page_title: Changsha Kingdom
section_title: Science and technology
hierarchical_section_title: Changsha Kingdom / Science and technology
caption_attribution_description: English: Detail of Astrology Manuscript, ink on silk, BCE 2th century, Han, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb 3rd, Chansha, Hunan Province, China. Hunan Province Museum日本語: 　天文気象雑占　　細部　帛書　馬王堆　第三号墓　出土　
context_page_description: The Changsha Kingdom was a kingdom within the Han Empire of China, located in present-day Hunan and some surrounding areas. The kingdom was founded when Emperor Gaozu granted the territory to his follower Wu Rui in 203 or 202 BC, around the same time as the establishment of the Han dynasty. Wu Rui and his descendants held the kingdom for five generations until Wu Zhu died without an heir in 157 BC. In 155 BC, the kingdom was reestablished for a member of the imperial family. However, the creation of this second kingdom coincided with the Rebellion of the Seven States and the subsequent reforms under Emperor Jing, and Changsha under the imperial family saw its autonomy greatly diminished. The kingdom was dissolved during Wang Mang's usurpation, briefly restored after the founding of the Eastern Han, and finally abolished in AD 33 and converted to a commandery under the imperial government.
  Changsha was one of the largest and longest-lasting kingdoms in Han China. Despite being established on the empire's frontier, technology and art flourished in Changsha.
context_section_description: Some of the earliest texts on traditional Chinese medicine were discovered in the Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan tombs, most of which were previously unknown. The largest of these finds is the Recipes for Fifty-two Illnesses (五十二病方, Wǔshí'èr Bìngfāng), which includes detailed treatments for specific illnesses. Two "cauterisation canons", the Cauterisation Canon of the Eleven Foot and Arm Channels (足臂十一脈灸經, Zúbì Shíyī Mài Jiǔjīng) and the Cauterisation Canon of the Eleven Yin and Yang Channels (陰陽十一脈灸經, Yīnyáng Shíyī Mài Jiǔjīng), provide important evidence about the concept of meridian channels in its infancy. In addition, there are also texts on the philosophy and techniques of "nurturing life" (養生, yǎngshēng), covering practices from therapeutic gymnastics and dietetics to sexual cultivation.
  Two new texts on astronomy and astrology, the Prognostications on the Five Planets (五星占, Wǔ Xīng Zhàn) and the Diverse Prognostications on Heavenly Patterns and Formations of Materia Vitalis (天文氣象雜占, Tiānwén Qìxiàng Zá Zhàn), were found in the Mawangdui tombs. The former provided accurate observation data on the positions of planets over a 70-year period from 246 BC to 177 BC, and also elaborated on some astrological beliefs such as an astral-terrestrial correspondence, a mapping of astronomical features to those on the land. The latter, likely a work by a Chu author of the Warring States period, included a collection of illustrations of astronomical and atmospheric features such as clouds, mirages, rainbows, stars and comets.
caption: Depiction of comets in the Tianwen Qixiang Za Zhan
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