chen, and his wings have passed, and he marched from Zhou to Zhou to conquer merchants."

A month is divided into three parts, called ten days (Oracle Bone Inscriptions has the word "ten days"). Ten days is ten days, also called "Happy Day (4)". "Mandarin. Chu language: "It's not too late." 12 is a "birthday celebration". Zuo zhuan. Nine Years of Adult Gong: "Between Zhuan Xu and Chen."

Note: 1. Generally speaking, the word "Wang" in Red Cliff Fu refers to July 16, but it is actually July 17, because July was a big month that year.

2. The so-called "hope" here is different from the so-called "hope (16)" in later generations.

3. Today, Wang Guowei has different opinions on the names of "Chu Ji", "Sheng Po", "Die Po" and "Hope".

4. The day of Jiazi was called "doomsday" in ancient times, that is, the first 10 day of a turnover from Jiazi to decyl.

Day, hour, hour, minute and second

The time for the earth to rotate once is called a day. The ancients took a day and night as a day. A day is divided into twelve o'clock (hours) (1) and one hundred minutes.

The ancients used twelve birthdays to mark time, so later generations also called it "time". From midnight, it is called Zishi. "Midnight" means midnight. Today, people regard the time from 11: 00 pm to 1: 00 pm as childhood, from 1: 00 pm to 3: 00 pm as ugliness, from 3: 00 pm to 5: 00 pm as Yin Shi, from 5: 00 pm to 7: 00 pm as Shi Mao, from 7: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm as age, from 11: 00 pm to 1: 00 pm as untimely, from 3: 00 pm to 5: 00 pm as application, from 5: 00 pm to 7: 00 pm as unitary

In ancient times, the copper pot dripping method was used to time. There is an arrow in the pot, and the arrow is divided into 100 points, so it is called "carving". The so-called "engraving" in ancient times is slightly different from the so-called "engraving" today. Now a day and night is divided into ninety-six quarters, while the ancients divided a day and night into one hundred quarters.

Note: (1) Now we divide day and night into 24 hours according to international practice. An hour is only half an hour, so it's called an hour.

(2) While serving his sentence in Tian Liang, it was once changed to 96 minutes, but it was soon changed again. The copper pot dripping method has ten points at every moment; After being timed by the clock, every moment is fifteen minutes, and every minute has sixty seconds.

The length of day and night varies with the seasons. According to the Records of the Later Han Dynasty, the summer solstice lasts 65 minutes in the day and 35 minutes in the night. East to 45 minutes during the day and 55 minutes at night. The vernal equinox is 55.8 minutes during the day and 44.2 minutes at night. The autumnal equinox is 55.2 minutes during the day and 44.8 minutes at night. This is only as far as the Central Plains is concerned. As for other places, the length of day and night varies (1).

Long before the Shang Dynasty, the ancients used dry branches to mark this day. 10 stems 12 branches, and 60 "jiazi" were obtained. Table below:

Jia Chubing Yin Dingmao Wu Renshen Gui You

Jia Haibing Zi Ding Chou Mao Xin Si Ren Wu Guiwei

Shen Jia Yi Youbing Xu Ding Wu Haizi ugly Geng Yin Xin Mao Renchen ghost silk

Wu Jia translated Shen Dingyou, the Reform Movement of 1898, and Ji Haigeng rewarded Ren Yin Guimao.

Chen Jia, Bess, Bing Wuding, Wu Shen, Ji You, Geng Xu, Xin Hai, Ren Zi, Gui Chou.

Jia Yin, Yi Mao, Chen Bing, Ding Si, Wu Wu and Xin You have not applied for this position, and they have all failed.

As mentioned above, in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, the date of each month was not mentioned as the first day, the second day, the third day and so on. , but was targeted by cadres and branches. For example, Zuo Zhuan's Thirty-two Years of Xi Gong: "In winter, when Jin Wengong dies, Chen Geng will bury Quwo." According to the research of later generations, this Chen Geng was in Lu Xigong on December 10th, thirty-two years ago. Later, the first, second and third grades were used, but historians still used the dry branch method.

Sixty months is roughly equivalent to two months, but because the big month and the small month add up to only 59 days, the corresponding relationship between monthly expenditure and date is often different. Suppose that the first day of the first month is Jiazi, the first day of March is Guihai, and so on.

Note: (1) According to the prescription of Jie Ji in Qing Dynasty, the summer solstice is 59: 05 in the day, 36: 00 in the night, 36: 00 in the winter solstice and 59: 05 in the night; Equinox, autumnal equinox, 48 hours each day and night. 96 hours a day. This is calculated by the clock, which is slightly different from the later Han Dynasty.

May 4th o'clock, festival, waiting.

A year is divided into four seasons, which are called four seasons in modern times. 1, February and March are spring, April, May and June are summer, July, August and September are autumn, 10, 1,1February are winter (1).

A year is divided into 24 solar terms, which were called "festival" or "qi" in ancient times. There are two solar terms every month, the former is called solar term, and the latter is called gas. The coordination between the twenty-four solar terms at ordinary times and the four seasons and twelve months is as follows:

(1) Spring

The first spring rain in Zheng Yue (Meng Chun)

February (mid-spring) vernal equinox

March (Ji Chun) Qingming Grain Rain

(2) Summer

April (Xia Meng) is full and long in summer.

Summer solstice in May (midsummer)

In June (the last month of summer), there is a slight heat and a great heat.

(3) Autumn

July is the summer of early autumn (Qiu Meng)

The Millennium Autumn Equinox in August (Mid-Autumn Festival)

September (autumn) cold dew first frost.

(4) Winter

Light snow in early October and winter (Mengdong)

1 1 month (midwinter) snowy winter solstice

/kloc-slight cold and severe cold in 0/2 months (seasonal winter).

At first, only four solar terms were defined, namely vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox and winter solstice (2). Referred to as "branch" ③. In the Book of Songs Yao Dian, it is called Midspring, Midsummer, Midautumn and Midwinter (Part Two). Later, it was increased to eight solar terms, that is, the so-called "opening and closing" in Zuo Zhuan Xi Gongwu. "Minute" refers to the vernal equinox and the autumn equinox; "Solstice" refers to the summer solstice and the winter solstice; "Qi" refers to beginning of spring and Changxia; "Closed" refers to beginning of autumn and beginning of winter. The final rule is 24 solar terms. In Huai Nan Zi, there are 24 solar terms.

The twenty-four solar terms are twenty-four equal parts of a solar year, so the solar terms are fixed according to the solar calendar. A solar year is about 365 days and 1/4 days, so each solar term is 15.2 days (4). Therefore, in the first half of the solar year, the 6th and 2 1 day of each month are solar terms, and in the second half, the 8th and 23rd of each month are solar terms.

The unit smaller than the node is called "back". Every solar term has three periods. A wait is five days. The so-called "time" of the ancients refers to the seasonal river season and climate. Liang Jianwen's Book with Liu Xiaozhuo: "Jade frost falls at night and geese fly in the morning. If you want to be cool, it's not cool. " The so-called "year old" of the ancients also refers to seasons, seasons and climate. "Selected Works" Yan Yanzhi's poem "Summer night is a journey from my brother to Changsha": "The first half of the year has passed and I have benefited for a long time!"

Here, we can sum up. The so-called end of the year is the number of one year (a solar year). Eight grades are divided into eight sections (divided and combined), 24 grades are divided into solar terms, middle gas and 72 grades are divided into climate.

Why did the ancients stipulate solar terms? Through astronomy. The specific method is: measure the sun shadow during the day and take the mid-star exam at night.

The ancients used earth gauges to measure the shadow of the sun. The shadow of the summer solstice is one foot and five inches, and the shadow is the shortest; The shadow of winter solstice is one foot and three feet, and the shadow is the longest. The rest of the solar terms and so on. For details, please refer to the calendar of the later Han Dynasty.

The so-called night star measurement is the transit constellation that observes the first weak moment. You can't see the stars when you look at the sun during the day, so you should look at the stars from the beginning. The book of Shang Shu Yao Dian says:

Star bird in the sun, and Yin Zhongchun;

The sun is always shining for midsummer;

In the night, the stars are empty and cloudy;

The days are short and the stars are long, so it is mid-winter.

Mid-spring and mid-autumn refer to the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. The middle means equal day and night. Day refers to day and night refers to night. If the day and night are divided equally, then "Japan and China" and "night time" are the same. Midsummer and midwinter refer to the summer solstice and the winter solstice. The sun always refers to the solstice in summer, and the days are very long; Short days mean short days from winter to Sunday. The bird in the sky at the vernal equinox means that the faint sky at the beginning of the vernal equinox is a quail bird (that is, the star in the twenty-eight nights); The eternal fire flower in midsummer means that the faint star is a fire at the beginning of the summer solstice (that is, the heart stays); The stars on the Mid-Autumn Festival night are empty, which means that the dim stars at the beginning of the autumn equinox are empty; The short star Pleiades in midsummer means that the dark star at the beginning of the winter solstice is the Pleiades.

The ancients observed the movements of the sun, the moon and the five stars with the stars as the background. They chose 28 stars near the equator of the ecliptic as coordinates (5). The sundial (chan, the constellation through which the sun passes) is in the 28th house. Twenty-eight nights are:

Black Dragon Seven Nights, East, the corner is full of hearts and tails;

Seven nights in Xuanwu in the north, the bullfighting woman is in danger;

The white tiger stayed in the west for seven nights, and the building was full of ginseng;

South Suzaku lived for seven nights, and Zhang Liuxing Yi, the ghost of the well.

We have observed the first dim medium star, so we can infer the position and solar terms of the sundial. For example, the stars in Yao Dian's The First Faint are stars, so the sun shines in the belly, which is the vernal equinox season at that time. I won't introduce it in detail here.

Note: (1) The weekly calendar takes February as the first month, so four o'clock is two months earlier than the summer calendar. Mencius on Teng Wengong: "The sun is blazing in autumn." "Autumn" refers to the sun in May and June in the summer calendar.

(2) The annual solar terms of the lunar calendar are not completely fixed.

(3) "Minute" means that day and night are equal, and "To" means extreme. The summer solstice is the longest, the day is the northernmost and the shadow is the shortest. The winter solstice is the shortest, the daytime is the southernmost and the shadow is the longest.

(4) Here is the so-called constant gas, but the actual solar terms are not divided into twenty-four equal parts. The daily journey is late and fast, the solstice in winter is the fastest, and it is already a quadrant (90 degrees) three days before the vernal equinox, and so on. The calendar of later generations is precise, and the solar terms are specified by the daily line, which is called fixed gas, which is slightly different from constant gas. See "Winning and Shrinking" below.

(5) The equator mentioned here is not the earth equator, but the celestial equator, that is, the projection of the earth equator on the celestial sphere.