Count of time in ancient China

The lunar-solar calendars were already used in ancient times by the peoples of China and India. People who settled near the shores of the great rivers of the Yellow River, the Indus and the Ganges, counted the days for the changes in the phases of the Moon. But their daily needs, the whole way of their life, their agricultural cycle of work, compelled us to determine as carefully as possible the onset of those or other annual seasons, that is, to coordinate their life with the Sun.

In the book "Kayuanchzhandan", containing a description of the history of China from ancient times to the IX century.n.e., refers to the calendar, compiled during the time of the half-legendary Emperor Huandi 1( 2696-2597 BC).It is known that at the Chinese imperial court there were special officials, whose duties included the compilation of calendars and observations of the heavenly bodies. As a result of regular and continuous observations it was established that the appearance in the evening or morning of certain orienting stars - "cheng" is repeated in rhythm with the onset of this or that agricultural season. This made it possible to solve the inverse problem: according to the observations of "cheng" to inform the farmers about the forthcoming offensive of this or that season. Such orienting stars for ancient Chinese astronomers were: star "Daho"( Antares, and Scorpion), constellations "Tsan"( Orion) and "Beidou"( "Northern Bucket" - Big Dipper).Thus, the akronical( evening, immediately after sunset), the rise of Antares occurred around the time of the vernal equinox, the passage of this star through the meridian in the evening immediately after sunset indicated mid-summer. As the Soviet researcher PA A. Startsev noted, this star eventually began to be considered a deity-a holy heavenly dragon, the patron of the Chinese nation. The appearance in the east in the evening immediately after the sunset of the constellation "Tsan" meant the middle of winter.

But, apparently, most clearly about the time of year, the ancient Chinese judged by the position of the handle of the Dipper Bucket. Thus, in one ancient Chinese record of the Xia epoch( 2205-1766 BC) it is said: "In the 1st month the dipper's handle is turned down, in the 6th month at dusk you can see that the handle of the bucket is turned up. .. ".

Ancient Chinese astronomers established the duration of the synodic month in 29.5 days and the solar year in 366 days. Thus, in the book "Shujin", in the chapter "Yao-dyan"( "The Statute of Lord Yao"), in a record relating to the period between 2109 and 2068,BC.e., it is said: "It is widely known that three hundred days and six decades and six days constitute a full year".And since the solar year is incommensurable with the lunar month, "four seasons are combined with an insertable month".

The "Xia-xiao-chen" calendar, used in the Xia era, is noteworthy( in terms of its value for the needs of agriculture and cattle breeding).It indicates the seasons of the year and the months in accordance with the position in the sky of this or that constellation, as well as the state of animals, birds, trees, grasses, etc. Here are its fragments:

"I month. At the beginning of the night, the constellation "Tsan" is in the middle of the sky, the tail of the Big Dipper is turned downwards. At the beginning of the year the farmers prepare the plows and go out to disengage the fields;sacrifice the inventor of the plow. .. After the frost the sun warms and everything thaws. The field rats come out of the holes. .. Willows are drowned. Chickens sit on eggs and take out chickens. At this time there is a big wind. ..

III month. At the beginning of the night, the constellation "Cang" is hiding in the west. They pray for the wheat crop, because this month there are small droughts. Blossom poplar. .. grow up lambs. Field rats turn into quail. ..

IX month. The winter wheat is sown. Sparrows, hiding in the sea, turn into oysters. "It has long been customary in China to divide the month into "three decades( " hun "), the ordinances of the days of the decade or, as they are called by the Chinese," ten heavenly stumps "(or" branches ") are: jia, and, bin, dyne, y, ji, gen, blue, zhen, gui. To designate the months of the year, 12 symbols( "twelve terrestrial branches") were used: ji, chou, yin, mao, chen, syu, yu, wei, shen, yu, syu, hai, which corresponded to the names of the constellations( chi-owen, chow-Taurus, etc.), Each of these symbols corresponded to the name of the animal: chi-shu( mouse), chow-nyu( cow), yin-hu( tiger), etc. They also denoted the time of day:23 hours to 1 hour, chow from 1 to 3 hours, etc. Thus, the day, beginning from midnight, was divided into 12 double hours, each double hour, into eight parts "keh", each "keh" - by 15"Xkilled. "Consequently, the smallest unit of time was equal to our minute.

Cycle-to-cycle

Periods	Cyclic sign	"Celestial branches"	Animals
My	Ho( fire)	Tu( ground)	Jin( metal)	Shui( water)
Jia	and 2	Bean	Dean	5	Ji	Geng	Xin	Zhen	Gui
1	3	4	6	7	8	9	10
1	Ji	1	13	al	37	49	Shu
( mouse)
II	Chow	2	14	26	38	50	Nu
( to
rova)
III	Yin	51	3	15	27	39	Hu
( tiger)
IV	Mao	52	4	16	28	40	the
( rabbit)
V	Chen	41	53	5	17	29	Lun
( core
con)
VI		42	54	6	18	30	SHE
( snake)
VII	Y	31	43	55	7	19	Vi
( horse)
VIII	Wei	32	44	56	8	20	Yang
( sheep)
IX	Shen	21	33	45	57	9	Hou
( monkeys
yang)
X	Yu	22	34	46	58	10	Ji
( ku
Rizza)
XI	Xu	11	23	35	47	59	Gou
( with
tank)
XII	Hi	12	24	36	48	60	Zhu
( wow
ny)

Next to calendars, in which both the number of months in the year and the number of days in a month were different, in ancient China around the 26th century. BC.e.there was a time count on the cycles. At first it was used only for the account of the day, a little later it was used also for the calculation of years. Perhaps the initial idea here was that the world consists of five primary elements( "elements") - water, fire, metal, wood and earth, which seem to be in motion, interconnection and cyclical subordination: water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts a tree, a tree grows in the earth, the earth gives birth to water. Each of the elements united two "heavenly stumps"( or was represented in two states - male and female).

The decimal cycle of "celestial branches" and the twelve-cycle cycle of "earth branches" were 60-year cycle, as shown in Table.

Table. The 60-year-old Chinese cyclic calendar

Each day( or year) in this cycle had a name consisting of a combination of two cyclic characters. Considering the days of the 60-day cycles, the ancient Chinese prepared for the beginning of the agricultural season, sacrificed in honor of the deceased ancestors, etc.

Bones of animals and shells of turtles with the signs of the 60-year cycle carved on them that date back to the Shan-Yin( 1766-1122 BC).The 2397th( according to other sources - 2697th) BC was adopted for the beginning of such a cyclic account.e.

To translate any year of our calendar into a Chinese 60-year cycle, we need to add the number 2397 to the number of the year and divide the total amount by 60. This will find the number of complete cycles and the remainder is the serial number of the year in the cycle. Define, for example, which year of the cycle corresponds to 1980: 2397 + 1980 = 4377;4377: 60 = 72 and in the balance of 57. Consequently, 1980 corresponds to the 57th year of the 73rd cycle and is called( see table) the year of Gen Hou, ie, "metal and monkey."1981 is called Xin-Ji-metal and chicken, etc. A new 60-year cycle began in 1984 in our calendar.

Reforms, reforms. ..

Over the centuries, the Chinese calendar has been continuously improved. Already 2000 years BC.e. The months in this calendar began with the new moon,

the beginning of the new year was between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In this issue, however, one has to be cautious, since the beginning of the year has been repeatedly transferred that closer to the first, then to the second moment.

In the VII-III centuries. BC.e.the rapid development of Chinese astronomy began. There were new instruments for determining the coordinates of celestial bodies - armillary spheres( Fig.), In VII