Abstract
A number of star maps that predate the 1395 planisphere are recorded in Korean histories such as the Samguk Sagi, Koryo-sa and Munheon Bigo. A number of scholars have been searching for such star maps over the last decade or so, but without success. Fortunately, while one of us (NIS) was preparing the first volume of his series on the History of Korean Astronomy, he discovered two old star maps in the Yonsei University Library, and concluded that both maps may possibly predate the oldest-known Korean planisphere, Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunya-ji-Do. Of these two star charts, the older looking one has neither a title nor the name of its maker. However, the other star map has the title Geonsang Yeolcha Bunya-ji-Do. Its maker’s name is Kwon Keun and it dates to 1395, the same year as the Cheonsang Yeolch Bunya-ji-Do.
In this paper we first discuss the 1395 planisphere in some detail, and then introduce the two early star maps.
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Notes
- 1.
Although it is generally believed that these old rubbings were made from the (b) surface of the CYBD Planisphere, as yet no one has examined the possibility that they in fact came from another Korean planisphere that was manufactured in AD 1687.
References
Han, Chiyon, 1912. Haidong Yeoksa (海東繹史), Volumes 32 and 41. Seoul, Joseon Gwangmunhoe (in Korean).
Nha, II-Seong, 1984. A study of astronomical instruments in Joseon Dynasty. The Journal of Korean Studies, 41, 205–237 (in Korean).
Nha, II-Seong, 2012. Star Maps and Cosmology in Korea. The first volume of History of Korean Astronomy, in press (in Korean).
Nihon Shoki (日本書紀), Volume 22. Tokyo, Iwanami Shoten (1965) (in Japanese).
Rufus, W.C., 1913. The celestial planisphere of King Yi Taijo. The Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, IV, 23.
Rufus, W.C., 1915. Korea’s cherished astronomical chart. Popular Astronomy, 23, 6.
Acknowledgements
We express our gratitude to Mr Kim Yeongweon, Head of the Center for Korean Classics Collection at the Yonsei University Library, for permission to reproduce images of the two early star maps, and to Mrs Kim Myungju, Librarian of the Center for Korean Classics Collection, for her generous help in finding references.
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Il-Seong, N., Nha, S.L. (2011). The 1395 Planisphere, Cheongsang Yeolcha Bunya-Ji-Do, and Two Earlier Star Maps in Korea. In: Orchiston, W., Nakamura, T., Strom, R. (eds) Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8161-5_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8161-5_11
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