Science and technology and cultural heritage in the 24 solar terms
2022-03-31
Just after the spring equinox, Qingming is coming. In the cycle of 24 solar terms, time flies. The concept of 24 solar terms, which was gradually established from the Xia Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, has been widely used for more than 2000 years. It not only contains the advanced scientific and technological knowledge at that time, promotes and serves China's economic and social development in history, but also is of great benefit to today's Meteorological Research - Chinese traditional meteorology is a complete knowledge system. As a valuable meteorological scientific, technological and cultural heritage, the role and value of the 24 solar terms need to be further explored and perceived by the academic community and the public. From birth to formation, the science and technology history of 24 solar terms The 24 solar terms are not only the common sense of the Chinese people, but also the background knowledge in the world Chinese character culture circle. In history, the 24 solar terms have experienced a long process of development and improvement. In the early stage of Chinese civilization, the growth of production capacity and population reproduction of our ancestors promoted the progress of astronomy, meteorology and agricultural science and technology. They try to explore the reasons for the changes of the surrounding weather and environment, explain the world with a simple view of nature, and have made preliminary development in observing celestial phenomena, exploring solar terms, forming proverbs, identifying nature and so on. Astronomy is the most closely related to the twenty-four solar terms. There were well-developed astronomical observations in ancient China, which promoted the development of ancient meteorology and made ancient Chinese meteorology have the ideological system and characteristics of astronomy to some extent. It should be said that the 24 solar terms have both meteorological and astronomical calendar significance, which shows that ancient Chinese astronomy has a far-reaching impact on meteorology. Ancient Chinese people attached great importance to the observation of astronomy and meteorology. In the observation of heaven, there was naturally the observation of meteorology. Shanxi Xiangfen Taosi Ancient Observatory is a typical representative in this regard. It belongs to the pottery Temple site of Longshan culture. Archaeological experts determined that its site was around 2100 BC. It is the earliest ancient observatory site found in China so far. Through field simulation observation, experts determined that the rammed earth column of the early site of Taosi was used to build observation joints. One of its main functions is to observe the sunrise and set the solar term, and possibly to observe other celestial phenomena. This shows that the ancestors used the gap between the two soil columns to observe the changes of the sun, so as to speculate the seasonal changes and solar terms. This was a "high-tech" content at that time, or represented a strong "hard" strength. Because such observation needs to consider the surrounding environment, air visibility, location changes over the years, the reliability and comparison of solar term records, etc., which requires a certain accumulation of knowledge in astronomy, meteorology, geography, mathematics and other aspects, and will in turn promote the development of these disciplines. Moreover, this observation method is a transition from casual observation of sunrise to observation in specific reference objects and fixed patterns, and even a leap from qualitative to partial quantitative - which was a great science and technology more than 4000 years ago! The 24 solar terms were not born like this and have also experienced changes. During the period of Yao and Shun, ancestors gradually found the cyclic changes of solar terms in a year in their life experience, put forward some concepts of solar terms from word of mouth, and then gradually appeared in written records. Many of the names are different from today, such as "mid day, permanent day, mid night, short day, minute, to, opening, closing, day night minute, spring equinox, autumn equinox, winter solstice, summer solstice, summer solstice", and some of these solar terms gradually disappeared. There are early records of solar terms in Shangshu Yaodian, including the words "mid day, permanent day, mid night and short day", which may be the earliest known solar terms. Xia Xiaozheng may be the earliest existing Calendar in China. The folk lunar calendar is sometimes called "summer calendar". To some extent, it may be affected by this calendar. In this book, according to the celestial calendar, there are many names of solar terms, such as "the first month" recorded in Xia Xiaozheng. These terms are gradually absorbed into the 24 solar terms, and the summer calendar has been widely used until today. Because it can promote agricultural activities, it has also become one of the foundations of Chinese traditional agriculture. In the Zhou Dynasty, Chinese ancestors measured the sundial by using the tugui (that is, erect a pole on the plane to measure the length of the noon sun shadow) to determine the four solar terms of the winter solstice, summer solstice, spring equinox and autumn equinox. In the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the words about solar terms were more abundant. "Guan Zi" puts forward that "knowing the four seasons is the foundation of losing the country", indicating that the society paid attention to and applied seasonal factors such as meteorology at that time. Guanzi also recorded many solar terms system and other meteorological related knowledge. In the solar term system at that time, there were 30 solar term systems, which were divided into 8 sections in spring and autumn, 7 sections in winter and summer, and 12 days for each solar term. This is the early form of the 24 solar terms. In Guan Zi, the emperor and his subordinates, it is said to "judge the time of heaven", which means that only when human beings understand the law of thousands of Meteorology between heaven and earth, including solar terms, can they not violate this Law and serve agricultural production well. Guanzi also discusses the application of meteorological laws to military wars, which promoted the hegemony of the state of Qi in terms of meteorology. Solar terms essentially reflect an objective law, so everyone's understanding and address tend to be consistent, and gradually have a more consistent concept of 24 solar terms. The most complete and complete 24 solar terms records and names in China appear in the chapter of Huainanzi astronomical training, which records the phenological changes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China. Huainanzi was written by Liu An, the king of Huainan in the early Western Han Dynasty. Many people are familiar with it because it is dominated by Taoism and mixed with the theories of various schools in the Pre-Qin Dynasty. But in fact, there are many discussions about natural phenomena in the book, especially the contribution to Chinese traditional meteorology. It not only completes the discussion of 24 solar terms, but also records the observation of wind and humidity. Calendar, agriculture, climatology... The 24 solar terms had a multifaceted impact on ancient China After the 24 solar terms came into being, a strict knowledge system gradually formed, which promoted the development of many aspects of society in ancient China. Here, we only take its impact on calendar, agriculture and Climatology as an example. The 24 solar terms have a great impact on the production of future calendars and are deeply imprinted in the long river of Chinese history. It is one of the core theories of Chinese traditional meteorology and has gradually become the essence of Chinese ancient traditional culture. For example, the Taichu calendar of the Western Han Dynasty was the first relatively complete Han calendar in ancient China and the most advanced calendar in the world at that time. It incorporated 24 solar terms, which brought great convenience to guide the production and life of agriculture and animal husbandry. "Taichu calendar" also takes the month without middle spirit as the leap month, which is more reasonable than the previous year-end intercalation method. Solar terms have a greater impact on agriculture. For example, the careful calculation of the winter solstice is conducive to the arrangement of agricultural production in the coming year. Due to the vast territory of China, the specific time of the winter solstice varies in different places. For example, after the Southern Song Dynasty moved south, the length of the shadow of the winter solstice was different from that of the Central Plains. The famous ancient book "Shu Jiu Zhang" also has problems in astronomy and calendar, involving the calculation of 24 solar terms. For example, the question of "pushing Qi and managing calendar" said: "there is no way to ask the Taishi test. In the fourth year of Qingyuan, the fifth day of the fifth five year old was 92.45 on the 39th day of the winter solstice, and in the third year of shaoding, Gengyin was 94.12 on the 32nd day of the winter solstice. What do you want for the middle jiataijiazi's gas bone, age and bucket points?" The "Qi bone" refers to the winter solstice. The same is true of other solar terms. Zeng Xiongsheng, a scholar of agricultural history, pointed out that Qin Jiushao's book had detailed calculations of solar terms such as the winter solstice. This point was mentioned in "Kui RI Wei", The title is "ask the past dynasties to measure the scenery, but the Tang Dayan calendar is the most dense. This dynasty worships the heavenly calendar. The winter solstice in Yangcheng is one Zhang, two feet, seven inches, one minute and fifty seconds, and the summer solstice in Yangcheng is one foot, four inches, seven minutes and seventy-nine seconds, which is the same as the Dayan calendar. Today's Jubilee calendar, the winter solstice in Lin'an Prefecture is one Zhang, eight inches, two minutes and twenty-five seconds, and the summer solstice in summer is nine inches and one minute. I want to ask for a few days after the summer solstice in Lin'an Prefecture, and the difference between the landscape and the summer solstice in Yangcheng, which is different from the It is necessary to calculate how many days after the summer solstice in Lin'an Prefecture at that time, that is, Hangzhou today, the length of the solar shadow is the same as that of the summer solstice in Yangcheng (now Dengfeng, Henan) - if the latitude of the two places on the earth is different, the length of the solar shadow will be different. China is one of the largest centers of origin of crops in the world. Agrometeorological science germinated early and developed rapidly. After the gradual emergence of the 24 solar terms, the more specific 72 solar terms correspond to it, mainly through the comprehensive knowledge of astronomy, meteorology and phenology to guide agricultural production - one solar term for five days, 72 solar terms for 365 days a year, and one solar term for three solar terms. The twenty-four solar terms and seventy-two seasons, which reflected seasons and agricultural activities thousands of years ago, played an important role in the development of agricultural society in ancient China. Up to now, various proverbs describing and predicting the weather still play an important role in agricultural production and daily life. The 24 solar terms also reflect the phenological changes. In the era of emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, Linghu Dehui recorded solar terms and phenology phenomena such as "waking the insects... Peach begins to bloom" in his book of Zhou. According to this record, supplemented by other documents, many meteorologists and climatologists believe that the climate in the Yellow River Basin was relatively warm in the Tang Dynasty. This discovery gives today's global climate change research a more far-reaching historical coordinate - the study of ancient solar terms and phenology knowledge has now become an important branch of contemporary atmospheric science and plays an important role in climate change research. Excavate the cultural heritage of traditional meteorological science and technology and promote modern meteorological research The research on the general history of meteorological science and technology shows that the historical development of China's meteorology has something in common with the development of world meteorology, and has its own unique position. On the one hand, China's relatively closed and unique geographical environment makes the regional characteristics of ancient Chinese meteorology more obvious; On the other hand, the strong influence of Chinese traditional culture makes Chinese ancient meteorology have obvious characteristics of Chinese traditional culture - paying attention to the accumulation of meteorological knowledge from production practice and daily life. After forming a complete knowledge system, it has been applied in practice. This is more obvious in the field of 24 solar terms. Ancient Chinese meteorology contains profound cultural connotation. The homology of "heaven" and "Qi" in ancient China makes the ancient Chinese meteorology have the characteristics of Chinese traditional culture from the beginning, and embark on a different development path from the Western meteorology based on philosophical thought in the same period in the West. Its cultural and regional characteristics constitute the tone of China's Meteorological history of more than 4000 years in ancient times. Among them, the 24 solar terms, represented by both astronomical and meteorological meanings, have spread for thousands of years and become the carrier of China's typical cultural heritage. Ancient Chinese meteorology is also one of the representatives of the development of ancient Chinese science and technology. It is generally acknowledged in the history of science that China has four traditional disciplines: traditional astronomy, mathematics, agronomy and traditional Chinese medicine. However, after years of research, scholars in the history of meteorological science and technology have proposed that Chinese traditional ancient meteorology has naturally become the fifth largest traditional discipline. Among them, the traditional meteorological scientific and technological knowledge with the 24 solar terms as the core has contributed to the formation of this conclusion. The numerous ancient documents and books in China have widely recorded the important information of the ancients in observing nature and understanding meteorology. companion
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
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