The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-04

under which moon there shall be thunder
storms and tempests; under which, disease,
murrain, wars, disorders >and treasons,
and 30 on. according to the indications Of
each; but always adding that it lies with
God to do less or more, according to His
pleasure. And they write down tho re-
suits of their examination in certain little
pamphlets for the year, which arc called
Tacuin, and these are sold for a groat to
I'll who desire to know what Is coming"
According to NJ. Corder. there is no
doubt that Kublai Kaan lin the later years
OF the thirteenth century, established in
Pekin two astronomical boards and two
observatories. One Of them was Chinese
observatory, the other Mohammedan
observatory, each equipped with It's par
ticular astronomical and chronological
systems, it's particular astrology and in
struments. For the first astronomical
and calendar system compiled for the Mon
gols they were indebted to an astronomer
who was In the service Of Zenghis Kaan.
After having been convinced Of the obso-
leteness and incorrectness of the astro-
nomical observations in the calendar sys-
TEN of the Kin Dynasty, he thought out,
when he was at Samarcand. a new system
valid not only for China, but also for the
countries conquered by the Mongols in
Western Asia, and named 1t Keng-wu,
in commemoration of the date Of Zeng-
hiss westward expedition. Keng-wu was
the year 1910 Of the Christian era. This
astronomers calendar was not adopted
in China, but the system Of it is explained
In an authoritative Chinese work upon
the subject, in a section. upon astronomy
and the calendar.
There seems to be no doubt that the
astronomical instruments which, before
the recent capture Of Pekin, stood in the
garden Of the Observatory in that capital.
belonged to the period Of Marco Polo's
residence in China. The objections that
have been advanced to the alleged age OF
these instruments were entirely based upon
an inspection Of photographs. The opinion
was expressed that no instruments Of the
kind. 40 perfect In theory and in execution,
could have been even imagined in the thir-
teenth century. and that nothing of such
scientific quality could have been made,
except by the Jesuits, who entered China
some four centuries later. In fact, 1t was
asserted or implied that these instruments
must have been made about the year 100,
and were therefore not earlier in age than
those which stand on the terraced roof of
the observatory. Touching this point. Mr.
Wiley Of Shanghai has testified. Let me
assure YOU he wrote on Aug. FL, 1874.
"the Jesuits had nothing to do with the
manufacture of the so-called Mongol in
struments whoever made them, they were
certainly on the Pekin Observatory before
Loyola was born. They are not made
for the astronomical system introduced
by the Jesuits, but are altogether con-
formable to the system introduced by
Kublai's astronomer, will mention one
thing which il quite decisive. The circle
is divided into aosk degrees, each degree
into 100 minutes. and each minute into leo
seconds. The Jesuits always used the
se1adecinal division Leconts speaks of
the imperfection Of the divisions on the
Jesuit made Instruments; those on the
Mongol Instruments are immeasurably
coarser."
According to Mr. Wiley, the evidence is
all In accord. and leaves. in his opinion. no
IcdSOihDl6 IUOIu lOT OOuDt ILh( LlFc luSlIu-
'ments in the Observatory garden at Pelin
are those which were cast aside AZ useless
by Father Verbiest of the Society Of Jesus
In 1878 Tor 1859. which Father Ricci saw at
Pekin at the beginning Of the seventeenth
century, and Of which he has described the
duplicates at Marking, which had come
down from the time OF the Mongols, or, more
precisely, Of Kublai Kaan. Ricci speaks
Of their age as nearly $50 years in 1899;
Verbest as nearly 800 years In 1893. These
estimates evidently point to the termination
Of the Mongol dynasty US8s) to which the
Chinese would naturally refer their oral
chronology. It is well known that some
Of the astronomical instruments to which
We have referred were, by shocking act
Of vandalism, removed to Potsdam by the
Germans after the occupation OF Pekin.
MWH