《明史·历志》
1739 CE · Zhang Tingyu and others
Overview
It records the Datong calendar’s history and the late-Ming disputes over reform, including the arrival of Western methods.
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Completed | 1739 CE |
| Compilers | Zhang Tingyu and others |
| Chapters | Treatises 7–9 |
| Core content | Datong calendar and late Ming reform |
The work
Compiled under Zhang Tingyu in the Qing, its three calendrical chapters treat of the Ming.
The Datong calendar
The Ming used the Datong calendar, in method the Yuan Shoushi with values unchanged. The treatise records its use and its later failure in eclipse prediction.
Reform and the arrival of Western methods
It records the late-Ming disputes in full: with the Datong long failing, Xu Guangqi and others urged the adoption of Western methods and compiled the Chongzhen lishu, against stout resistance from the old guard.
Its account of the arrival of Western methods is the fullest; the Chongzhen lishu was not promulgated before the Ming fell, and in the early Qing was condensed into the Shixian shu — one line, all in this chapter.
Compiled and arranged by Chujia Kuang.
II · Calendrical Chapters of the Standard Histories
← Yuan shi — calendrical treatise
Qing shi gao — treatise on the calendrical ordinances →
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