Overview
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original author | Yu Jicai, Northern Zhou |
| Revision | Revised by imperial order under Wang Anli and others, Northern Song |
| Volumes | Fifteen in the received text |
| Contents | Star divination, field allocation, and divination by clouds and vapours |
Composition and revision
The work was originally by Yu Jicai of the Northern Zhou and was revised by imperial order under the Song, so that the received text was largely put in order by Song hands.
⚠ “Lingtai” was the ancient observatory; the title takes its meaning from it.
Contents
The work treats astral divination by category: it opens with the star-officials and the field-allocation system, goes on to the prognostications of the sun, moon and five planets,
and then to those of clouds and vapours and the signs of wind and rain.
Its doctrines draw on several earlier houses, in a form close to the Yisi Zhan and the Kaiyuan Zhanjing.
Value
This work belongs with the Yisi Zhan and the Kaiyuan Zhanjing to the line of officially compiled Tang and Song astrological books,
and the three can be collated against one another.
Its field-allocation material is a source for the ancient idea of matching regions to the sky.
Compiled and arranged by Chujia Kuang.