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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This is a study and translation of the Zhou bi suan jing, a Chinese work on astronomy and mathematics which reached its final form around the first century AD. The author provides the first easily accesible introduction to the developing mathematical and observational practices of ancient Chinese astronomers and shows how the generation and validation of knowledge about the heavens in Han dynasty China related closely to developments in statecraft and politics. The book will be of equal interest to historians of science and those studying the history of Chinese culture.

(Extracted from the dust jacket)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-Preface.

-1- The Background of the Zhou bi.

-The Foundation Charter.
-The Role of Astronomy.
-The Problem of the Calendar.
-The Structure of an Astronomical System.
-Calendrical Astronomy Under the Han.
-Astronomy, Cosmography and Instrumentation.

-2- The Zhou bi and Its Contents.

-The Text.
-The Mathematics of the Zhou bi.
-The Calendrical Astronomy of the Zhou bi.
-Instrumentation and Observation in the Zhou bi.
-The Cosmography of the Zhou bi.

-3- The Origins of the Work.

-The Sections of the Zhou bi.
-Early External Evidence.
-The Formation and Closure of the Collection.

-4- The Later History of the Zhou bi.

-The Zhou bi in the Period of Division.
-The Sui shu Catalogue.
-Li Chunfeng and the Ten Mathematical Classics.
-The Printed Texts.
-Later Studies.

-Zhou bi suan jing: Translation.

-The Preface of Zhao Shuang.
-A- The Book of Shang Gao.
-B- The Book of Chen Zi.
-C- The Square and the Circle.
-D- The Seven heng.
-E- The Shapes of Heaven and Earth; Day and Night.
-F- The xuan ji; Polar and Tropical Conditions.
-G- The Graduated Circle and North Polar Distance.
-H- The Shadow Table.
-I- Lunar Lag.
-J- Rising, Setting and Seasons.
-K- Calendrical Cycles.

-Appendix 1: Zhao Shuang and Pythagoras' Theorem.

-Appendix 2: Zhao Shuang and the Height of the Sun.

-Appendix 3: Zhao Shuang and the Diagram of the Seven heng.

-Appendix 4: The Old Shadow Table.

-References and Bibliography.

-Index.

OUR REVIEW

It is unusual that the western readership may be fortunate enough to get to know the scientific works from another culture as important and as ancient as that of China in depth. In this occasion, however, Cristopher Cullen brings us a translation of one of the most fundamental texts, the Zhou bi suan jing, and a complete study of its contents. The original book is essentialy a short paper, yet at the same time it has a great importance for us to understand the role that science had in Chinese politics as well as the fascinating astronomical and mathematical progress achieved by this culture. Thus Cullen dissects every imaginable aspect in the text and reveals the magnificient Chinese developments in these areas.

Moreover, this book is the first one in a series overseen by the Needham Research Institute which will deal with interesting, new works related to culture and science in Eastern Asia. A praiseworthy initiative to introduce the rest of the world into a world that otherwise would surely remain unknown to most western readers.