Astrology and Cosmology in Early China: Conforming Earth to Heaven

618 Pages·2013·23.76 MB·English

Astrology andCosmologyinEarlyChina
The ancient Chinese were profoundly influenced by the Sun, Moon, and
stars,makingpersistenteffortstomirrorastralphenomena inshapingtheir
civilization.Inthispioneeringtext,DavidW.Pankenierintroducesreadersto
aseriouslyunderstudiedfield,illustratinghowastronomyshapedtheculture
of China from the very beginning and how it influenced areas as disparate
asart,architecture,calendricalscience,myth,technology,andpoliticaland
military decision-making. As elsewhere in the ancient world, there was no
positivedistinctionbetweenastronomyandastrologyinancientChina,andso
astrology,ormoreprecisely,astralomenology,isaprincipalfocusofthebook.
Drawingonabroadrangeofsources,includingarchaeologicaldiscoveries,
classical texts, inscriptions and paleography, this thought-provoking book
documents the role of astronomical phenomena in the development of the
“CelestialEmpire”fromthelateNeolithicthroughthelateimperialperiod.
david w. pankenier is Professor of Chinese at Lehigh University,
Pennsylvania.Hiscurrentresearchinterestsrangefromthehistoryofideas
inearlyChina,toarchaeoastronomyandculturalastronomy.Heisparticu-
larlyinterestedintheconnectionbetweenrareastronomicalphenomenaand
epoch-makingpoliticalandmilitaryeventsinancientChina.

Astrology and Cosmology in
Early China
Conforming Earth to Heaven
DavidW.Pankenier
LehighUniversity
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107006720
(cid:2)C DavidW.Pankenier2013
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Firstpublished2013
PrintingintheUnitedKingdombyTJInternationalLtd.PadstowCornwall
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Pankenier,DavidW.(DavidWilliam)
AstrologyandcosmologyinearlyChina:conformingearthtoheaven/
DavidW.Pankenier.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-00672-0(hardback)
1.Astrology,Chinese. 2.Cosmology,Chinese. I.Title.
BF1714.C5P38 2013
133.5(cid:3)9231–dc23 2013005731
ISBN978-1-107-00672-0Hardback
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Pluckingthefruit,onethinksofthetree;
drinkingfromthestream,oneismindfulofthesource.
YuXin(cid:2)(cid:2)(fl.c.544)

Contents
Listoffigures pageix
Listofmaps xiv
Listoftables xv
Foreword xvii
Preface xxi
Acknowledgments xxiv
ChronologyofearlyChina xxvi
Introduction 1
PartOne Astronomyandcosmologyinthetime
ofdragons
1 AstronomybeginsatTaosi 17
2 Watchingfordragons 38
PartTwo AligningwithHeaven
3 LookingtotheSupernalLord 83
4 BringingHeavendowntoEarth 118
5 Astralrevelationandtheoriginsofwriting 149
PartThree Planetaryomensandcosmicideology
6 Thecosmo-politicalmandate 193
7 Therhetoricofthesupernal 220
8 Cosmologyandthecalendar 242
vii
viii Contents
PartFour WarringStatesandHanastralportentology
9 AstralprognosticationandtheBattleofChengpu 261
10 Anewastrologicalparadigm 299
PartFive Onewiththesky
11 Cosmiccapitals 317
12 Temporalityandthefabricofspace–time 351
13 TheSkyRiverandcosmography 383
14 PlanetaryportentologyEastandWest 404
Epilogue 442
Appendix:Astrologyforanempire:the“Treatiseon
theCelestialOffices”inTheGrandScribe’sRecords
(c.100BCE) 444
Glossary 512
References 529
Index 570