The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1894-11-16
QUEER ASTRONOMY.
That OF THE CHINESE, FOR IT IS
AS YET MERELY ASTROLOGY.

40 fEi MERELY ASTROLOGY.
There Is No Telescope In the Picking Oh
servatory, but Many Elaborate Instru
mcnts of No Apparent Wonderful
Bell In the Observatory Tower.
Astronomy in China is in very
primitive condition. The observatory
at Peking is the only one belonging tc
China which is Of any Importance. II
Is situated upon a terrace, which runs
along the Notifications of the city and
could. If necessary, be used as for
tress.
The instruments which it contains are
remarkable tor their historical interest
and artistic beauty rather than for their
scientific value. Perhaps the most in
teresting Of these is the huge bronze
quadrant sent by Louis XIV to the Chi
nese Emperor Kang Hi in the seven
teenth century. 1t is probably the mott
modern and consequently the most 40
curate instrument in the whole collsc-
ton. The chief piece of the Observable
ry is an extremely ornate bronze instru-
ment which was constructed by the
chief astronomer OF the Emperor Kublai-
Khan in the thirteenth century. The
form Of the instrument somewhat re-
sembles a modern equatorial, but its
use Is problemaHcaL This astronomer,
whose name was Kou Shou King, may
be called the Napoleon Of Chinese as.
tronomy, for he was the first to con-
struct instruments Of any practical val
ne, and the observatory owes to him
nearly all it's astronomical appliances.
The gigantic celestial sphere is another
object of interest. Though feet in di-
ameter and weighing more than ton,
yet it can be easily rotated by child,
so carefully is it balanced.
The instruments are all Of very orna-
mental construction. Utility was sec
ondary consideration to appearance, and
the native workmen who constructed
them were far more concerned about the
dragons with flames issuing from their
mouths and the hideous figures adorn-
Ing the instruments than they were
about the accuracy of the divisions.
hO LuLuOCl VI llOu ny UllO
Celestial government to manage the OBJ
servatory is very large. Including all
the officials and salaried students, there
are 200. There is chancellor at the
head, and after him are directors, sub
directors and assistant subdirectors with
out number. A post in the Picking OBJ
servatory, though honorary, is consid-
cred to be very important position, and
the present chancellor is an uncle of
the emperor.
His subordinates are also men of
rank, the two directors having right
to the button of precious stones and a
1eweled image of the sea raven, which
is worn on the heart. Their offices are
hereditary (about the only ones in Chi
ma which are), because they alone have
the calculation tables which the Jesuits
in the seventeenth century,
and they keep them carefully hidden
away i
One of the principal features in a
modern observatory is telescope In |
the Picking observatory there is not a
single telescope, and there never has been
one, or at least there is no record of it.
This is not astonishing in view of the
use which the Chinese make of astrono-
my. The only real value it has foc !
them is to determine their nurlerca7 !
fast days and the dates of idolatrous
feasts which the emperor periodically
holds at the various temples when he |
executes the sacrifices and performs the |
rites laid down in the sacred books.
The astronomy of the Chinese was in
fact and is yet merely astrology The
duty of fixing these dates falls upon the
officials of the observatory, and the
council of the board also meets on the
last day of every year, and at midnight
The chancellor solemnly ascertains the
direction of the wind and informs the
board. They then draw their conclu-
'ions, and the result is circulated far
md wide
The most favorable direction of the
wind is from the northwest, and should
his wind prevail every sort of happi-
less may be expected during the ensu-
ng year. The Chinese year begins Feb
a. On that date, 1894, the wind was
rom the southeast.
The clocks used in the observatory
re all water clocks, like the ancient
lepsydra of the Romans, and an i'm
'ortant part of the duties of the observ-
tory officials is to ring the changes Of
he night watches ON the great bell OF
'eking, which hangs in the bell tower
nd weighs 100, 900 pounds, is ID feet
Ugh, 81 feet in circumference and is
lade of bronze inches thick. 1t is
truck by wooden beam, so that the
oise made by it is not proportionate to
IS size.
In the drum tower are kept the in
ense sticks, which are continually kept
urning and which mark the passage of
me in conjunction with the water
locks. Such are the primitive means
hich the Chinese possess for becoming
,quainted with astronomical subjects,
nd though the history of Chinese as
onomy begins with that of the empire
1t the vast majority still believe that :
Ie earth is the immovable center of the
orld. New York World. =
Il
Touched by His Loneliness.
An old darby was out yesterday per- !
nbulatlng the streets with stock of I
h for sale. Here's your fine fishI' a