The ancients often said to watch "astronomical phenomena" at night. What is this "astronomical phenomenon"?

Watching the sky at night as mentioned by the ancients is actually observing the changes of celestial stars, constellations and clouds in the sky. The ancients could predict what would happen by observing the changes of stars in the sky. Of course, not everyone can observe the changes of stars, only astronomers with this knowledge can see them.

In ancient times, astronomy and religion were involved in divination and prediction, and constellations were not completely separated in ancient culture. The purpose of observing celestial phenomena is to predict what will happen through the changes in the operation of stars. For example, the rise and fall of a dynasty, natural and man-made disasters, grain harvest and other major events related to the national movement. Successive dynasties have also set up a special position for this purpose, and officials engaged in this position are highly valued. For example, Qin Tianjian of the Qing Dynasty and Taishiling of the previous dynasty refer to those officials who are engaged in observing astronomical phenomena.

Only in modern times did astronomy really fall into the category of science. The purpose of astronomy to explore the mysteries of stars and the universe is to explore other galaxies and unknown fields outside the earth, which is essentially different from the prediction purpose of the ancients.

Astronomy is a very huge subject in ancient times, covering a wide range of knowledge. The stars are divided into three walls and twenty-eight lodges. The three walls refer to the walls of Ziweixing, Taiweixing and Shi Tian. The ancients symbolized the purple star as the imperial star. If the purple star is bright, it represents the prosperity of this dynasty. If the purple star darkens, it means that this dynasty is about to decline.

The stars mainly refer to Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu, with directions of east, west, north and south respectively. If there is something wrong with the stars in which direction, it means that disaster is about to happen in which direction. In addition, we will observe the changes of clouds and wind and rain in the sky and predict whether there is a storm.

It is necessary to combine the Yin-Yang Eight Diagrams and the Five Elements to judge when forecasting, which requires the judge to have a very rich experience and knowledge base in addition to mathematics and climatology. People who can do this job are not only fortune tellers, they are knowledgeable and have a wide range of knowledge, and their own ability is no less than that of any official.