#History#The earliest astronomy in China can be traced back to the ancient Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty, when people began to observe celestial phenomena and record the movement of the sun, moon and stars. In ancient times, astronomy was closely related to agriculture, and people observed celestial phenomena, measured seasons, and determined the timing of agricultural activities, so the development of astronomy was closely related to the development of ancient Chinese agricultural civilization.
The earliest astronomers in China were the "diviers" of the Shang Dynasty, who predicted good fortune and fortune based on celestial phenomena, providing an important reference for political, military and agricultural aspects. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, astronomy gradually became an independent discipline, and the astronomer of the Zhou Dynasty formulated the "Zhou Qiu Suanjing", which is the earliest existing astronomical work in China, which introduces basic astronomical phenomena such as the sun, moon, stars, solar eclipses, and lunar eclipses, and puts forward astronomical and geographical concepts such as "nine days" and "Kyushu".
Monk's line
Since then, in the development of Chinese astronomy, many outstanding astronomers and works have emerged, such as Zhang Heng's "geokinetic instrument" in the Han Dynasty, and the "astronomical algorithm" of the monks of the Tang Dynasty. The achievements of these astronomers not only profoundly influenced China's scientific culture, but also had an important impact on the development of world astronomy.
Zu Chongzhi
The well-known Ruzu Chongzhi, Zi Jingbo, was a famous mathematician and astronomer during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Born in Pingjiang County, present-day Yueyang City, Hunan Province, he was an official during the Southern Dynasty and Song Dynasty, who later resigned to concentrate on mathematics and astronomy. Zu Chongzhi made great contributions to mathematics and astronomy and was one of the important figures in the history of ancient Chinese science.
Although Zu Chongzhi's main contribution was in the field of mathematics, his book "The Nine Chapters of the Book of Numbers" is one of the classic works of ancient Chinese mathematics and is known as the "treasure house of mathematics". The work systematically expounded the mathematical knowledge of ancient China, including integers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, Pythagorean theorems, and solving equations, which had a profound impact on later mathematical research.
But in addition, Zu Chongzhi also made important contributions to the field of astronomy, he proposed the "solar center theory", which believes that the sun is the center of the universe, and the planets orbit the sun. This theory had a profound impact on the development of astronomy in China and was widely adopted by later astronomers.
Li Chunfeng
Another example is Li Chunfeng: an astronomer during the Tang Dynasty, who wrote works such as "Tianyuan Calendar", and put forward the astronomical and geographical concept of "Nine Domain Palace", which laid the foundation for the development of Chinese astronomy.
Xu Guangqi
Then there is Xu Guangqi: an astronomer, mathematician and politician during the Ming Dynasty, who presided over the compilation of works such as the "Xu Guangqi Astronomical Encyclopedia", and is one of the important figures in the history of Chinese astronomy.
Bronze statue of Guo Shoujing
There is also Guo Shoujing: an astronomer, mathematician and geographer during the Ming Dynasty, who wrote works such as "The Solution of the Armillary Sphere", and put forward important theories such as the "three-body problem", which is known as the "crown of astronomy in the Ming Dynasty".