What was the name of the ancient astronomer?

The research contents of ancient astronomy and modern astronomy are quite different, which needs attention. In ancient astronomical institutions, there were many sub-departments such as astronomy, calendar and seal cutting, which were mainly responsible for observing images, making calendars and telling time. There have been some changes in the names of astronomical institutions, the setting of departments, the level and scope of official positions, but the basic functions have not changed substantially. Among them, the department responsible for observing astronomical phenomena has a special position compared with the department making calendars and telling time. It is not only related to the calculation results of reference calendar, but also has important scientific functions. But also related to the good or ill luck of the investigator, which has important social functions.

As early as when Li Zhouguan was a scholar, there were six kinds of official positions related to astronomy, namely, "uncle", "dreaming" and "Yi =?" Da Shi, Feng and Bao. Each official's rank and family have clear regulations. Among them, "uncle" has a high level and wide responsibilities, and astronomical affairs are part of its jurisdiction.

Since Wei and Jin Dynasties, Tai Shigong has become the full-time director of the national astronomical institution, and officials equivalent to Yi, Feng and Bao have become subordinate officials of Tai Shigong. The names of astronomical institutions led by Taishi change frequently, such as Taishi Supervisor, Taishi Bureau and Sitiantai. It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that they were named Qin people.

Taishiling's grade is generally between grade three and grade five. But because he is the interpreter and disseminator of God's will, at some important moments, Taishiling's words may carry more weight than those of a senior official. This is also the case. Some famous astronomers won the favor of the emperor. They are other senior officials and do not hold official positions in astronomical institutions. But their right to speak in astronomical affairs is sometimes far better than Taishiling's.

Astronomical institutions in China have a certain scale in the past dynasties. Take the Tiantai case in the first year of Gan Yuan, Tang Suzong as an example, and its level is set as follows:

One supervisor (from the third grade), two supervisors (from the fourth grade), three supervisors (from the sixth grade), three supervisors (from the seventh grade), two supervisors (from the eighth grade), and five senses (note: spring officials, summer officials, Qiu Guan officials, winter officials and middle officials). The following "five senses" refer to five people (on the positive five products), five pairs of senses (on the positive six products), five senses of Lingtaro (on the positive seven products), five senses of Zhang Bao (on the positive seven products), five senses of gathering (on the positive eight products), five senses of supervision (on the positive eight products) and five lawsuits (on the negative eight products).

It can be seen that there are many officials in astronomical institutions and the division of labor is fine.

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, western learning spread to the east, and western missionaries used new scientific methods to predict solar and lunar eclipses more accurately than China's ancient methods, which gradually attracted the attention of the court. In the first year of Shunzhi, Tang Ruowang, a missionary, was appointed as the supervisor of Qin Tian by the emperor because he predicted that the solar eclipse would not be bad. In the eighth year of Shunzhi, the emperor shunzhi gave Tang Ruowang three titles: Doctor Yi Tong, Servant Siqing and Taichang Siqing in one day, which promoted him from the original four products to three products. In the first month of the fifteenth year of Shunzhi, Tang Ruowang was promoted to Doctor Guanglu, the best official in the imperial court.

Compared with the western cultural background, the special position of astronomical officials and institutions in ancient China once made western scholars feel incredible. At the end of 19, some western scholars were surprised: China people put astronomers at the level of ministers and secretaries of state! If you ask why this happened, you need to comprehensively analyze the political, social, emperor's preferences and other factors at that time to answer.