The
Gnomon [A] Was Seen By Mr. Wylie In One Of The Lower Rooms Of The
Observatory (See Below).
Of the Globe we do not now hear; and that
mentioned by Lecomte among the ancient instruments was inferior to what
Ricci describes at Peking.
I now transcribe Mr. Wylie's translation of an extract from a Popular
Description of Peking:
"The observatory is on an elevated stage on the city wall, in the
south-east corner of the (Tartar) city, and was built in the year (A.D.
1279). In the centre was the Tze-wei[13] Palace, inside of which were a
pair of scrolls, and a cross inscription, by the imperial hand. Formerly it
contained the Hwan-t'ien-e [B] 'Armillary Sphere'; the Keen-e [D?]
'Transit Instrument' (?); the Tung-kew [A] 'Brass Globe'; and the
Leang-t'ien-ch'ih, 'Sector,' which were constructed by Ko Show-king under
the Yuen Dynasty.
"In (1673) the old instruments having stood the wear of long past years,
had become almost useless, and six new instruments were made by imperial
authority. These were the T'ien-t'ee 'Celestial Globe' (6); Chih-taoue
'Equinoctial Sphere' (2); Hwang-taoue 'Zodiacal Sphere' (1); Te-p'ing
kinge 'Azimuthal Horizon' (3); Te-p'ing weie 'Altitude Instrument' (4);
Ke-yene 'Sextant' (5). These were placed in the Observatory, and to the
present day are respectfully used. The old instruments were at the same
time removed, and deposited at the foot of the stage. In (1715) the
Te-ping King-wei-e 'Azimuth and Altitude Instrument' was made;[14] and in
1744 the Ke-hang-foo-chin-e (literally 'Sphere and Tube instrument for
sweeping the heavens'). All these were placed on the Observatory stage.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 1234 of 1256
Words from 336039 to 336323
of 342071