A Study on the Relationship between the Zhouyi and Ancient ChineseAstronomical Calendars

A Study on the Relationship between the Zhouyi and Ancient ChineseAstronomical Calendars

LI Xuehao

(Yunnan Chinese Zhouyi Research Association, Kunming, Yunnan, 650000)

Abstract: From "observing celestial phenomena to determnine scasons" to the creation of calendrical systems, theself-refinement of ancient Chinese astronomy was deeply influenced by the ideas and concepts of the Zhouyi. Thehexagram and line statements of the Zhouyi contain several records of celestial observation and timekeeping.Moreover, interpreting line statements such as "seeing the Dipper at the sun's meridian" (ri zhong jian dou) in theFeng hexagram and "a cartload of ghosts" (zai gui yi che) in the Kui hexagram necessitates an exploration of theirastronomical contexts. The Yizhuan (Commentaries on the Changes) also bears connections to astronomicalcomputation; the integration of the Great Expansion number (Dayan zhi shu, i.e. the divination number) with theSantong Calendar and the Dayan Calendar is a notable example. Furthermore, the Zhouy's philosophical concepts of"observing time to understand change" and "ceaseless generation" coincide with the ancient astronomical principlesof "observing phenomena to determine seasons" and "the unity of Heaven and humanity." It is therefore necessary toexamine the manifold connections between the Zhouyi and ancient astronomical calendrical systems as a dedicatedsubject of inquiry.

Key words: Zhouyi; ancient astronomy and calendar; Yi symbol; meteorology; celestial phenomenon; Da Yan'snumber

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