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Guo Shoujing

April 08, 2024

Guo Shoujing (Chinese: 郭守敬, 1231–1316), courtesy name Ruosi (若思), was a Chinese astronomer,[1] hydraulic engineer, mathematician, and politician of the Yuan dynasty. The later Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666) was so impressed with the preserved astronomical instruments of Guo that he called him "the Tycho Brahe of China."[2] Jamal ad-Din cooperated with him.[1]

Guo Shoujing
郭守敬
Born1231
Xingtai, Hebei province
Died1314 or 1316
Known forShòushí Calendar (授时曆; 'Season-Granting Calendar')
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy, hydraulic engineering, mathematics
InstitutionsGaocheng Astronomical Observatory
Guo Shoujing
Chinese郭守敬
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuō Shǒujìng
Wade–GilesKuo1 Shou3-ching4
IPA[kwó ʂòʊtɕîŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGwok Sáu-ging
Southern Min
Tâi-lôKueh Tsiú-kìng (col.)
Kok Siú-kìng (lit.)

Early life edit

In 1231, in Xingtai, Hebei province, China, Guo Shoujing was born into a poor family.[3] He was raised primarily by his paternal grandfather, Guo Yong, who was famous throughout China for his expertise in a wide variety of topics, ranging from the study of the Five Classics to astronomy, mathematics, and hydraulics. Guo Shoujing was a child prodigy, showing exceptional intellectual promise. By his teens, he obtained a blueprint for a water clock which his grandfather was working on, and realized its principles of operation. He improved the design of a type of water clock called a lotus clepsydra, a water clock with a bowl shaped like a lotus flower on the top into which the water dripped. After he had mastered the construction of such water clocks, he began to study mathematics at the age of 16. From mathematics, he began to understand hydraulics, as well as astronomy.[3]

Career edit

 
The 27 observatories built and used by Guo Shoujing and his colleagues

At 20, Guo became a hydraulic engineer. In 1251, as a government official, he helped repair a bridge over the Dahuoquan River. Kublai realized the importance of hydraulic engineering, irrigation, and water transport, which he believed could help alleviate uprisings within the empire, and sent Liu Bingzhong and his student Guo to look at these aspects in the area between Dadu (now Beijing or Peking) and the Yellow River. To provide Dadu with a new supply of water, Guo had a 30 km channel built to bring water from the Baifu spring in the Shenshan Mountain to Dadu, which required connecting the water supply across different river basins, canals with sluices to control the water level. The Grand Canal, which linked the river systems of the Yangtze, the Huai, and the Huang since the early 7th century, was repaired and extended to Dadu in 1292–93 with the use of corvée (unpaid labor).[4] After the success of this project, Kublai Khan sent Guo off to manage similar projects in other parts of the empire. He became the chief advisor of hydraulics, mathematics, and astronomy for Kublai Khan.[5]

Guo began to construct astronomical observation devices. He has been credited with inventing the gnomon, the square table, the abridged or simplified armilla, and a water powered armillary sphere called the Ling Long Yi. The gnomon is used to measure the angle of the sun, determine the seasons, and is the basis of the sundial, but Guo Shoujing revised this device to become much more accurate and improved the ability to tell time more precisely. The square table was used to measure the azimuth of celestial bodies by the equal altitude method and could also be used as protractor. The abridged or simplified armilla was used to measure the angle of the sun, as well as the position of any celestial body. The Ling Long Yi is similar to an abridged armilla except larger, more complex, and more accurate.[6] Kublai Khan, after observing Guo's mastery of astronomy, ordered that he, Zhang, and Wang Xun make a more accurate calendar. They built 27 observatories throughout China in order to gain thorough observations for their calculations. In 1280, Guo completed the calendar, calculating a year to be 365.2425 days, just 26 seconds off the year's current measurement. In 1283, Guo was promoted to director of the Observatory in Beijing and, in 1292, he became the head of the Water Works Bureau. Throughout his life he also did extensive work with spherical trigonometry. After Kublai Khan's death, Guo continued to be an advisor to Kublai's successors, working on hydraulics and astronomy.[3]

Personal life edit

Death edit

His year of death is variously reported as 1314[6] or 1316.[3]

Analysis of his contributions edit

Guo Shoujing was a major influence in the development of science in China. The tools he invented for astronomy allowed him to calculate an accurate length for the year, which allowed Chinese culture to set up a whole new system of exact dates and times, allowing for increasingly accurate recording of history and a sense of continuity throughout the country. The calendar stabilized the Chinese culture allowing subsequent dynasties to rule more effectively. Through his work in astronomy, he was also able to more accurately establish the location of celestial bodies and the angles of the Sun relative to Earth. He invented a tool which could be used as an astrological compass, helping people find north using the stars instead of magnets.

Within the field of hydraulics, even at a young age, Guo was revolutionizing old inventions. His work on clocks, irrigation, reservoirs, and equilibrium stations within other machines allowed for a more effective or accurate result. The watches he perfected through his work in hydraulics allowed for an extremely accurate reading of the time. For irrigation, he provided hydraulics systems which distributed water equally and swiftly, which allowed communities to trade more effectively, and therefore prosper. His most memorable engineering feat is the man-made Kunming Lake in Beijing, which provided water for all of the surrounding area of Beijing and allowed for the best grain transport system in the country. His work with other such reservoirs allowed people in inner China access to water for planting, drinking, and trading. Guo's work in mathematics was regarded as the most highly knowledgeable in China for 400 years. Guo worked on spherical trigonometry, using a system of approximation to find arc lengths and angles. He stated that pi was equal to 3, leading to a complex sequence of equations which came up with an answer more accurate than the answer that would have resulted if he did the same sequence of equations, but instead having pi equal to 3.1415.[3]

As people began to add onto his work, the authenticity of his work was questioned. Some believe that he took Middle Eastern mathematical and theoretical ideas and used them as his own, taking all the credit.[7] However, he never left China which would have made it more difficult for him to access others' ideas. Otherwise, Guo was highly regarded throughout history, by many cultures, as a precursor of the Gregorian calendar as well as the man who perfected irrigation techniques in the new millennium. Many historians regard him as the most prominent Chinese astronomer, engineer, and mathematician of all time.

His calendar would be used for the next 363 years, the longest period during which a calendar would be used in Chinese history.[8] He also used mathematical functions in his work relating to spherical trigonometry,[9][10] building upon the knowledge of Shen Kuo's (1031–1095) earlier work in trigonometry.[11] It is debated amongst scholars whether or not his work in trigonometry was based entirely on the work of Shen, or whether it was partially influenced by Islamic mathematics which was largely accepted at Kublai's court.[10] Sal Restivo asserts that Guo Shoujing's work in trigonometry was directly influenced by Shen's work.[12] An important work in trigonometry in China would not be printed again until the collaborative efforts of Xu Guangqi and his Italian Jesuit associate Matteo Ricci in 1607, during the late Ming Dynasty.[11]

Influence edit

Guo Shoujing was cited by Tang Shunzhi 唐順之 (1507–1560)[13] as an example of solid practical scholarship, anticipating the rise of the Changzhou School of Thought and spread of the "evidential learning".

Asteroid 2012 Guo Shou-Jing is named after him, as is the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope near Beijing.

See also edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b Morris Rossabi (28 November 2014). From Yuan to Modern China and Mongolia: The Writings of Morris Rossabi. BRILL. pp. 282–. ISBN 978-90-04-28529-3.
  2. ^ Engelfriet, 72.
  3. ^ a b c d e O'Connor.
  4. ^ "China", 71727.
  5. ^ Kleeman.
  6. ^ a b Shea.
  7. ^ "China", 71735.
  8. ^ Asiapac Editorial (2004), 132
  9. ^ Needham, Volume 3, 109.
  10. ^ a b Ho, 105.
  11. ^ a b Needham, Volume 3, 110.
  12. ^ Restivo, 32.
  13. ^ Ching-ch'uan hsien-sheng wen-chi (1573), 6.36b–40a, 7.15a–18a. in Elman, Classicism, Politics, and Kinship, 78

Sources edit

  • Asiapac Editorial. (2004). Origins of Chinese Science and Technology. Translated by Yang Liping and Y.N. Han. Singapore: Asiapac Books Pte. Ltd. ISBN 981-229-376-0.
  • Engelfriet, Peter M. (1998). Euclid in China: The Genesis of the First Translation of Euclid's Elements in 1607 & Its Reception Up to 1723. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. ISBN 90-04-10944-7.
  • Ho, Peng Yoke. (2000). Li, Qi, and Shu: An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China. Mineola: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-41445-0.
  • Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
  • Restivo, Sal. (1992). Mathematics in Society and History: Sociological Inquiries. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-4020-0039-1.
  • O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson. "Guo Shoujing." School of Mathematics and Statistics. Dec. 2003. University of St. Andrews, Scotland. 7 Dec. 2008 <http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Guo_Shoujing.html>.
  • "China." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 24 Nov. 2008 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-71727>.
  • Kleeman, Terry, and Tracy Barrett, eds. The Ancient Chinese World. New York, NY: Oxford UP, Incorporated, 2005.
  • Shea, Marilyn. "Guo Shoujing - 郭守敬." China Experience. May 2007. University of Maine at Farmington. 15 Nov. 2008 <http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/astronomy/tianpage/0018Guo_Shoujing6603w.html 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine>.
  • "China." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 24 Nov. 2008 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-71735>.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guo Shoujing.

April 08, 2024
shoujing, chinese, 郭守敬, 1231, 1316, courtesy, name, ruosi, 若思, chinese, astronomer, hydraulic, engineer, mathematician, politician, yuan, dynasty, later, johann, adam, schall, bell, 1591, 1666, impressed, with, preserved, astronomical, instruments, that, calle. Guo Shoujing Chinese 郭守敬 1231 1316 courtesy name Ruosi 若思 was a Chinese astronomer 1 hydraulic engineer mathematician and politician of the Yuan dynasty The later Johann Adam Schall von Bell 1591 1666 was so impressed with the preserved astronomical instruments of Guo that he called him the Tycho Brahe of China 2 Jamal ad Din cooperated with him 1 Guo Shoujing郭守敬Born1231Xingtai Hebei provinceDied1314 or 1316Known forShoushi Calendar 授时曆 Season Granting Calendar Scientific careerFieldsAstronomy hydraulic engineering mathematicsInstitutionsGaocheng Astronomical ObservatoryGuo ShoujingChinese郭守敬TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinGuō ShǒujingWade GilesKuo1 Shou3 ching4IPA kwo ʂo ʊtɕi ŋ Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationGwok Sau gingSouthern MinTai loKueh Tsiu king col Kok Siu king lit Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 3 1 Death 4 Analysis of his contributions 5 Influence 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Sources 8 External linksEarly life editIn 1231 in Xingtai Hebei province China Guo Shoujing was born into a poor family 3 He was raised primarily by his paternal grandfather Guo Yong who was famous throughout China for his expertise in a wide variety of topics ranging from the study of the Five Classics to astronomy mathematics and hydraulics Guo Shoujing was a child prodigy showing exceptional intellectual promise By his teens he obtained a blueprint for a water clock which his grandfather was working on and realized its principles of operation He improved the design of a type of water clock called a lotus clepsydra a water clock with a bowl shaped like a lotus flower on the top into which the water dripped After he had mastered the construction of such water clocks he began to study mathematics at the age of 16 From mathematics he began to understand hydraulics as well as astronomy 3 Career edit nbsp The 27 observatories built and used by Guo Shoujing and his colleaguesAt 20 Guo became a hydraulic engineer In 1251 as a government official he helped repair a bridge over the Dahuoquan River Kublai realized the importance of hydraulic engineering irrigation and water transport which he believed could help alleviate uprisings within the empire and sent Liu Bingzhong and his student Guo to look at these aspects in the area between Dadu now Beijing or Peking and the Yellow River To provide Dadu with a new supply of water Guo had a 30 km channel built to bring water from the Baifu spring in the Shenshan Mountain to Dadu which required connecting the water supply across different river basins canals with sluices to control the water level The Grand Canal which linked the river systems of the Yangtze the Huai and the Huang since the early 7th century was repaired and extended to Dadu in 1292 93 with the use of corvee unpaid labor 4 After the success of this project Kublai Khan sent Guo off to manage similar projects in other parts of the empire He became the chief advisor of hydraulics mathematics and astronomy for Kublai Khan 5 Guo began to construct astronomical observation devices He has been credited with inventing the gnomon the square table the abridged or simplified armilla and a water powered armillary sphere called the Ling Long Yi The gnomon is used to measure the angle of the sun determine the seasons and is the basis of the sundial but Guo Shoujing revised this device to become much more accurate and improved the ability to tell time more precisely The square table was used to measure the azimuth of celestial bodies by the equal altitude method and could also be used as protractor The abridged or simplified armilla was used to measure the angle of the sun as well as the position of any celestial body The Ling Long Yi is similar to an abridged armilla except larger more complex and more accurate 6 Kublai Khan after observing Guo s mastery of astronomy ordered that he Zhang and Wang Xun make a more accurate calendar They built 27 observatories throughout China in order to gain thorough observations for their calculations In 1280 Guo completed the calendar calculating a year to be 365 2425 days just 26 seconds off the year s current measurement In 1283 Guo was promoted to director of the Observatory in Beijing and in 1292 he became the head of the Water Works Bureau Throughout his life he also did extensive work with spherical trigonometry After Kublai Khan s death Guo continued to be an advisor to Kublai s successors working on hydraulics and astronomy 3 Personal life editDeath edit His year of death is variously reported as 1314 6 or 1316 3 Analysis of his contributions editGuo Shoujing was a major influence in the development of science in China The tools he invented for astronomy allowed him to calculate an accurate length for the year which allowed Chinese culture to set up a whole new system of exact dates and times allowing for increasingly accurate recording of history and a sense of continuity throughout the country The calendar stabilized the Chinese culture allowing subsequent dynasties to rule more effectively Through his work in astronomy he was also able to more accurately establish the location of celestial bodies and the angles of the Sun relative to Earth He invented a tool which could be used as an astrological compass helping people find north using the stars instead of magnets Within the field of hydraulics even at a young age Guo was revolutionizing old inventions His work on clocks irrigation reservoirs and equilibrium stations within other machines allowed for a more effective or accurate result The watches he perfected through his work in hydraulics allowed for an extremely accurate reading of the time For irrigation he provided hydraulics systems which distributed water equally and swiftly which allowed communities to trade more effectively and therefore prosper His most memorable engineering feat is the man made Kunming Lake in Beijing which provided water for all of the surrounding area of Beijing and allowed for the best grain transport system in the country His work with other such reservoirs allowed people in inner China access to water for planting drinking and trading Guo s work in mathematics was regarded as the most highly knowledgeable in China for 400 years Guo worked on spherical trigonometry using a system of approximation to find arc lengths and angles He stated that pi was equal to 3 leading to a complex sequence of equations which came up with an answer more accurate than the answer that would have resulted if he did the same sequence of equations but instead having pi equal to 3 1415 3 As people began to add onto his work the authenticity of his work was questioned Some believe that he took Middle Eastern mathematical and theoretical ideas and used them as his own taking all the credit 7 However he never left China which would have made it more difficult for him to access others ideas Otherwise Guo was highly regarded throughout history by many cultures as a precursor of the Gregorian calendar as well as the man who perfected irrigation techniques in the new millennium Many historians regard him as the most prominent Chinese astronomer engineer and mathematician of all time His calendar would be used for the next 363 years the longest period during which a calendar would be used in Chinese history 8 He also used mathematical functions in his work relating to spherical trigonometry 9 10 building upon the knowledge of Shen Kuo s 1031 1095 earlier work in trigonometry 11 It is debated amongst scholars whether or not his work in trigonometry was based entirely on the work of Shen or whether it was partially influenced by Islamic mathematics which was largely accepted at Kublai s court 10 Sal Restivo asserts that Guo Shoujing s work in trigonometry was directly influenced by Shen s work 12 An important work in trigonometry in China would not be printed again until the collaborative efforts of Xu Guangqi and his Italian Jesuit associate Matteo Ricci in 1607 during the late Ming Dynasty 11 Influence editGuo Shoujing was cited by Tang Shunzhi 唐順之 1507 1560 13 as an example of solid practical scholarship anticipating the rise of the Changzhou School of Thought and spread of the evidential learning Asteroid 2012 Guo Shou Jing is named after him as is the Large Sky Area Multi Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope near Beijing See also editHistory of BeijingReferences editCitations edit a b Morris Rossabi 28 November 2014 From Yuan to Modern China and Mongolia The Writings of Morris Rossabi BRILL pp 282 ISBN 978 90 04 28529 3 Engelfriet 72 a b c d e O Connor China 71727 Kleeman a b Shea China 71735 Asiapac Editorial 2004 132 Needham Volume 3 109 a b Ho 105 a b Needham Volume 3 110 Restivo 32 Ching ch uan hsien sheng wen chi 1573 6 36b 40a 7 15a 18a in Elman Classicism Politics and Kinship 78 Sources edit Asiapac Editorial 2004 Origins of Chinese Science and Technology Translated by Yang Liping and Y N Han Singapore Asiapac Books Pte Ltd ISBN 981 229 376 0 Engelfriet Peter M 1998 Euclid in China The Genesis of the First Translation of Euclid s Elements in 1607 amp Its Reception Up to 1723 Leiden Koninklijke Brill ISBN 90 04 10944 7 Ho Peng Yoke 2000 Li Qi and Shu An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China Mineola Dover Publications ISBN 0 486 41445 0 Needham Joseph 1986 Science and Civilization in China Volume 3 Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth Taipei Caves Books Ltd Restivo Sal 1992 Mathematics in Society and History Sociological Inquiries Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers ISBN 1 4020 0039 1 O Connor J J and E F Robertson Guo Shoujing School of Mathematics and Statistics Dec 2003 University of St Andrews Scotland 7 Dec 2008 lt http www history mcs st andrews ac uk Biographies Guo Shoujing html gt China Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition 24 Nov 2008 lt http school eb com eb article 71727 gt Kleeman Terry and Tracy Barrett eds The Ancient Chinese World New York NY Oxford UP Incorporated 2005 Shea Marilyn Guo Shoujing 郭守敬 China Experience May 2007 University of Maine at Farmington 15 Nov 2008 lt http hua umf maine edu China astronomy tianpage 0018Guo Shoujing6603w html Archived 2008 12 01 at the Wayback Machine gt China Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition 24 Nov 2008 lt http school eb com eb article 71735 gt External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guo Shoujing O Connor John J Robertson Edmund F Guo Shoujing MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive University of St Andrews Article on the Shoushi calendar from the National University of Singapore Culture story site Guo Shoujing at the University of Maine Archived 2008 12 01 at the Wayback Machine Article about Guo Shoujing by J J O Connor and E F Robertson at St Andrews University Biography of Guo Shoujing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Guo Shoujing amp oldid 1163705546, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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