早期天文学观念的形成 :东汉时的黄道和赤道(英文)

Seeing the Appearances:Ecliptic and Equator in the Eastern Han

试图完成以下几项工作 :第一 ,由于作者希望其文在《自然科学史研究》纪念李约瑟的专刊中能被接受 ,文章利用中国的证据 ,以比较的方法并着眼于全球范围 ,来重写天文学思想和天文学实践早期历史中的一小部分。这是可取的 ,因为中国的证据在关键问题上既丰富又详尽 ,而古代西方的记载则相对缺乏。第二 ,文章旨在引起人们去注意技术革新的一些条件 ,特定制度与政治环境下的技术革新 ,有可能或不可能实现。这里面或许有一些仍然有益的教训。第三 ,文章试图阐明中国早期最伟大的科技名人之一张衡 (公元 78— 1 39年 )著作中若干值得注意却迄今费解的段落的真正含义。尽管这第三个目标有助于达到该文的前两个目的 。

This paper sets out to fulfil a number of tasks.Firstly,as I hope will be acceptable in an issue of this journal dedicated to the memory of Joseph Needham,it attempts to use evidence from China to re write a small part of the early history of astronomical thought and practice in a comparative and global context.This is desirable because the Chinese evidence is full and detailed at crucial points where the record from the ancient West is relatively sparse.Secondly, it aims to draw attention to some of the conditions under which technical innovation was possible — or sometimes impossible — in particular institutional and political settings.There may be lessons from this that still retain some value.Thirdly,it tries to elucidate the true meaning of some interesting but so far obscure sections in the writing of one of early China's greatest scientific and technical figures,Zhang Heng 张衡(AD 78—139) ①.Although this third aim contributes to the attainment of the first two purposes of this paper,it seems worthwhile in itself to try to reach the fullest possible understanding of all the fragments remaining from the work of such a man,and I hope the effort involved will seem well spent.\;