12

HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE

agreement is the more remarkable, as the diminutionwas unknown to Gaubil. Observations of about thesame period, on the position of the winter solstice,compared with others of about the date b.c. 600, havebeen found, in like manner, to agree with deduc-tions from the law of the precession of equinoxes.During the period b.c. 720—481 observations ofmany eclipses are recorded, several of which have beenverified by calculating backwards ; appearances of manycomets also are described. The regulation of the calen-dar and the prediction of eclipses, were regarded inChina as matters of national importance, and a mathe-matical tribunal was established for the superintendenceof astronomy; but the obstinate attachment of theChinese to whatever had become established extendeditself to their astronomy, and repressed all improve-ment in science.

Such is the view of the Chinese astronomy, derivedfrom authorities of considerable weight. A differentopinion, however, has been maintained by Mr. Davis*,who has contended, from an elaborate examination, thatnothing really original in astronomical science can beattributed to the Chinese , who, he conceives, were en-tirely ignorant of its objects and principles before itsintroduction among them by the Arabians in the middleages.

On this one subject, he says, “ That singular nationhas deviated from its established prejudices and maximsagainst introducing what is foreign, — they have evenadopted the errors of European astronomy; ’’ for hediscovered, in a Chinese book, the exact representationof the Ptolemaic system. He adds, “ It is indeed im-possible not to smile at the idea of attributing anyscience to a people whose learned books are filled withsuch trumpery as the diagrams of Fo-hi, and a hundredother puerilities of the same kind.”

Mr. Davis offers several other proofs of the pro-pensity of the Chinese to appropriate to themselves the

* Phil. Trans. 1823.