Author : Daniel Patrick Morgan
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 110850941X
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (85 download)
Book Synopsis Astral Sciences in Early Imperial China by : Daniel Patrick Morgan
Download or read book Astral Sciences in Early Imperial China written by Daniel Patrick Morgan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-03 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging monolithic modern narratives about 'Chinese science', Daniel Patrick Morgan examines the astral sciences in China c.221 BCE–750 CE as a study in the disunities of scientific cultures and the narratives by which ancients and moderns alike have fought to instil them with a sense of unity. The book focuses on four unifying 'legends' recounted by contemporary subjects: the first two, redolent of antiquity, are the 'observing of signs' and 'granting of seasons' by ancient sage kings; and the other two, redolent of modernity, involve the pursuit of 'accuracy' and historical 'accumulation' to this end. Juxtaposing legend with the messy realities of practice, Morgan reveals how such narratives were told, imagined, and re-imagined in response to evolving tensions. He argues that, whether or not 'empiricism' and 'progress' are real, we must consider the real effects of such narratives as believed in and acted upon in the history of astronomy in China.