著者
斉藤 国治 小沢 賢二
出版者
日本科学史学会
雑誌
科学史研究 (ISSN:21887535)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.26, no.161, pp.24-36, 1987 (Released:2021-09-22)

Chun-Qiu (春秋) or the Spring and Autumn Annals is a chronicle of Luo (魯), a state of Ancient China, covering the period from 722 bc to 479 bc. It includes astronomical records such as solar eclipses, comets, planetary motions etc.. Among these data, solar eclipses, 37 in total, have been examined by many scholars to make clear the calendar of the period. Conclusion is that 33 among the above-mentioned 37 eclipses can be identified with those listed in Oppolzer's "Canon der Finsternisse", while the remaining four have been abandoned as doubtful because no eclipses can take place on the dates of the records. The present paper shows that two of the hitherto-doubted data (# 15 and # 22 of the Chun-Qiu eclipse numbers) can be turned out to be real eclipses solely by changing the year-numbers in the documents as follows. (1) In case of the # 15 eclipse, the original document says, "On a kui-mao day (癸卯) in the sixth month of the seventeenth year of Lord Xuan (宣公) ,a solar eclipse occurred" Simply change the "seventeenth" to the "seventh" in the document, then this record correspnds to Oppolzer's No. 1445 partial eclipse which was visible as much eclipsed as 0.36 in Qufu (曲阜), capital of Luo, in early morning on May 8, in 602 BC. (2) In case of the # 22 eclipse, the document says, "On the first day and geng-chen (庚辰) day in the tenth month of the 21st year of Lord Xian (襄公) a solar eclipse occurred." This hitherto-doubted record recovers its righteousness only by changing the "21 st" to the "26 th". Then the record is identified with the eclipse of Oppolzer's No. 1588 which was seen in Qufu in the evening of October 23, in 547 BC. At this time the sun set at 17:23 while being eclipsed as much as 0.26. (3) Julian days of these re-located eclipses are kui-mao and geng-chen, the same as in the originals. This cannot be a mere coincidence since probability of coincidence by chance between the sexagesimal dates is as small as 1/60. (4) The discovered misprints of dates may have been originated from any disorder of the bamboo tablets or from mistranscriptions in the later times. Anyway, addition of these two eclipses will be useful in order to study the calendar system of the Chun-Qiu Period.
著者
斉藤 国治
出版者
日本科学史学会
雑誌
科学史研究 (ISSN:21887535)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.22, no.145, pp.21-34, 1983 (Released:2021-10-06)

The Chin Shu or Official History of the Chin Dynasty,130 volumes in total, was finished by Fang Hsüan-ling et al.in A.D.635.Astronomical records are included in its astronomical chapters. The data cover the periods from A.D.221 to A.D.420, including the times of the Three Kingdoms, the Former and Later Chin Dynasties. Among the whole records, the solar eclipses, the moon's occultations of the planets and the trespassings of the planets with one another are examined numerically by the method of astronomical chronology. The following conclusions are obtained. (1) Among 82 solar eclipses; 49 are proved to have been visible as eclipsed either at Loyang (capital of both the Wei and the Former Chin Dynasties) or at Nanking (capital of the Later Chin Dynasty). Visibility of the recorded eclipses is 49/82 = 60 percents. (2) Among 52 records of the moon's trespassings against at the planets,19 occultations and 25 trespassings are identified. So identification rate of the records is 44/54 = 81 percents. (3) Among 46 records of close encounters of the planets with one another, 36 are proved to be reasonable. So identification rate of the data is 36/46 = 72 percents. (4) The remaining percentages of the above records are classified as questionable because of their impossibility of identification. However, some of them turn reasonable if we try a tiny revision, for instance, change the date or the planet's name in the records. This proves to be a result of copying errors. In the case of solar eclipses, ancient technique of eclipse prediction may be another cause of poor coincidence.