Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-11-13
QUEER ASTRONOMY.
THAT OF TIRE CHINESE. FOR IT IS
 AS VET MERELY HISTOLOGY.

There Is No Telescope Tn the Peking ob- serSatory, but Many Elaborate Instra- ments of No Apparent Cse-wonderful Hell In the Observatory Tower.
 Astronomy in China is in a very primitive condition. The observatory Rt Peking is the only one belonging to China which is of any Importance. It Is situated upon n terrace, which runs along the Notifications of the city and could, if necessary. be used as for tress.
 The instruments which it contains arc remarkable for 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 tu the Chi nese Emperor Kang Hi in the seven teenth century. It Is probably tho most modern and consequently the most ac- curate instrument in the whole cOllCc- tiOn. The chief Tiece of tho Observato- " is an extrumely ornate bronze instra- ment which was constructed bv the chief astronomer Of the Empcror kublai- Khan in the thirteenth century. The form of the instrument somewhat re- sembles modern equatorial, but its use is problematicaL 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 ue, and the observatory owes to him nearly all its astronomical appliances The gigantic celestial sphere Is another object of interest. Though feet in di ametcr and weighing more than n ton, yet it can bc easily rotated by a child. so carefully k it balanced.
 The instruments are all of very Orna- mental construction. Utility was sec ondary consideration 10 appearance, and l the native wOrkmCu who constructed them were far more concerned about the dragons with flames issuing from their mouths and th,' hld,OuS figures adOrn- ing the instruments than they were abnut the acCur:I,y uf the divisions The number Ui men employed by the Celestial GnvcrnInvut to manage the ub. scrVatury k very large. Including all the officials and salariC'l students. there aro 200. There is q chancellor at the head. and after him arc directors, sub.
 
 out number. \ post in the Pcking ob. scrvatOry. though honorary. Is CUnsid. cred tO bC a very important position. and the present chancellor is an uncle oi the emperor.
 His SuhurdIHaty> are also men ui rank. the two dirCctOrs having a right to the button Of previous stones and q | jcwClCtl image uf tic >,.l raven. which is wuru on the heart Their offices ar, hereditary tabuut the only ones in Chi na which aT,'l. lCcaU>,' they alone hay, the calculation tables which the Jesuit. introduced in the seventeenth century, and they kccp them carefully hiddCI away.
 One Uf the principal features in modern observatory k n telescope IT the PckinE observatory there l. not single telescope. and ihcrV never has bSCI one. or at least thCrc l. no record of it. l This is not astonishing in view of tn, use which the Chinese make of aStrOnO my The only real value it has fu them is tu. determine their numvruu fast days and th" dates uf idolatrOu fca>ts which the CmlS-rur periodically holds at the various temples when h, I rites laid down in the sacred bOOks.
 The astronomy of the Chinese was il fact and k vet merely I>trrlu-y. Tn, duty of fiNin. these dates falls upon thu officials of the observatory and tn, council uf the luard also meets un tn, last day "f every wear. and at miClnigh the ChanCrll.sr >"lvmuly aSCCrtainS tn, direction "f tiv " ini and informs tn, board. They then draw their cunclu sionS. and the r,>ult i> circulated fa and wide.
 The most favorable diruv':Iun Uf tn, wind iS from the northwest, and shoulC this wind prevail every surt uf happi ness may lc expected during the cnsu ing year. The Chinese year begins Feb II. On that date. IS?I. the wind Wa from the southeast,
 The clocks uS,,l iu the uir>CrvatUry arc all water cIoCka like tn" anCicn clcpSydra of the Romans. and an i'm portant part of the duties of tine ot~crv atory officials k tn ring the changes O the night watches on the great bell O Pcking. which hangs in the hell tOwc and weighs l20. O0O pounds, is II fec high. :I4 feet m circumference and i made of bronze 9 inches thick. IL i struck hy wnndcn beam. sn that tn noise made hy il is not proportiOnate t' its size.
 In tho drum tower arc kept the in Ccnse sticks. which are continually kep burning and which mark the passage q time in conjunction with tho watC clocks Such arc the primitive mean which the Chinese possess for bccOmin: acquainted with astruIt,: .,.l subjects and though tho history uG Chinese as tronumy begins with that of the cmpir, yet the vast majority still believe tha tho earth k the immov able center of tn, world New York World.