Talk:Zhang Heng

message: Needham's translation of Ling Xian (靈憲) is in many ways inaccurate. His major mistake is saying that "an-xu" (闇虛) means a lunar eclipse, while it actually refers to the shadow (lit. "dark void"). This is more clearly stated in a quotation in "Treatise on Astronomy Part 2" in Book of Sui (《隋書·天文志中》): "Zhang Heng said: '[There is a place] in opposition to the sun. It is as big as the sun. Sunlight doesn't illuminate it. It's called an-xu. When an-xu meets the moon, the moon is eclipsed. When it encounters a star, the star is missing.'" (張衡云：「對日之衝，其大如日，日光不照，謂之闇虛。闇虛逢月則月食，值星則星亡。」)
So the last sentence of the excerpt from Ling Xian (「在星星微，月過則食」) should be translated as "When it is on a star, the star is hidden. The moon is eclipsed when goes through it." The whole paragraph says nothing about occultations or solar eclipses. 
There are other minor mistakes in Needham's translation. I suggest we find a better translation to replace it.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 十七世纪 (talk • contribs) 15:57, 16 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Translation Errors 

message: Again, you need more sources than Needham.  --Ideogram 10:18, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed that problem a bit with more sources.--PericlesofAthens 19:18, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  GA failed 

message: :GA review (see here for criteria)
#It is reasonably well written.
#:a (prose):  b (MoS): 
#It is factually accurate and verifiable.
#:a (references):  b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR): 
#It is broad in its coverage.
#:a (major aspects):  b (focused): 
#It follows the neutral point of view policy.
#:a (fair representation):  b (all significant views): 
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#Overall: 
#:a Pass/Fail: 
===Suggestions===
The complaints I am voicing here are pretty much the same as in the last article (Su Song)
*You need to indicate the name of the volumes in addition to the number for the Needham references.
There are several problems with the prose in a few sections.
*There are too many parentheses all around the article. The use of parantheses should be minimized and worked into the prose. When it comes to Chinese translations of terms, many of them can simply be removed.
*You are mixing Wade-Giles and Pinyin romanization. The majority of the article is in Pinyin, but you must convert the Wade-Giles into Pinyin before the article is passed. If you need assistance in this regard please let me know, as I can help convert the stuff.Zeus1234
::Update: I fully indicated the names of the Needham volumes, limited the amount of parentheses while rewording info into prose, and the only Wade-giles translations left are in Needham's direct quotes, which should not be reworded.--PericlesofAthens 03:39, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: GA Nomination

message: The complaints I am voicing here are pretty much the same as in the last article (Su Song)
*You need to indicate the name of the volumes in addition to the number for the Needham references.
There are several problems with the prose in a few sections.
*There are too many parentheses all around the article. The use of parantheses should be minimized and worked into the prose. When it comes to Chinese translations of terms, many of them can simply be removed.
*You are mixing Wade-Giles and Pinyin romanization. The majority of the article is in Pinyin, but you must convert the Wade-Giles into Pinyin before the article is passed. If you need assistance in this regard please let me know, as I can help convert the stuff.Zeus1234
::Update: I fully indicated the names of the Needham volumes, limited the amount of parentheses while rewording info into prose, and the only Wade-giles translations left are in Needham's direct quotes, which should not be reworded.--PericlesofAthens 03:39, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Suggestions

message: I've just drastically improved the image situation with this article; I think the new pictures fit splendidly. Anyone else have a comment on what could possibly be added?--Pericles of AthensTalk 10:50, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Images

message: Another day, another featured article. Thanks to all who lended a hand in bringing this article to featured status!--Pericles of AthensTalk 02:27, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: This page could still use some protection. Benjwong (talk) 23:08, 28 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Main page news

message: Why is he only "considered a polymath by some scholars"?  Are there any scholars who don't consider him one?  If this isn't a point of controversy then I don't see why it needs to be mentioned at all. --Heron (talk) 12:40, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I have not come across a scholar who disputes him being a polymath; yet I was only able to find a few scholars he deemed him so with an explicit mentioning of the word "polymath". Hence I stated that there are "some" scholars and did not insert my own assumption that there is some universal consensus, which I have no proof of. If you can find a scholar who says "most" or "all" sinologists consider him a polymath, have at it hoss! Lol.--Pericles of AthensTalk 14:21, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Polymath 

message: Substituted at 11:16, 30 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Assessment comment

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: There are references pointing to non-existing bibliography. I am talking about Needham (1959). There is no source from that year of publication although there it is a Volume 3 of Needham's work.
There should be someone with the book of 1986 to check this.--Hienafant (talk) 11:10, 31 March 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point. I have fixed the problem, since I own that edition of Needham's book and, for that matter, am the one who (largely) wrote this article. Thanks for pointing this out! Pericles of AthensTalk 11:26, 31 March 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Needham (1959), Volume 3