Overview
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Completed | 648 CE |
| Compilers | Fang Xuanling and others |
| Chapters | Astronomy 11–13; Calendar 17–18 |
| Core content | Wei-Jin calendars and astronomy |
Background
The Tang founded an office to compile the histories; the Jin shu was the work of many under Fang Xuanling. Its astronomical and calendrical treatises draw heavily on earlier texts and opinions, gathered into one.
The astronomical treatise
It treats the heavens, instruments and star-officials by category, setting out Han and later theories, instruments and star-names in order.
Its account of the hun-tian and gai-tian cosmologies and of instruments past and present is essential for the history of Chinese cosmology and observation.
The calendrical treatise
It collects the Qianxiang and Jingchu calendars of Wei-Jin, and records Jiang Ji’s method of testing the sun by lunar eclipses and He Chengtian’s arguments for reform.
These arguments survive largely through this treatise, a key document for the succession of calendars in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Compiled and arranged by Chujia Kuang.