The story of the ancient observatory

Located in the southwest corner of Jianguomen overpass, the ancient observatory is one of the oldest observatories in the world with a history of more than 500 years. It is famous for its neat and complete buildings, well-preserved instruments and long history. It was the royal observatory of the feudal dynasty in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Today it is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

The ancient observatory was built in the Ming Dynasty (1442) and was overhauled in Jiajing. Since then, the observatory has not changed much. After the Revolution of 1911, the station was changed to the Central Observatory.

1933 changed to National Astronomical Exhibition Hall. After the founding of New China, it was managed by Beijing Planetarium with the approval of the State Council. May 1956, opened to the public in the name of "Beijing Ancient Astronomical Instrument Exhibition Hall". The observatory is 14 meters high, 24 meters long from east to west and 20 meters wide from north to south. It was hollowed out and turned into an exhibition hall with two floors. Wei Zi Hall and the East-West Annex Building on the west side of Taiwan Province were transformed into exhibition halls of "China Ancient Astronomical Achievements Exhibition". Very beautiful astronomical instruments are displayed on the stage. There are equatorial theodolite, ecliptic theodolite, horizon theodolite, quadrant, armillary sphere and simple instruments.

Beijing Ancient Observatory was called "Stargazing Observatory" in Ming Dynasty. There are large astronomical instruments such as simple instrument, armillary sphere and elephant on the stage, and there are standard watches and leaky pots under the stage. In the Qing Dynasty, the observatory was renamed "Observatory" and changed to the central observatory after the Revolution of 1911.

During the reign of Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the Observatory successively acquired eight large-scale astronomical instruments made of copper, all of which adopted the European astronomical measurement system and instrument structure. From the orthodox period of Ming Dynasty to 1929, Beijing Ancient Observatory has been engaged in astronomical observation for 500 years. Among the existing ancient observatories in the world, it keeps the longest continuous observation time. Moreover, its architecture is complete and well-equipped, and it has a long-standing reputation in the world. Eight large-scale copper astronomical instruments in Qing Dynasty are huge in size, beautiful in shape and exquisitely carved. In addition to the traditional features of China in terms of modeling, ornamentation and craftsmanship, its scale, wristwatch and structure also reflect the progress and achievements of large astronomical instruments in western Europe after the Renaissance, which has become a historical witness of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. They are not only practical astronomical observation tools, but also unique historical relics.

Ming and Qing observatories

The establishment of Beijing Observatory can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty. After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, astronomical instruments were transported from Bianliang (now Kaifeng City, Henan Province) to Jinzhongdu (now you 'anmen area, Beijing), and Taishi Bureau and Si Tiantai were established. After the Jin Dynasty, Yuan still took Beijing as the capital (called Dadu). In the 16th year of Yuan Dynasty (1279), astronomers Guo Shoujing, Wang Xun and others established the largest rooftop in the world at that time in the southeast of Dadu, and made observations with their own astronomical instruments, which pushed ancient astronomy in China to a new peak. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, all the rooftop buildings in Si Yuan were destroyed due to years of war.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was the capital, and the remaining astronomical instruments of the Yuan Dynasty were transported to Jiming Mountain in Nanjing. When Emperor Yongle moved to Beijing in the 19th year of Ming Dynasty (142 1), there were no astronomical instruments, so he could only observe with the naked eye on the wall near Qihuamen (later renamed Chaoyangmen). In the 22nd year of Yongle, a palace observatory, the so-called "Lingtai", was established in the west of the Forbidden City. At this time, there were no large astronomical instruments.

According to the Ming History, in the second year of Zheng Tong, Huangfu Zhonghe, a prison in Qin Tian, invited someone to Nanjing to copy musical instruments with wood and transport them back to Beijing to make bronze musical instruments. In February of the seventh year of Orthodox Christianity, Ren Zi built a "hall" and a "stargazing platform". It should be pointed out that the observatory recorded in the history books includes the platform body and the affiliated buildings such as the quadrangle, east wing and west wing under the stage. "Shi Minglu" also records: "(Orthodox) built a cinema in the eleventh year." Until then, the Beijing Ancient Observatory and its affiliated buildings began to take shape. After the Qing dynasty, there was no big change. In the Qing dynasty, the observatory was renamed "Observatory" and was in charge of Qin. Wei Zi Palace and the West Wing also have huge horizontal plaques, which are said to be "observing diligence" in Kangxi's calligraphy and "observing images and choosing time" in Qianlong's calligraphy.

After the Revolution of 1911, the station was renamed "Central Observatory", which was under the Ministry of Education. At that time, the observatory was rebuilt and some houses were added. By 1929, the Central Observatory will be changed into the National Astronomical Exhibition Hall for meteorological work only. At this point, the Beijing Ancient Observatory ended the continuous astronomical activities that lasted for nearly 500 years.

Several changes of ancient astronomical instruments

The instruments placed on the ancient observatory to observe the sky are famous for their huge size, beautiful shape and fine carving. However, in the long years, these treasures have experienced the vicissitudes of the world!

In the Ming Dynasty, large-scale instruments such as armillary sphere, simple instrument and celestial globe were used on the stargazing platform. In the eighth year of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (1669), Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest, a Belgian Jesuit missionary, was ordered by Emperor Kangxi to design six new instruments on the basis of predecessors, and made them in the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi, including: equatorial theodolite, ecliptic theodolite, celestial sphere instrument, horizon meridian instrument, horizon latitude instrument and time limit instrument. After the new instruments were made, all the instruments of the Ming Dynasty were removed from the stage, and six new instruments were put on the stage for observation. In the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (17 15), the horizon theodolite designed by French Jesuit missionary Ji Lian was installed on the stage. The instrument is a combination of horizon longitude and horizon latitude, and it is convenient to use. However, when Li Ji 'an supervised the production of musical instruments, he turned the Yuan and Ming ancient musical instruments left behind into scrap metal. Fortunately, it was later discovered and banned by the Ming court, and three Ming military weapons, simple instruments and celestial instruments were kept (unfortunately, after the Revolution of 1911, celestial instruments were missing). This is a bad luck for the ancient instruments on the Beijing Ancient Astronomical Observatory.

According to historical records, on October 27th of the 9th year of Qianlong (A.D. 1744), Emperor Qianlong visited the observatory in person. After visiting astronomical instruments, he said that the structure is based on the armillary sphere, and carving should start from now on. So, at that time, the relevant personnel of Qin put their heads together and designed and manufactured "Ji Chenyi", which took ten years to manufacture. The structure of this instrument is basically similar to the armillary sphere made in China since the Han and Tang Dynasties, but the difference is that the horizon ring and ecliptic ring in the armillary sphere are cancelled, and the time description is the same as that of the other seven instruments on the stage, with a circumference of 360. And 96 engraving replaced 365.25 in ancient China. And hundreds of sculptures.

"Ji Chenyi" was the last large astronomical observation instrument in Qing Dynasty. It weighs more than five tons, tall and majestic, and beautifully carved. It is not only a sky-watching instrument on the observatory, but also a beautiful handicraft.

The ancient meaning was forced to migrate.

In A.D. 1900, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing and looted the Beijing Ancient Observatory. Seeing China's large and exquisite ancient musical instruments of Ming and Qing dynasties, the German and French invaders reached an "agreement" to carve up ancient cultural relics in China in private. The French invading army moved the equatorial theodolite, ecliptic theodolite, horizon theodolite, quadrant and Ming Dynasty simplified instrument to the Chinese embassy, and later returned them to China on 1902 due to public opinion. The German invaders snatched the armillary sphere made in Ming Dynasty, celestial bodies made in Qing Dynasty, Chen Pingfu instrument, horizon instrument and time measuring instrument, and shipped them back to Germany for display in Potsdam, Berlin. It was not until 192 1 that it was returned to China according to the Treaty of Versailles. After all the ten artifacts were returned, China installed eight bronzes of Qing Dynasty on the stage according to the original layout, while the armillary sphere of Ming Dynasty was installed on the left side of Wei Zi Palace, and the simple instrument was installed on the right side.

After the top ten instruments in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were robbed, astronomers at that time made a small horizon theodolite and a semi-folded celestial body (that is, the radius was half that of the celestial body in the Qing Dynasty) to be used in the observatory. In order to record this historical fact, a stone tablet was carved in the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), and now it stands in front of the left wing of Wei Zi Palace for visiting.

193 1 "September 18th Incident", in order to protect cultural relics, China astronomers transported seven Ming armymen, simple instruments, leaky pots, standard watches, small leveling theodolite and half celestial bodies to Nanjing in 1933 and displayed them at the Purple Mountain Observatory. So far, there are only 8 bronze musical instruments of Qing Dynasty left in Beijing Ancient Observatory.

Visit the ancient observatory

Beijing Ancient Observatory has made an indelible contribution to the development history of ancient astronomy in China. Observing astronomy in the same place for nearly 500 years is rare in the world.

After the founding of New China, necessary repairs were made. Ten years of turmoil, completely repaired, a new look. April 1983 reopened.

To visit the Beijing Ancient Observatory, the first thing is the Observatory and its eight bronze instruments. The observatory is as high as14m. On the flat roof, which is nearly 24 meters long from east to west and 20 meters wide from north to south, eight bronze musical instruments are arranged in the south, west and north. When I reached the top of the stage, the first thing I saw was the planetarium made in China. More than 1800 celestial bodies were accurately depicted on a huge spherical surface with a diameter of 6 feet. The vast galaxy runs through the whole sphere, and the cowherd and the weaver girl face each other across the river. Located in the north, "Ji Chen Yi" is a combination of Chinese and Western culture, elegant and luxurious. It holds up the cloud frame of the whole instrument, and the bronze dragon is coiled, full of vitality and beautifully carved. The upper part of the instrument detects the space ring by ring and runs freely. Several other musical instruments also have their own characteristics and colors.

There is an elegant and beautiful quadrangle under the Observatory, namely, Wei Zi Palace and the East and West Wing, and there is an exhibition "Achievements of Ancient Astronomy in China". Here, people can get a glimpse of China's ancient astronomy from germination to continuous development for thousands of years. The rich and long astronomical chronicle, incisive astronomical theory and outstanding inventions will inspire visitors to admire and miss the ancient astronomers in China!

Respondent: diany 1989- scholar level 2 8-24 00:27

Located in the southwest of Jianguomen overpass, Beijing Ancient Observatory has a history of more than 540 years. It is an observatory in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which is famous for its neat architecture, intact instruments and long history.

Ming and Qing observatories

The establishment of Beijing Observatory can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty. After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, astronomical instruments were transported from Bianliang (now Kaifeng City, Henan Province) to Jinzhongdu (now you 'anmen area, Beijing), and Taishi Bureau and Si Tiantai were established. After the Jin Dynasty, Yuan still took Beijing as the capital (called Dadu). In the 16th year of Yuan Dynasty (1279), astronomers Guo Shoujing, Wang Xun and others established the largest rooftop in the world at that time in the southeast of Dadu, and made observations with their own astronomical instruments, which pushed ancient astronomy in China to a new peak. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, all the rooftop buildings in Si Yuan were destroyed due to years of war.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was the capital, and the remaining astronomical instruments of the Yuan Dynasty were transported to Jiming Mountain in Nanjing. When Emperor Yongle moved to Beijing in the 19th year of Ming Dynasty (142 1), there were no astronomical instruments, so he could only observe with the naked eye on the wall near Qihuamen (later renamed Chaoyangmen). In the 22nd year of Yongle, a palace observatory, the so-called "Lingtai", was established in the west of the Forbidden City. At this time, there were no large astronomical instruments.

According to the Ming History, in the second year of Zheng Tong, Huangfu Zhonghe, a prison in Qin Tian, invited someone to Nanjing to copy musical instruments with wood and transport them back to Beijing to make bronze musical instruments. In February of the seventh year of Orthodox Christianity, Ren Zi built a "hall" and a "stargazing platform". It should be pointed out that the observatory recorded in the history books includes the platform body and the affiliated buildings such as the quadrangle, east wing and west wing under the stage. "Shi Minglu" also records: "(Orthodox) built a cinema in the eleventh year." Until then, the Beijing Ancient Observatory and its affiliated buildings began to take shape. After the Qing dynasty, there was no big change. In the Qing dynasty, the observatory was renamed "Observatory" and was in charge of Qin. Wei Zi Palace and the West Wing also have huge horizontal plaques, which are said to be "observing diligence" in Kangxi's calligraphy and "observing images and choosing time" in Qianlong's calligraphy.

After the Revolution of 1911, the station was renamed "Central Observatory", which was under the Ministry of Education. At that time, the observatory was rebuilt and some houses were added. By 1929, the Central Observatory will be changed into the National Astronomical Exhibition Hall for meteorological work only. At this point, the Beijing Ancient Observatory ended the continuous astronomical activities that lasted for nearly 500 years.

Several changes of ancient astronomical instruments

The instruments placed on the ancient observatory to observe the sky are famous for their huge size, beautiful shape and fine carving. However, in the long years, these treasures have experienced the vicissitudes of the world!

In the Ming Dynasty, large-scale instruments such as armillary sphere, simple instrument and celestial globe were used on the stargazing platform. In the eighth year of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (1669), Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest, a Belgian Jesuit missionary, was ordered by Emperor Kangxi to design six new instruments on the basis of predecessors, and made them in the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi, including: equatorial theodolite, ecliptic theodolite, celestial sphere instrument, horizon meridian instrument, horizon latitude instrument and time limit instrument. After the new instruments were made, all the instruments of the Ming Dynasty were removed from the stage, and six new instruments were put on the stage for observation. In the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (17 15), the horizon theodolite designed by French Jesuit missionary Ji Lian was installed on the stage. The instrument is a combination of horizon longitude and horizon latitude, and it is convenient to use. However, when Li Ji 'an supervised the production of musical instruments, he turned the Yuan and Ming ancient musical instruments left behind into scrap metal. Fortunately, it was later discovered and banned by the Ming court, and three Ming military weapons, simple instruments and celestial instruments were kept (unfortunately, after the Revolution of 1911, celestial instruments were missing). This is a bad luck for the ancient instruments on the Beijing Ancient Astronomical Observatory.

According to historical records, Emperor Qianlong visited the observatory on October 27th in the 9th year of Qianlong (A.D. 1744). After visiting astronomical instruments, he said that the structure is based on the armillary sphere, and carving should start from now on. So, at that time, the relevant personnel of Qin put their heads together and designed and manufactured "Ji Chenyi", which took ten years to manufacture. The structure of this instrument is basically similar to the armillary sphere made in China since the Han and Tang Dynasties, but the difference is that the horizon ring and ecliptic ring in the armillary sphere are cancelled, and the time description is the same as that of the other seven instruments on the stage, with a circumference of 360. And 96 engraving replaced 365.25 in ancient China. And hundreds of sculptures.

"Ji Chenyi" was the last large astronomical observation instrument in Qing Dynasty. It weighs more than five tons, tall and majestic, and beautifully carved. It is not only a sky-watching instrument on the observatory, but also a beautiful handicraft.

The ancient meaning was forced to migrate.

In A.D. 1900, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing and looted the Beijing Ancient Observatory. Seeing China's large and exquisite ancient musical instruments of Ming and Qing dynasties, the German and French invaders reached an "agreement" to carve up ancient cultural relics in China in private. The French invading army moved the equatorial theodolite, ecliptic theodolite, horizon theodolite, quadrant and Ming Dynasty simplified instrument to the Chinese embassy, and later returned them to China on 1902 due to public opinion. The German invaders snatched the armillary sphere made in Ming Dynasty, celestial bodies made in Qing Dynasty, Chen Pingfu instrument, horizon instrument and time measuring instrument, and shipped them back to Germany for display in Potsdam, Berlin. It was not until 192 1 that it was returned to China according to the Treaty of Versailles. After all the ten artifacts were returned, China installed eight bronzes of Qing Dynasty on the stage according to the original layout, while the armillary sphere of Ming Dynasty was installed on the left side of Wei Zi Palace, and the simple instrument was installed on the right side.

After the top ten instruments in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were robbed, astronomers at that time made a small horizon theodolite and a half-folded celestial body (that is, the radius was half that of the celestial body in the Qing Dynasty) for use in the observatory. In order to record this historical fact, a stone tablet was carved in the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), and now it stands in front of the left wing of Wei Zi Palace for visiting.

193 1 "September 18th Incident", in order to protect cultural relics, China astronomers transported seven Ming armymen, simple instruments, leaky pots, standard watches, small leveling theodolite and half celestial bodies to Nanjing in 1933 and displayed them at the Purple Mountain Observatory. So far, there are only 8 bronze musical instruments of Qing Dynasty left in Beijing Ancient Observatory.

Visit the ancient observatory

Beijing Ancient Observatory has made an indelible contribution to the development history of ancient astronomy in China. Observing astronomy in the same place for nearly 500 years is rare in the world.

After the founding of New China, necessary repairs were made. Ten years of turmoil, completely repaired, a new look. April 1983 reopened at 1.

To visit the Beijing Ancient Observatory, the first thing is the Observatory and its eight bronze instruments. The observatory is as high as14m. On the flat roof, which is nearly 24 meters long from east to west and 20 meters wide from north to south, eight bronze musical instruments are arranged in the south, west and north. When I reached the top of the stage, the first thing I saw was the planetarium made in China. More than 1800 celestial bodies were accurately depicted on a huge spherical surface with a diameter of 6 feet. The vast galaxy runs through the whole sphere, and the cowherd and the weaver girl face each other across the river. Located in the north, "Ji Chen Yi" is a combination of Chinese and Western culture, elegant and luxurious. It holds up the cloud frame of the whole instrument, and the bronze dragon is coiled, full of vitality and beautifully carved. The upper part of the instrument detects the space ring by ring and runs freely. Several other musical instruments also have their own characteristics and colors.

There is an elegant and beautiful quadrangle under the Observatory, namely, Wei Zi Palace and the East and West Wing, and there is an exhibition "Achievements of Ancient Astronomy in China". Here, people can get a glimpse of China's ancient astronomy from germination to continuous development for thousands of years. The rich and long astronomical chronicle, incisive astronomical theory and outstanding inventions will inspire visitors to admire and miss the ancient astronomers in China!