Chinese astronomy and Indian astronomy were originally independent. Both of them already had developed when Indian astronomy was introduced into China along with Buddhism. The exact date of the introduction of Buddhism into China is not known, but it can be said that Buddhism was gradually introduced at the beginning of the Later Han (Eastern Han) dynasty (AD 25–220) or so. According to my study, the earliest information on Indian astronomy reached China at the time of the Later Han.
During the Sanguo (Three Kingdoms) period (AD 220–265), some Buddhist works, where information of Indian astronomy was included, were translated into Chinese. At the time of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907), some detailed monographs of Indian astronomy and astrology were composed in China. There were some astronomers who were well versed in both Chinese and Indian astronomy. Yixing was one of them.
It is not known whether Chinese astronomy was introduced into pre-modern India or not.
Indian Astronomy in the...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ōhashi, Y. (1993). Development of astronomical observation in Vedic and post-Vedic India. Indian Journal of History of Science, 28(3), 185–251.
Ōhashi, Y. (1999). Historical significance of mathematical astronomy in Later-Han China. In Y. S. Kim & B. Francesca (Eds.), Current perspectives in the history of science in east Asia (pp. 259–263). Seoul, South Korea: Seoul National University Press.
Ōhashi, Y. (2001). Preliminary remarks on the origin of “Mori” and “Mieri” in Chinese calendars. In K. Tatsuhiko et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the fourth international symposium on the history of mathematics and mathematical education using Chinese characters, Maebashi, 1999 (pp. 97–102). Maebashi, Japan: Maebashi Institute of Technology.
Ōhashi, Y. (2002). The legends of Vasiṣṭha – a note on the Vedāṅga astronomy. In S. M. Razaullah Ansari (Ed.), History of oriental astronomy (pp. 75–82). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Shinjō, S. (1928). Tōyō tenmongaku-shi kenkyū (A study of the history of astronomy in the east, in Japanese). Kyoto, Japan: Kōbundō. Rpt. Kyoto: Rinsen-shoten, 1989.
Yabuuti, K. (1944). Zuitō rekihō-shi no kenkyū (A study of the history of calendars during Sui and Tang dynasties, in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Sanseidō. Revised ed. Kyoto: Rinsen-shoten, 1989.
Yabuuti, K. (1979). Researches on the Chiu-chih li – Indian astronomy under the T’ang dynasty. Acta Asiatica, 36, 7–48.
Yano, M. (1979). The Chiuchih-li and the Ārdharātrika-pakṣa on the true daily motion of the moon. Indogaku-bukkyōgaku-kenkyū (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies), 27, 6–9.
Yano, M. (1986). The Ch’i-yao jang-tsai-chüeh and its ephemerides. Centaurus, 29, 28–35.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ōhashi, Y. (2016). Astronomy: Indian Astronomy in China. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8501
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8501
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7746-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7747-7
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities