Book of Silk
Encyclopedia
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
silk manuscript compiled by Chinese astronomers of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) and found in the Mawangdui tomb of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1973. It lists 29 comets (referred to as 彗星, literally broom stars) that appeared over a period of about 300 years.
It is now exhibited in the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Contents
The Divination by Astrological and Meteorological Phenomena contains what archaeologists claim is the first definitive atlas of comets. There are roughly 2 dozen renderings of comets, some in fold out/pop-up format. In some cases the pages of the document roll out to be 5 feet long. Each comet's picture has a caption which describes an event its appearance corresponded to, for example, "the death of the prince," "the coming of the plague," or "the 3 year drought."See also
- Chinese astrologyChinese astrologyChinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. The development of Chinese astrology is tied to that of astronomy, which came to flourish during the Han Dynasty ....
- Chinese astronomyChinese astronomyAstronomy in China has a very long history, with historians considering that "they [the Chinese] were the most persistent and accurate observers of celestial phenomena anywhere in the world before the Arabs."...
- Mawangdui Silk TextsMawangdui Silk TextsThe Mawangdui Silk Texts are texts of Chinese philosophical and medical works written on silk and found at Mawangdui in China in 1973. They include some of the earliest attested manuscripts of existing texts such as the I Ching, two copies of the Tao Te Ching, one similar copy of Strategies of the...
- Chu Silk ManuscriptChu silk manuscriptThe Chu Silk Manuscript , also known as the Chu Silk Manuscript from Zidanku in Changsha , is a Chinese astrological and astronomical text. It was discovered in a Warring States period tomb from the southern Chinese state of Chu.-History:...