明末清初太阳视差在中国的传播

The spread of the solar parallax in China during later Ming and early Qing Dynasty

明末清初之际,太阳视差传入中国,并被积极引入官方历法。从《崇祯历书》到《历象考成后编》均对其进行了不同程度的整理与修正,理论层面上已经与西方相差不远,但由于中国天文学以实用为中心的价值取向,仅将其作为历法计算的重要参数,未能产生类似于西方的影响。通过对比几部官方历法中太阳视差的相关记述,研究清代历算家对该项知识的3次主要修改,并在此基础上分析清代历算家对太阳视差的认识程度以及科学诉求。

During later Ming and early Qing Dynasty, this knowledge was introduced into China, and was introduced into the official calendar system. It was systemized and revised to varying degrees from ＂Chong Zhen Li Shu＂ to ＂Li Xiang Kao Cheng Hou Bian＂. Consequently the knowledge in China on the theoretical level was nearly comparable to that in the West; however, due to the fact that Chinese astronomy centered on the practical functionality, it remained merely a means of obtaining an important parameter in calendar calculation, absent of the kind of influence enjoyed in the West. Through the comparison of several accounts of solar parallax in the official calendar, this paper studies Chinese astronomers＇ and mathematicians＇ understanding of the development of this knowledge, and analyzes their degrees of understanding of the solar parallax and science demands.