ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

The Objective of Armillary Sphere Construction in the Northern Song Dynasty

• In Event: Imperial Instruments: Tools for Astronomy and Mathematics in China from Song to Qing

English Abstract

In Chinese tradition, the armillary sphere was one of the main astronomical instruments. The construction of armillary spheres was unprecedented in quantity and quality under the Northern Song. Four armillary spheres were constructed from AD 995 to 1094, which covers the reign periods Zhidao 至道, Huangyou 皇祐, Xining 熙寧and Yuanyou 元祐. A study of these instruments exemplifies trends in the objectives and thinking behind instrument design. Shen Kuo沈括 (1031-1095) made innovation in the structure and installation of an armillary sphere in the Xining period. In 1092, Su Song 蘇頌 and Han Gonglian 韓公廉succeeded in the construction of an water-powered astronomical clock-tower that included an armillary sphere, a celestial globe, and mechanical clockwork, including a special escapement. Su and Han followed the thinking of Zhang Sixun張思訓by combining a celestial globe with mechanical clockwork. The above-mentioned armillary spheres showed two trends in the objective of Chinese imperial instrument-making. On the one hand, astronomers continued to improve the structure of an armillary sphere in order to accurately measure the heavens; on the other hand, astronomers and engineers paid more attention to designing ingenious mechanical devices to please emperors.

Author

• Baichun Zhang, Chinese Academy of Science Institute for the History of Natural Science