SOME ASPECTS OF CHINESE SCIENCE BEFORETHE ARRIVAL OF THE JESUITS

In any examination of Chinese "tradi-tional" science prior to the end of thesixteenth century, one encounters the con .troversial issue of whether Chinese sciencedeveloped independently on Chinese soil orhad its origin in the West. Many Chinesescholar-officials, such as Ch'en Yiian-lung R7G in his Ko-chih ching-yiian M t M 1f(1753), have sought to show that all theimportant scientific discoveries had beenmade in China in ancient times but somehowhad been forgotten through the ages . 1 Thisinterpretation has been disregarded by manyWestern authors who, largely due to theirunfamiliarity with Chinese texts, believe thata large portion of Chinese science wasderived from Western sources? This inter-pretation is not shared, however, by othereminent authorities on Chinese science,notably Joseph Needham who, havinglaboured through a vast number of Chinesescientific works, suggests that "Chinesescience, for two millennia before the comingof the Jesuits, and in spite of opportunitiesof intellectual intercourse much greater thanhas often been pictured, had very little in"common with that of the West."'

Recognizing the existence of this con-troversy, a narration of Chinese science isattempted here . Historically speaking, technological discoveries and inventions inancient China preceded the development ofscientific thought. Before the end of thesixteenth century, Chinese scientific ideaswere closely related to the theory of theFive Elements, the Two Fundamental Forcescalled Yin ( It ) and Yang ( M), and theproto-scientific use of the elaborate symbolicstructure found in the 1-ching (9

)-three traditional theories of Chinese sciencewhich were developed in very early times.¢In technology, a body of mechanical,

GEORGE H. C. WONG

169

military, nautical and hydraulic inventionsand the discoveries of paper and of print-ing, were achieved. Likewise, considerabledevelopment took place in mathematics,astronomy and calendar - making, physics,chemistry, biology, medicine and the like .It is probable that Chinese science wasaffected by external influences only after ithad reached a certain stage of independentdevelopment . These external influences(particularily in the field of astronomy andcalendar-making) may have been Arabic,brought by Muslim astronomer-mathemati-cians attached to the Mongolian Court, orWestern carried by Nestorian refugees, orHindu introduced by the Buddhists, orManichaean through Taoist or Buddhistchannels. Later Chinese opposition to West-ern science was centered on (1) astronomyand calendar-making, (2) mathematics, (3)technology and (4) geography and maps ;consequently only these four branches ofChinese science will be discussed . It ishoped that this background will reveal theindependent development of scientific ideasand techniques by the Chinese, as well ascertain foreign influences which to someextent enriched Chinese science in spite ofits slow development and the low estate intowhich it had fallen during the late Mingperiod . It was this latter situation whichcreated the vacuum that the Jesuits soughtto fill with the scientific attainments ofEurope in these four fields .

CHINESE ASTRONOMY AND

CALENDAR-MAKING

In Imperial China, the establishment ofthe Imperial Astronomical Board in chargeof calendar-making, together with the construction of astronomical instruments, wasthe Emperor's guarded prerogative . When

170

rebellion or famine occured, it was oftenconcluded that something was wrong withthe calendar and the existing astronomicalsystem, and the scholar-officials who werewell-versed in astronomy and mathematics,or foreign scientists attached to the Court,would. be ordered to reconstruct them.'Throughout Chinese history, owing to Im-perial interest and concern in astronomicalmatters, not only were the solar and lunareclipses carefully recorded in the DynasticHistories, but also data on the obliquity ofthe ecliptic, the movements of the planets,the harmony of the spheres, the processionof the equinoxes, the length of the year, andthe eccentricity of the solar orbit were notedin these documents.

Since the story behind Chinese tradi-tional astronomy and calendar-making is along, complicated and controversial one, itis not possible here to consider relatedproblems in any detail . We shall mentiononly a few points, with particular emphasison the accomplishments of Chinese astro-nomers . The author hopes that this willindicate the independent development of thisbranch of Chinese science before the arrivalof the Jesuits . We know that Chinese ancientmedieval cosmological ideas included threedifferent conceptions : the kai-t'ientheory, in which the heavens were regardedas a hemispherical dome; the hun-t'ien 9 Xidea, in which the universe was representedby a celestial sphere, with the stars depictedon the outer space ; and the hsiian-yeh R V~teaching, which postulated an infinite emptyspace, similar to that of the Ptolemaicsystems

The Chinese traditional calendar wassoli-lunar, for it was based on the movementsof both the sun and the moon.' Such acombination was complicated ; in order tomake the lunar year correspond with thesolar year, traditional Chinese astronomersinserted seven intercalary months everynineteen years .

Now we shall consider some of theachievements of Chinese astronomers, parti-cularly those connected with Chang Heng

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

5A iffi (78-139)," Tsu Ch'ung-chih C " ;L'(429-500) 9 and Kuo Shou-thing % ~- Q(1231-1316), 1 ° three of the most eminentastronomers of Imperial China . Servingunder the two Han emperors, An-tiand Shun-ti JhM M, Chang Heng distinguishedhimself as an astronomer, and above all, asan inventor of astronomical instruments. Itwas said that he enumerated in a kind ofastronomical catalogue, in addition to thesun and moon, the five planets, and thetwenty-eight solar mansions, 124 ever-visiblestars, 320 stars with names, and 25,000bigger and 11,520 smaller unnamed stars"Concurrently, succeeding Lo Hsia-hung

and sharing the same fame as hiscontemporary Ch'ao Ts'o 9 M, he wasregarded as one of the earliest inventors ofa copper astronomical instrument to representthe structure of the heavens. This wasknown as the Hun-t'ien-i X (armillarysphere), an instrument set in motion bywater to form an astronomical clock whichindicated various periods of the day andthe year . Other apparatus credited to himincludes the Ti-then t'se-yen ch'i Jtk

C(seismoscope) and the Ti-lou

(clepsydra) . To describe the structure ofthese instruments, he composed the Hun-it'u-chu M

0 8-: and the Lou-shui chuanh_n-t'ien.i

t'u-chu

Q7X

9XJ

® lj- ,as well as the Ling-hsien -M

, a book oncosmology and astronomy .12 In later dynas.,ties, Chinese astronomers who were associatedwith the manufacturing of the armillarysphere included the Buddhist monk I-hsing- T7 of Tang and Chang Ssu-hsun Ik E_9 Vand Su Sung

4 of Sung . In 1902 thelatter wrote a description of this apparatusentitled the Hsin-i-hsiang fa-yao 30i

T! , and also devised sixty minute illustra-tions and maps of stars for both the northernand southern hemispheres . 13

With Tsu Ch'ung-chih, one of China'sgreatest astronomer-mathematicians, Chinesetraditional astronomy, or rather, calendarmaking, underwent great improvement . (Tsuas a mathematician will be discussed in thefollowing section .) Fundamentally discon .tended with his predecessors who inserted

seven intercalary months every nineteenyears, Tsu changed the situation by putting144 intercalary months in every 391 years .Some of Tsu's astronomical calculations, interms of modern scientific knowledge, areamazingly accurate . For example, accordingto his calculation, the length of a tropicalyear - the interval between two successivepassages of the sun through the vernalequinox - was 365.2481481 days, only 50seconds off the computations of modernastronomers . Again, he detemined the timerequired for the moon to revolve around theearth to be 27.21233 days, a difference ofless than one second from the 27.21222 days,accepted by modern scientists. Moreover,Tsu said that the period required by theplanet Jupiter to make seven revolutions inthe celestial sphere was 84 years, whiletoday's astronomers hold it to be 83.02years ." 4

In conjunction with these findings, TsuCh'ung-chih published in 426 the Ta-ming-liJC 0A 9 (Calendar of Great Brightness),which remained in use from 510 to 589 ;this took into account the precession ofequinoxes .l s He asserted that 45 years wererequired for a point to move one degreewestward."' Tsu's application of the pro-cession of the equinoxes greatly affectedcalendar-making for it differentiated thetropical year from the sidereal year - thetime in which the sun's center, departingeastward from the ecliptic meridian ofgiven star, returns to that meridian .

Much is known about Kuo Shou-ching,"the sage among astronomers," who wasfamous at the Mongol court . Besides con-tributing many astronomical treatises, heand Wang Hsiin _:'E R and others, computedthe Shou-shih-li 49 N 1ff in 1280 ; this wasutilized from 1281 to 1367 . and many of itssignificant details were later incorporatedinto the Ming calendar, the Ta-t'ung-li -kff .17 Also, he made many astronomicalobservations, chief of which was the accuratedetermination of the winter solstice of 1280 .More remarkable were the seventeen astro-nomical instruments he constructed, of whichthe most important were the compendium

instrument, the armillary sphere, the gnomon,the pole observing instrument, the celestialglove, the height-observing instrument, thesolar and lunar eclipse instrument, and thestar dial ."' Two of these, the armillarysphere and the compendium instrument, dated1279, are still extant in Peking."

Before concluding this section on Chin-ese astronomy and calendar-making, thequestion of foreign influences on this branchof Chinese science may be considered briefly .Partly due to the spread of Buddhism inChina during Sui and T'ang, and partlybecause of the flourishing Sino-Arabian tradein the Sung dynasty, Indian and Arabianscientists had appeared on the Chinesescene . The Indian astronomical work, theChiu-chih-li j7,. *A T (navagraha), whichplaced great emphasis on the calculation ofsolar and lunar eclipses, was highly prizedat the T'ang court . 2 ' Later, owing to thesuperior results achieved by its use in theprediction of solar and lunar eclipses, notonly were Ch'u-t'an Lo VE , andCh'u-t'an Hsi-ta V M 4, two membersof the Gautama school, appointed T'ai.ssu-ling JC ,31 E

(Directors of the T'angImperial Observatory), but also the Chiu-chih-li was translated by Ch'ii-t'an Hsi-ta in718, and there was compiled the Ta-T'angk'ai-yiian than-ching t * M T rS 0 ,containing a detailed account of severalsystems of astronomy, notably the Chiu-chih-li . 21 Likewise in the Yuan Dynasty, Cha-malu-ting #L X * T (or Jamal du-Din) whoprepared the Wan-nien-li X; 4--- N (Ten-Thousand Year Calendar) in 1267, andconstructed seven Western-style astronomicalinstruments (including an armillary sphere,a triquetrum, two kinds of sundial, a celestialand terrestrial sphere and an astrolable) wasappointed T'i-tien rl N (Director) of theHui-hui ssu-t'i'n-t'ai L © ~,JJ )~ a (Depart-ment of Arabian Astronomy) in 1271 . 22 Inthe Ming Dynasty, aside from utilizingArabian astronomy for calendrical calcula-tions and the maintenance of the Departmentof Arabian Astronomy, Cheng A-li 9 4~ T- ,Li Hsiang 4~ T11 , Wu Po-tsungand Ma-sha-i-hei K 6 )rN T. were ordered(1368-1384) to compile, through the medium

172

of Arabian astronomy, the Hui-hui-li(Muslim Calendar) . This dealt primarily

with the movements of the sun and moon,movements of planets, calculations of thelatitude of the planets and of solar andlunar eclipses . Also they compiled anotherMing calendar, the Ta-t'ung-li ;k 3A' 7ff 23

Although during the T'ang, Yiian and MingDynasties, China saw the introduction of twocomparatively advanced astronomical sys-tems, a situation somewhat similar to thatwitnessed by the Jesuits, the Chinese weremore interested in the findings of the solarand lunar colipses than in the methods ofthe foreigners . In other words, foreignmethods were used exclusively by foreignastronomers, while the Chinese continued tocalculate in their own traditional way, makinguse only of the findings of the foreigners .

Finally, we consider briefly the condi-tions of traditional astronomy and calendar-making under Ming . At the beginning ofthe Ming Dynasty, Ming T'ai-tsu HA t Vordered the compilation of the Ta-t'ung-hand the Hui-hui-li, which borrowed exclu-sively from Kuo Shou-thing's Shou-sh;h-iiand from Arabian astronomy ; otherwise,Ming astronomy was comparatively muchpoorer than that of previous dynasties .24 Notonly did no outstanding astronomers appearin the Ming Dynasty, but also the twoexisting astronomical systems often failed toyield accurate predictions of solar and lunareclipses . From the reign of Hsien tsun-

(1456-1487) to that of Wan-li(1573-1620), a number of scholar-officials,such as Hua Hsiang

A , Chou LienJRJ

, Li Chih-tsao 4E ;_!" f

and HsingYiin-lu 31ij 49 ,M , attempted to revise Mingastronomy . 2'

But such revision did not takeplace until after the arrival of the Jesuits,under whose influence Chinese astronomyand calendar-making were challenged andsupplemented by those of the West.

(2) CHINESE MATHEMATICS

0

Chinese mathematics had developed,without much outside influence, to a com-paratively high degree before the arrival ofthe Jesuits . This was particularly true of

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

the principle of T'ien-yhan shu X jG(Method of the Celestial Element), theChinese algebra, and the formula for com.putting the circumference of a circle knownas Yuan-chou-shuo (X Jq * .26

It is recorded that as early as the Choudynasty, children of six to eight years weretaught arithmetic . The Han Dynasty was acrucial period for Chinese mathematics, whena number of significant treatises on this fieldwere composed . Later in the Sui, Tangand the Sung Dynasties, the Imperialgovernment instituted a system of examina-tion in mathematics . During the reign ofChen-kuan A (627-649) of the T'angDynasty, the Imperial Bureau of Mathematicshad 3,260 persons engaged in research andin re-editing and evaluating ancient texts .The great emphasis of the T'ang Dynasty onmathematics formed the foundation for theflowering of this science during the Sun-Dynasty .

Before discussing the stage to whichChinese mathematics had developed in theMin-, Dynasty, we shall mention some of

cians . Most notable of all was the principle

algebra . It was said that it was introduced

the discoveries made by Chinese mathemati-

of T'ien-ydan shu, the Chinese system of

by the Sung mathematical genius, Ch'in. .

-

"

in his Shu-shu chiu-chang_

. ,matics :

1247) .27

Later,

in

the

Uj-ydanis Iji

= (Sea-Mirror of Circle4i

by another mathematical giant, Li Yeh 4i ?-p^(1192-1279) '211

the

principle

of

t'ien-yiiandevelop-d.29was further

1 - . . .ance was the formula for computing thecircumference of a circle, known as the

. .W ff~ A 9, (The Arithmetical Classic ofthe Gnomon and the Circular Pathus :-Istcentury), 30 the ratio of the circumference ofa circle to its diameter was stated to beappoximately 3 . 3 ' This figure was somewhatimproved . . .

.a

(78-139 )32

whogave the value of 7r as 3.16 . 33 Duringperiod

the.

Kingdoms 11

Liu Hui, in 263, obtained the result 7=3 .14,by successively doubling the number ofsides of regular polygons inscribed in acircle34 Two hundred years later, TsuCh'ung-chih, one of the greatest mathemati-cians of imperial China, in his Chui-shu.

flg- , a work which was lost in the twelfthcentury, accurately estimated the "approx-imate" value ( t * ) of 7r to be 22/7 andthe "accurate" value ( t' W=) to be355/11335-a formula which was not knownin Europe until it was recalculated by theGerman scholar Valentin Otto in 1573 .Likewise, the "approximate" value whichTsu Ch'ung-chin gave to 7r, between3.1415926 and 3.1415927, was not improveduntil the fifteenth century, when al-Kashi ofSamarkand gave a value of 7r correct to 16decimal places."'

173

several hundred years before it was knownin other countries . 40

Similarly, the mathematical process ofinference and proof was, to some extent,known to Imperial China . For example,Chao Chun-ching used geometrical proof ofPythagoras' theorem, which stated that thesquare on the hypotenuse of a right-angledtriangle is equal to the sum of the squareson the other two sides. Another exampleis found in the Ta-yen ch'iu-i-shu -kTIT*

-- * (Method of Unity Finding), writtenby Ch'in Chiu-shao in 1247, along withtreatises written by many authors, whichcontains formulae for finding the sum of aseries .41

Finally, we examine briefly the situationinto which Chinese mathematics had fallenduring the Ming Dynasty . Ming mathematicswas comparatively much inferior to thatof previous dynasties, particularly of theSung and Yuan ; in fact, the Ming was knownas the "quiescent" period . Nevertheless, twodevelopments deserve our attention : theImperial interest shown in the preservationof mathematical classics, both ancient andmedieval, as reproduced in the Yung-loto-tien i7c

jC

(1403), and the popularapplication of the suan-p'an X

, or abacus,in calculation .

Other significant mathematical achieve-ments by Chinese mathematicians include thefollowing : The Chou-chaag suan-chingoutlined a method for solving some typesof algebraic equations, a method not knownin Europe until the seventeenth centurywhen it was discovered by the great Germanmathematician Leibnitz . Likewise, theformula for interpolation for equidistantintervals was discovered by Liu Cho, afamous mathematician, as early as the sixthcentury. In the seventh century, theBuddhist monk I-hsing was said to havediscovered the interpolation formula fornonequidistant intervals . Also, as earlyas 1080, Liu I Iq a had already used , amethod of finding the square root similarto that used by the English mathematicianW.G. Horner . 37 Following Liu, Chia Hsien

and Ch'in Chiu-shao worked out, in1200 and 1247 respectively, what we knowas Horner's method ; this was five or sixhundred years before Horner's time."Moreover, Pascal's Triangle was known tothe Chinese mathematician, Yang Hui, as tion remains an indispensable work for theearly as 1261, or 400 years before its

study of Chinese mathematics . Although thediscovery by Pascal_. 39Furthermore, China's

exact date of the invention of the suan-p'anearly mathematicians, such as Chang Ch'iu-

is uncertain ,43 in view of the emphasis putchinn 9 E 4 ,

knew

the

equation

for

on this subject by Ming mathematical studies,obtaining the approximate value of cube such as Wu China's 'All, Q Chou-chang

roots, viz., 3 \/a3 + y = a +

y

suan-fa pi-lui ta-ch'iian fL it A j-J, 1t '3a2 -{- 1

)Q 1: (1450), Ch'eng Ta-wei's f~

Originally known as the lien-hsienta-ch'eng ~,' OV )bZ , the Yung-lo to-tien,comprising 22,937 chiian and forming 11,095volumes, was the largest and best organizedencyclopaedia ever produced in China . Ittook four years (1403-1407) to complete,and more than two thousand scholars wereengaged in research .42 In the section dealingwith mathematics (chiian 16329-16364),twenty important texts were included, eitherin full or in abbreviated form . This collec-

174

Suan-fa t'ung-tsung

7_# �fit

(1592), K'oShang-ch'ien's M fu3 M Shu-hsueh t'ung-kuei

(1578), Chu Tsai-yd'sSuan-hsiieh hsin-shuo A 51 VT ,Q (1603)and

Huang

Lung-yin's

i 'Aft ua

Suan-fachih-nan

il-: 11 M , it is safe to say thatit was popular in the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturies. 44 Indeed, the techniques of cal-culation by means of the abacus revolu-tionized Chinese mathematics ; henceforth, itwas commonly used by Chinese people atall levels .

However, despite China's mathematicaldevelopment and the two Ming achievementsnoted above, the Ming mathematicians didnot continue the traditions of the past .Either the principles or the exact contentof some of the texts, originated or composedby their predecessors, particularly the prin-ciples of t'ien-yiian and spherical trigonome-try, were unknown to Ming mathematicians .For example, it was said that Ku Ying-hsiang

1 ifs , when he republished Li Yeh'sTs'e-yiian hai-thing in 1550, cast aside thelatter's addenda, being ignorant of theprinciple of t'ien-yiian, and furnished in itsstead a series of rules listed in his Ts'e-yiianhai-thing fen-lui shih-shu 01 1111 ~ rR 5}M

(1553) ; hence the true meaning ofLi Yeh's work was lost sight of . Similarly,in the re-editing of Kuo Shou-thing's Hu-shihsuan-shu by the same author in 1552, theprinciple of spherical trigonometry wasmisunderstood

and

disregarded.4'

Thus

itwas that Chinese mathematics was challengedby the West, represented by the Jesuits.

(3) CHINESE TECHNOLOGY

Likewise, Chinese technology, prior tothe arrival of the Jesuits, was not withoutits achievements: these varied from theinvention of paper for cultural purposes tothe discovery of gunpowder for subsequentmilitary uses . The significance of Chinesemedieval technology has been recognizedin recent Western writings .4' Specifically,Joseph Needham, in his Science and Civil-ization in China concludes that "Chinesetechnological inventions poured into Europe

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

in a continuous stream during the fiistthirteen centuries of the Christian era, justas later on the technological current flowedthe other way."47

Since this aspect of Chinese science isnow well known, no attempt is made tosupply a full description . It is sufficient tosay that China's cardinal achievements inmechanics, in addition to the astronomicalinstruments already mentioned, include thedevelopment of the compass, later useful formaritime purposes ; the invention and con-stant improvement of the chih-nan-ch'e fn' M

(South-pointing Carriage), operating onmechanical principles and governed by themagnet; the manufacture of the ch'ien-lich'uan T- - M (Thousand-li Boat), pro-pelled by paddle-wheels and said to be ableto travel many miles a day ; and the discoveryof the wheelbarrow, the water-mill, and otherlabour-saving devices for grinding grain,irrigation and the like . 48 Among all Chinesetechnological inventions, perhaps the mostcertain and most complete were the makingof paper and printing . Indeed, the culturalvalues flowing from the discovery of paperin the Han, of blockprinting in the T'ang,and of movable-type printing in the Sung,can hardly be exaggerated .49

In the militaryfield, the discovery of gunpowder duringSung, apparently as a result of Taoistactivity in the field of science, and its usefor destructive purposes, and subsequentapplications to the manufacturing of igniters,grenades, mines, rockets, fire-lances and thelike from the beginning of the Sung ; andits relation to the development of barrel-gunsand other novel inventions for bombardmentin the Sung, Yuan and Ming, marked arevolutionary development in the art of war,on both land and sea.5°

Contemporaneously,and parallel with the development of firearms,was China's nautical technology, both com.mercial and naval, in late Sung, Yi1an andearly Ming . During this period, Chinesemerchant vessels were not only "ocean linersboasting staterooms, wineshops, and theservices of negro stewards," but also theywere "sturdily built, with watertight bulk.heads, and the larger ones had lifeboats in

tow"; this enabled them to capture fromthe Arabs their previous monopoly ofshipping .-"' In constructing warships, theChinese first produced paddle-wheel boats,galleys, rams and many vessels of strangedesign . Later, with cotton coming intocommon use in sails, the experimental typeswere abandoned in favor of seagoing ships . 52By the end of the fourteenth century, eachMing warship carried "four guns withmuzzles the size of rice bowls, twenty gunsof smaller caliber, ten bombs, twenty rockets,and a thousand rounds of shot."s3

Until the period just prior to the arrivalof the Jesuits, the Chinese level of mechanicaltechnology, as described in Sung Ying-hsing's

T'ien-kung k'ai-wu(Natural Resources Utilized for Manufactur-ing : 1637), was apparently as advanced asthe material resources and science of the daypermitted . It was primarily the need tocounter the threat from outside during lateMing and to strengthen military powerduring early Ch'ing that prompted theemployment of the Jesuits in the manufac-turing of Western types of armament .

(4)

CHINESE GEOGRAPHY AND MAP-MAKING

By various means - the conquests

ofChinese generals, the despatching of Chineseenvoys abroad, the peregrinations of Buddhist pilgrims and travellers, the explorationsof Chinese seafarers, and from foreigndiplomatic missions, merchants and travellers,considerable information about foreign landshad been accumulated before the arrival ofthe Jesuits . Nevertheless, to the MingDynasty, the traditional concept of the cen-trality of the Middle Kingdom still prevailed .To illustrate the geographical outlook of theChinese, a survey of the development ofChinese geographical knowledge, primarilyin terms of the world that surrounded themfrom the Han Dynasty to the Ming period

,,

is appropriate .54

Some geographical works had appearedprior to the Han dynasty, but these ancientgeographies included many fables, myths,and speculations.-"' After the Han period,

Utilizing the information gathered by, -, .

making maps appeared in the Sui and T'angDynasties : the Hsi-yd t'uchi L iii(Map of Western Regions) and the Hai-nei' ,

f9 (Map of China andForeign Countries within the 1

'prepared '

said to embrace the entire re-ion stretchin~

175

more accurate pictures of other cultural areasbegan to appear . As a result of ChangCh'ien's JA missions to Central Asia andof Pan Ch'ao's Jif M, westward expedition,before the end of the Han dynasty theChinese had obtained considerable knowledgeof Central and Western Asia (Fergana,Samarkand, Bactria and Arabia) and ageneral concept of the Roman Empire . 56 Itwas about this time that P'ei Hsiu(271-319) completed his Yu-kung ti-yii t'u .By using one-inch squares to designate areasof 100 square li, he formulated the funda-mental principles of Chinese cartography . 57

Contemporaneously, the introduction ofBuddhism into China, beginning with theHan dynasty, directed Chinese interests toIndia and other sections of the Buddhistworld, Annam, Cambodia, Siam, Borneo, theMalay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java . Thus,not only did sea travel become more commonbetween China and the Indian Ocean, butalso various Chinese pilgrims to the HolyLand of Buddhism acquired geographicalknowledge concerning that part of the world .Among these pilgrimages, the most famouswas the one undertaken by Fa Hsien a-who starting from Ch'ang-an in 398, travelledwestward into Central Asia, and then south-ward across the Himalayas into India, andcovered that entire country as well asCeylon . It was said that he visited Javaon his way home by sea."' Upon his return,he wrote an account of his travels, entitledthe Fo-kuo-chih 1O ® Z'~ ." After Fa Hsienmany other pilgrims travelled to India andCentral Asia.s°

Consequently, by the middleof the eighth century, the whole Buddhistworld had been thoroughly explored byChinese pilgrims .

176

from Tun-tuang to the Eastern Mediter-ranean, although the map itself has dis-appeared.e 2 The latter, produced by thefamous Tang cartographer Chia Tan W 9(730-805) in 801, was a large-scale map,30 feet by 33 feet, with each square inchrepresenting 100 square li, and withdescriptions of both caravan and sea routesfrom Canton to the Persian Gulf.e 3 Notonly did these two maps add new pages toChinese geographical studies, they alsobecame the bases for all maps produced inChina before the Yuan dynasty.

Chinese geographical knowledge fromthe beginning of Tang to the end of Sungincreased in part because of the tradebetween China and Western Asia, especiallyArabia and Persia, and in part becauseChina was cut off from Central Asia andobliged to shift her attention to the sea .Thus more detailed and accurate informationabout maritime countries, and fuller know-ledge of sea routes, became available.Among the first works to appear was ChouCh'ii-fei's AJ -I,-- 4~ Ling-wei tai-ta

gf"f A

(1778) which contained valuableinformation on Arab trade and on suchforeign countries as Java, Cambodia, theByzantine Empire, Spain, Korea, Tongking,and Ceylon .84 Another was the Chen-lufeng-t'u chi A

, 11, f AZ (Memoir on Cam-bodian Customs), a travelogue written byChou Ta-kuan MJ

who accompanied,an envoy sent by the Yiian court to Cam-bodia, in 1296. Perhaps more significantwas Chao Ju-kua's M ~~ A Chu-fan chip9 4

(Description of Barbarian Peoplesor Record of Foreign Nations, 1525), whichcontained valuable ethnographic and com-mercial information concerning Tongking,Annan, Java, Arabia, Asia Minor, Egypt,Africa (Eastern and Northern), Sicily andSpain.','

Of equal importance was the Tao-ichin-liieh a A ~ Rk (A Brief Descriptionof Island `Barbarians' : 1349), an accountwritten by Wang Ta-yuan ~1 t N describingthe seaports and the people of the Malayarchipelago . From the above sources com-posed in the Tang and Sung Dynasties, theIndian Ocean from the Philippines to the

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

eastern coast of Africa became fairly wellknown to the Chinese."

In the Yiian Dynasty, another significantera of Chinese geography and map-makingcommenced.

Several accounts have been leftof the Mongolian army's westward expedi-tions . One of these is the Hsi-yu lu 29 iZ ZA .(Account of a Journey to the West), atravelogue written by Yeh-Iii ch'u-ts'ai 9 4

who accompanied Genghis Khan onhis expedition into Persia in 1221-1224. 87Another is Ch'iu Ch'u-chi's 9 A #A Hsi-yuchi N iJV AZ (Travels to the West), a recordof a journey made by a Taoist monk fromChina to Samarkand in 1220-1224.88 Stillanother is the Hsi-shin-chi ffg 0- 1E (Recordof an Embassy to the Western Region),written by Ch'ang Te 'R 0 , who wasdespatched by Mangu Khan to his brotherHulagu, then at the head of an expeditionagainst Bagdad.e9

Perhaps the most notable advances werein cartography, as achieved by the traveller-linguist-geographer, Chu Ssu-pen*m*, inthe late thirteenth and early fourteenthcenturies .7 ° Following the tradition of PeiHsiu and Chia Tan, who introduced theprinciple of dividing maps into squares toindicate distances, Chu compiled between1311 and 1320 an elaborate map entitledYii-t'u ~k H or Yd ti-t'u 9% ifb ® , which

"included all the territories "from the ChangHai d ;~V [The South China Sea] in thesoutheast to the desert in the northwest andall the strange lands of foreign nations .""In addition, he published a number of smallmaps : eleven on China's frontiers, one onCentral Asia, and eight on maritime coun-tries . 72 Even after the introduction ofRicci's Maps of the World, Chu Ssu-pen'smaps maintained their supremacy in Chinaand remained the models for those producedin the Ming and early Ch'ing.

Another geographical achievement in theYuan Dynasty was the construction of awooden sphere, an instrument which signifieda comprehension of the global nature ofthe world . According to the Yuan-shih,

Cha-ma lu-ting t A, t T (Jamal al-Din),a Persian astronomer attached to the MongolCourt, constructed a model of the globe in1273 . This should be regarded as anoutstanding achievement in world geography ."On the wooden sphere he constructed, hecoloured seven parts green to represent waterand three parts white to indicate land . Hedrew rivers, lakes and seas on i t . . . . Healso drew small squares [longitude andlatitude] to measure the width and lengthof the world . '173 Thus at the end of thethirteenth century, the theory of the sphericalnature of the earth, and the application oflongitude and latitude to measure the widthand the length of the earth, were understoodby the Chinese.

During the Ming dynasty, the period ofour chief concern, Cheng Ho's 9 $11 sevenseas expeditions (1405-1430) marked anothergreat Chinese maritime endeavour . In fact,half a century before Da Gama's voyages,

' See "China's Opposition to Western Science duringLate Ming and Early Ch'ing" by the author in the forth-coming issue of the ISIS .

a For example, in "Some Points on the History ofScience in China," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,North China Branch, 61 (1930), pp . 10-19, G. Vaccaassumed that nearly everything of value in Chinese sciencehad come from the West : he believed that the Chou-peigeometry was of Western origin, that the early Chinesecalculations of the value of 7r were inspired from theWest, and that the first Chinese astronomer of any im-portance was the Buddhist I-hsing-fit of T'ang . Perk;tpsmore interesting is L. Levy-Bruhl who in his Les FonctionsMentales dans les Societis Ingerieures (English translationby L.A . Clare with the title, How Natives Think), p . 380,says that "Chinese scientific knowledge . . . has producedimmense encyclopaedias of astronomy, physics, chemistry,physiology, pathology, therapeutics and the like, and yetto our minds all this is nothing but balderdash . How canso much effort and skill have been expended in the longcourse of ages, and yet their product be absolutely nil?"In this connection, a very common suggestion had beenthat the Yin-Yang dualism of Chinese thought was animportation of Iranian origin .

a Joseph

Needham

and

Wang Ling,

Science

andCivilization in China (Cambridge : Cambridge UniversityPress, 1954), Vol . I p . 239 . Cf . another statement (ibid .,p . 157) that "it is probable that our final conclusion willbe that there was far more intercourse and reaction be-tween the Chinese and their Western and southern neigh-bors than has often been supposed, but nevertheless thatthe essential style of Chinese thought and culture patternsmaintained a remarkable and perennial autonomy . Thisis the real meaning of the `isolation' of China ; -contactsthere were, but never abundant enough to affect the

NOTES

177

they constituted the greatest sea explorationsbefore the Industrial Revolution. 74 Thesevoyages, touching upon thirty or moreforeign countries, again widened Chinesegeographical knowledge . Three popular ac-counts have appeared, each containingmuch detailed information : Ma Huan's ,N 0(Ying-yai sheng-kuan , ¢TI V; (1416) ;Fei Hsin's R fA Hsing-ch'a sheng-lag _

and Kung Chen's 5R Ji~ Hsi-yan.gfan-kuo chih 29 X 7~ KI =L~L,-,

.76 From theserecords, we realize that Cheng Ho in someof his trips travelled as far west as Hormuz,Aden and even the east coast of Africa .76

By late Ming, it is evident that, inaddition to having developed basic geogra-phical theories, the Chinese were alreadyacquainted with a large portion of theworld's surface . The substantial amount ofscientific geographical knowledge introducedby the Jesuits, however, helped to establishmodern geography and map-making in China .

characteristic style of the civilization, and hence of itsscience ."

' Here, it is not necessary to describe these three theoriesin connection with the development of Chinese science .For the best treatment, consult Needham, op . sit., Vol . IIpp . 216-345 . Also see Cli'en Meng-chin * * , "Wu-hsing chih ch'i-yuan" 3 ]'~ ("On the Origin ofthe Five Elements"), Yenching hsiieh-pao Aw~r,!~, 24(1938), pp . 35-53 ; Ku Chieh-kang AV4441 , "Wu-t8chung-shih-shuo hsia ti sheng-chih ho li-shih" a*~A-A~X T O A $o fn A A ("The Theories of the Rise andFall of the Five Elements in Relation to Government andHistory"), Tsing-hug hstieh-pao ~

, 6 (1930),pp . 71-268 ; Li Ching-ch'ih 44t~k, "Chou-i kua-mingk'ao-shih" A g*X;tO ("A Study of the Names of theSixty-four Hexagrams in the Book of Changes"), Ling-nanhsiieh-pao4t*j~*, 9 (1948) pp. 197ff and his"Chou-i shih-tz'u hsu-k'ao" ~~ .nr

a ("A FurtherStudy of the Explicative Texts in the Book of Changes"),ibid ., 8 (1947), pp . 1-66 ; and Liang Ch'i-ch'ao 4)aol,"Yin-yang wu-hsing shoo chih Jai-li"

P1f; 3a{=yiJ~

,~("On the Earliest Philosophical Use of the Terms Yin andYang and the Five Elements"), Tung-fang tsa-chih*.U , 20:10 (May 25, 1923), pp. 70-79 .

s According to the li-chih (astronomical section) of theMing-shih OA #, (chuan 37), p . lb, during the course ofChinese history, "the calendar had been changed six timesfrom Huang-t'i to the Ch'in Dynasty ; four times duringHang fifteen times from Wei to Sui ; fifteen times fromT'ang to the Five Dynasties ; seven times under Sung ; fivetimes from Kin to Y6an. However the Ta-t'ung-li*f4 of the Ming was actually the Shou-shih-li 4k 4t1*of the Yuan Dynasty ; it has been used for two hundredand seventy some odd years and it has never been chang-ed ." It is not necessary to list all the calendars used by

178

the various dynasties to the Ming . However, before thearrival of the Jesuits, significant calendars utilized by theChinese included Lo Hsia-hung's ;&- -FM T'ai-chit-liSAd6t)Ilf (second century, B .C .) ; the San-t'ung-li E.t.k4composed by Liu Hsin fJa of Western Han ; the Lin-te-li04*IIf compiled by the T'ang astronomer-mathematicianLi Shun-feng *if AL in 664 ; the Ming-t'ien-li 4A ~k fJ`compiled by Chou Ts'ung )4 1$ in 1065 ; the Hsi-chengkeng-wu yfian-li d§U&-'7G# proposed by the Mongolastronomer-soldier-statesman, Yeh-16 ch'u-ts'ai AP 1f O- tin 1220 ; the Shou-shih-li 414tV by the Chinese astro-nomer Hs6 Hcng 'a}* who was at the same time theGrand Secretary and President of the Astronomical Boardunder Kublai Khan ; the Shou-shih-lu undertaken andcompleted by the astronomical-mathematical genius KuoShou-thing 'S I.? 4L in 1280 ; and the Ta-t'ung-li preparedby Liu Chi IF] & in 1370 .

s For detailed studies on traditional Chinese astronomy,see H. Chately, "Ancient Chinese Astronomy," RoyalAsiatic Society (Occasional Notes of the Royal Astro-nomical Society), No . 5 (1939), pp . 65ff ; H . Maspero,"L'Astronomic Chinoise avant les Han," T'oung Pao, 26(1929), pp . 267ff ; L . de Asussure, Les Origines de1'Astronomie Chinoise, (Paris, 1930) ; A . Forke, TheWorld-Conception of the Chinese; Their Astronomical,Cosmological and Physico - Philosophical Speculations(London, 1925) ; W . Eberhard, R . M61ler and R . Hen-seling, "Beitr5ge zur Astronomic der H : :n-Zeit .ll," Sit-zungeberichte der Preussischcn Akademie der Wis-senschaften (Phil .-Hist . Klasse), 23 (1933), pp . 937ff ;and W. Eberhard, "The Political Function of Astronomyand Astronomers in Han China," in John K . Fairbank(ed .), Chinese Thought and Institutions (Chicago Univer-sity Press, 1957), pp . 33-70 .

° The traditional Chinese calendar combined the lunarand solar reckoning. Such a combination is complicated,because it takes 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3seconds for the moon to make a complete revolutionaround the earth, and 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46seconds for the earth to revolve around the sun . Thesecond period is not divisible by the first. However,Chinese traditional astronomers found a solution to theproblem . They kept the lunar month (of 29 or 30 days)but provided an additional (intercalary) month (insertedin the calendar to harmonize it with the solar calculation)in 7 out of every 19 years . Thus the average number ofdays in each of these 19 years worked out at about thetime needed for the earth to make a complete orbit aroundthe sun . It is reported that this type of calendar was firstemployed in China not later than 600 B.C ., or about 170years before a similar one came into use in ancient Greece .

s For biography, see Juan Yiian 81, iC , Chou-jen chuan*A f4 (Biographies of the Mathematicians : 1799),chuan 3, pp . 13a-21a . Hereafter abbreviated : CJC .

s For biography, see CJC, chfian 8, pp. la-20a ; LinYen, "Tsu Chung-chih, Great '.Mathematician of AncientChina," People's China, 24 (December, 1956), pp . 34-37 ;George Sarton . Introduction to the History of Science(Baltimore : Williams and Wilkins, 1927), Vol . 1, p . 410 .Hereafter abbreviated : Sarton.

"For biography, see CJC, chfian 25, pp . la-15a ;Yiian-shih ?L t , chfian 164, pp . 4a-9b ; Sarton, Vol. 2,p . 1022 .

`Y. Mikami, The Development of Mathematics inChina and Japan, (Leipzig, 1913), pp . 46-47 ; Sarton,Vol . 1, p . 278.

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

ra Tsin-shu -." :t

(Astronomical Section), chuan 1,pp. 5a-7a . Cf. Joseph Needham, "Chinese AstronomicalClockwork," Nature, 177 (March 31, 1956), pp . 600-602,and "The History of Water-Wheel in China," Inter-national Congress of Orientalists, 23rd Proceedings, Cam-bridge, 1954, pp . 282-283 .

ra Hsin-Tang-shu

4fl :t

(Astronomical Section),chuan 21 ; CJC chuan 14-16; ibid .,chuan 20, pp . 8a-lla .

la Lin Yen, "Tsu Chung-chih," p . 36 .

"The phenomenon of precession is that the point atwhich the winter solstice occurs moves westward ; and thesun, apparently revolving around the earth from the pointof the winter solstice, does not return to the same point atthe winter solstice of the following year.

rs Lin Yen, "Tsu Chung-chih," p . 36 .r° Y6an-shih, chfian 52-55 .

'$ Ibid ., chuan 48, pp.2a-8b .

"For a description of these astronomical instruments,see Alexander Wylie, Chinese Researches, pt. 3, "TheMongol Astronomical Instruments in Peking," pp . 2-20 .

"During the Sui dynasty, Hindu astronomy penetrat-ed into China . The Sui-shu, rm-9 chuan 34, contains alist of their astronomical treatises.

si Hou-Tang-shrs

4 JN-. (Astronomical

Section),chuan 32 ; Hsin-T'ang-shu (Astronomical Section),chuan 26 ; CJC, chuan 13, pp . 96-12a ; Yabuuti Kiyosi,"Indian and Arabian Astronomy in China," translated byLeon Horvitz, in Silver Jubilee Volume of the ZinbunKagaku-Kenkyusyo, Kyoto, 1954, pp . 586-589 ; Sarton,Vol . 1, p . 475 .

22 W.

Harmer,

"The

Astronomical

Instruments

ofCha-ma-lu-ting, Their Identification, and Their Relationsto the Instruments of the Observatory of Maragha," Isis,41 (July, 1950), pp. 184-194 ; Yabuuti Kiyosi, op . tit .,pp. 589-595 ; Fang Hao ;~,fit , Chung-Hsi chiao-t'ungshih

(A History of Sino-European Relations,1954), Vol . 3, pp. 141-145 . Cf . M.C . Johnson, "Greek,Moslem and Chinese Instruments Design in ServingMongol Equalaborials in 1279 A.D .," Isis, XXXII:35,(January, 1947), pp . 27-43 .

sa Ming-shih, chfian 32-39 ; Yabuuti Kiyosi, op. tit .,pp . 591-592 .

2 ' Ming-shih (Astronomical Section), chfian 31 .zs Ibid .as Joseph Needham indicates in his Science and Civi-

lization in China, Vol. 2, p . 292, that : "From the Hanonwards the whole effort of Chinese mathematicianscould be summarized in one sentence ; how to fit a parti-cular problem into a certain pattern or model problemand solve it accordingly . During the Sung, alongside ofthe Neo-Confucians, a great school of Chinese algebraistsgrew up, who maintained their lead over the rest of theworld for a couple of centuries ." Cf . his "Mathematicsand Science in China and the West," Science and Society,XX:4 (Fall, 1956), 320-343 .

z° The t'ien-yuan method essentially is the use of com-puting rods in algebra . It is also knoww as li-t'ien-yuan-iA Rc -- (Setting Up the Celestial Monad) (i .e., theunknown quantity) . The unknown quantity is represent-ed by a unit or monad, the zero by a circle. According to

Sat-ton (Vol . 2, pt . 2, p . 626), "the Chinese zero mayhave come directly from India with Buddhism, or it mayhave been imported later by Muslims ." For further in-formation about the t'ieu-yeian theory, consult L. vanHee, "La notion algebrique en Chine," Rerue des ques-tions scientifiques (October, 1913), pp . 574-587 ; Alexan-der Wylie, Notes on Chinese Literature (Shanghai, 1901),pp. 181-182 ; Li Yen *fAt, Chung-l(uo scan-hsiieh-shih+944it3t (History of Mathematics in China) (Shang-hai, 1937), pp. 63-95 ; Mikami, op . cit ., pp . 63-78 .

ss For biography, see CIC chuan 24, pp . 4a-7a ; Sarton,Vol . 2, pp . 627-628 ; Mikami, op. cit ., pp. 79-84 .

as Sarton, Vol. 2, pt . 2, pp . 627-628 ; Mikami, op. cit.,pp . 79-84 ; L. Vanhee, "Li Ye," T'oung Pao, Vol . 14(1913), pp. 537-568 . For details of this work, see Li Yen,"Ts'e yuan hai-ching yen-chin li-ch'eng hsu" 511 31 :4,9-Qi%j§frk ("An Historical Inquiry into the Ts'e-yuanhai-ching"), Hsueh-i tsa-chin 4'j-4A . 11 :2, 6, 8, 9, 10(1931) and ibid., 12 :1-4 (1932) . Li Yeh also wrote an-other work entitled the I-ku yen-tuan $,+, ~Plk (Exer-cises and Applications improving the Ancient Method :1259), containing sixty-four problems on circles andquadrilaterals .

ao Wylie, Notes on Chinese Literature, pp . 113-115 ;Sarton, Vol . 1, p . 494 ; Li Yen, op . cit ., p . 15 .

31 Sui-shu (Astronomical Section), chuan 15, p . 3b.s a For biography, see CIC, chuan 3, pp . 13a-21a .a3 Sui-shu (Astronomical Section), chrian 15, p . 36.34 Ibid.as Ibid.36 Ibid.37 Li Yen, op . cit., pp . 137-138 .38 Ibid.3" Ibid ., pp . 109-110.40 Ibid ., p. 83, CIC, chuan 6, pp. 96-106 .41 Li Yen, op . cit ., pp . 127-130 .4s The Yung-lo to-tien was a kind of ts'ung-shu

it-&,with many rare books included in it. Walter T . Swingle,"Report of the Library of Congress for 1929," pp . 187-195 ; Sarton, Vol . 3, pt . 2, p. 1549 ; Needham, Vol. 1,p . 145 .

,"There are differences of opinion as to when the

Chinese began to use this mathematical instrument. TheCh'ing mathematician-astronomer, Mei Wen-ting OtA(1633-1721) in his Li-suan ch'ttan-shu in-dicates that they began in the first years of the Mingdynasty . Some contemporary authors, notably Li Yen, inhis Cltu-suan chih-tu k'ao f*4*JJ`c~t and in his Chung-kuo suan-hsiieh shih, pp . 171-173, share the same con-clusion . However, Ch'ien Ta-hsin i,kfllf (1728-1804),the eminent Ch'ing historian and geographer, in hisShih-chia chia-yang hsin-lu

suggests thatthe suan-pan was already in use during the Yuandynasty. In the Introduction to the History of Science(Vol . 1, p . 229, and Vol . 3, pt. 2, pp. 1585-1586),George Sarton reveals that Hsu Yueh's *-* Shrt-situ chi-iIlk*'slit, a work composed in the second or the begin-ning of the third, contains "possibly the earliest trace ofsuan-p'an ."

44 For a detailed description of the suan-p'an or cJttt-suan 4-* , see Li Yen, op . cit ., pp . 171-183 .

4s CIC, chuan 30, pp . 3b-136 ; Wylie, Chinese Re-searches, p . 188 ; Li Yeh, op. cit., p. 164 .

179

"s As illustrations, see Lynn White, "Technology andInvention in the Middle Ages," Speculum, 15 (1940),pp . 14ff ." Needham, op . cit ., Vol . 1, p. 239 . On another oc-

casion (pp . 240-241), Needham, while discussing theEast-West transmission of mechanical techniques, saysthat "China produced a profusion of developments whichreached Europe and other regions at times varying be-tween the 1st and the 18th centuries : (a) the square-pallet chain-pump ; (b) the edge-runner mill and theapplication of water-power to it ; (c) metallurgical blow-ing-engines operated by water-power ; (d) the rotary fanand winnowing machine ; (e) the piston-bellows ; (f) thehorizontal-warp loom (possibly also Indian), and thedrawloom ; (g) silk reeling, twisting and doublingmachinery ; (h) the wheelbarrow ; (i) the sailing-carriage ;(j) the wagon-mill ; (k) the two efficient harnesses fordraught-animals, i .e ., the breast-strap or postilion harness,and the collar harness ; (l) the cross-bow ; (m) the kite ;(n) the helicopter top and the zoetrope ; (o) the techniqueof deep-drilling ; (p) the mastery of cast iron ; (q) the`Cardan' suspension ; (r) the segmental arch bridge ; (s)the iron-chain suspension-bridge ; (t) canal lock-gates ; (u)numerous inventions in nautical construction, includingwater-tight compartments, aerodynamically efficient sails,the fore-and-aft rig, and (v) the stern-post rudder ; (w)gunpowder and some of its associated techniques ; (x) themagnetic compass, used first for geomancy and then, alsoby the Chinese, for navigation ; (y) paper, printing, andmovable-type printing ; and (z) porcelain ." With regardto important mechanical elements which the West wasable to contribute to Chinese civilization at the time ofthe Jesuits, the same author points out (pp . 241-242) thatthey consisted only of (a) the screw ; (b) the Ctesibiandouble force-pump ; (c) the crankshaft; and (d) clock-work.

"$ For example, consult Chang Yin-lin,, *l4, "Chung-kuo li-shih shang chih ch'i-ch'i chi ch'i tso-che" +AA~.-L.°T3 3k i' ("Scientific Inventions and Inven-

tors in Chinese History"), Yenching hsiieh-pao, 3 (June1928), pp . 359-381 ; l .i Shu-hua *-K* , "The Origin ofthe Compass" -Iql e$)it6yt-4, , Ta-lu tsa-chih

klsi 4A,VII : 9 (November, 1953), pp. 1-7 ; and VII : 10 (Novem-ber 30, 1953), pp. 1-10 .

4s For accounts of China's contributions in paper-making and printing, see Thomas F. Carter, The Inven-tion of Printing and Its Spread Westward (New York :1925) ; Friedrich Hirth, "Die Erfindung les Papiers inChina," T'oung Pao, Vol . 1 (1890), pp . 1-14 ; EdouardChavannes, "Les livres chinois avant l'invention dupapier," Journal Asiatique (1905), pp . 5-75 ; Sarton, Vol .1, p . 451, p . 604, p . 633 and p . 723, and Vol . III, pt. 2,pp . 144-145 and pp . 729-731 ; Needham, op . cit ., Vol. 1,p . 126 and p . 131 ; L . Carrington Goodrich, A Short His-tory of the Chinese People (New York : Harper andBrothers, 1943), pp . 134-135, pp . 140-141 and pp . 149-150 .

eo Feng Chia-sheng Z$ *c 4 , "Huo-yo ti fa-hsien chich'i ch'uan-pu" X*4y*A3L_A'e#f* ("The Inventionand Spread of Gunpowder") , Shih-hsueh chi-k'an

V (December, 1937), pp. 27-84 ; L. Carring-ton Goodrich and Feng Chia-sheng, "The Early Develop-ment of Firearms in China," Isis, 36 :2 (January, 1946)pp . 114-123 ; L. Carringgton Goodrich, "Notes on a FewEarly Chinese Bombards," ibid ., 35 :3 (Summer, 1944),p . 211 ; Wang Ling, "On the Invention and Use of Gun-powder in China," ibid., 37 :3-4 (July, 1947), pp . 160-178 ; Gustav Schlegel, "Invention and Use of Gunpowderin China," T'oung Pao, ser .2V :111 (1902), pp . 1-11 ; E .T .C . Werner, Chinese Weapons (Shanghai, 1932) .

180

sr Lo Jung-pang, "The Emergence of China as a SeaPower during the Late Sung and Early Y6an Period," FarEastern Quarterly, XIV :4 (August, 1955), p . 500 .

52 L . C . Goodrich, "Cotton in China," Isis, 34 :1-5(Summer, 1943), pp . 408-410 .

53 J.P . Lo, op. cit., p . 501 .5' For summaries of early Chinese geographical know-

ledge, consult Kenneth Ch'en, "The Early Expansion ofChinese Geographical Knowledge," T'ien Hsia Monthly,XI :1 (August-September, 1940), pp . 52-62 ; and HoChang-ch'un Ir 4N, "Hon-i-hou Chung-kuo-jen tui- y iishih-chia ti-li chih-shih chih yen-chin"

3% vi lkTP A,t,("Evolution of the Know-

ledge of World Geography of the Chinese after the HanPeriod"), Yu-kung S6 it , V:3-4 (April 11, 1936), pp .121-136 .

as Most famous are the "Western Royal Mother," themyth of the . . .I'hree Islands" in the Eastern Sea, thespeculation on other land masses as embodied in TsouYen's "Nine Great Continents" theory and the legend ofthe "Kingdom of Women."

*5 ' See F. Hirth, "The Story of Chang K'ien, China'sPioneer in Western Asia," Journal of the AmericanOriental Society, Vol . 37, (September, 1917), pp . 89-152 ;Fang Hao, op . cit ., Vol . 1, chapters 6, 7, 8 and 13 .

sv Edouard Chavannes, "Les deux plus anciens spcce-mens de la cartographic chinoise," Bulletin de I'Ecolefrangaise d'Extreme-Orient, 3 (1903), pp . 214-247 ; Sar-ton, Vol . 1, p . 341 .

58 Fang Hao, op . cit., Vol . 1, chapters 10, 16 and 17 .

"This work has been translated into French by AbelRemusat, entitled Foe kouc ki, or Relations des Rovarrnresbouddhiques (Paris, 1836) ; into German by Carl F .Neumann, entitled Pilgerfahrten Buddhisticher Priestervon China each Indien (Leipzig, 1833) ; and into Englishby H.A . Giles in 1877 and James Legge in 1886 .

"See Edouard Chavannes, Voyage de Song Yun[Sung Yun] dans I'Udyana et le Grandhara, 518-555,(Hanoi, 1903) ; T . Watters, On Yuen Chwang's [HsuanChuang] Travels in India (London, 1904-5), 2 vols . ;Sylvain Levi, "Les Missions de Wang Hiuen-ts'e [WangHs6an Ts'ej dons Nude," Journal Asiatique, XV (1900),pp . 297-341 ; J . Takakusu, A Record of the BuddhistReligion as Practiced in India and the Malay Archipelago(Oxford, 1896) ; Sylvain Levi and Edouard Chavannes,Voyages des P8etins bouddhques, L'Itineraire d'Ou-k'ong,751-790 (Paris, 1895) .

61 Fang Hao, Vol . 2, chapter 2 ; Edouard Chavannes,"Les deux plus anciens specimens de la cartographicchinoise," Bulletin de l'Rcole fran(aise d'Extreme-Orient,Vol . 3 (1903), pp. 214-247 ; Paul Pelliot, "Deux itinerairesde Chine en Inde a la fin du VIII' siecle," ibid., Vol . 4(1904), pp . 131-413 .

112 Kenneth Chenn, op . cit ., p . 56 ; Sarton, Vol . 1, p . 476.

63 Tang-shu, chuan 138, p . 11 ; E noki Kazuo J% -At"Concerning the Geographic Works and `Record andRoutes' of Chia Tan's"$tom2!. , Rekishigakrt Kenkyu Bdtf0i"t , VI :7 (July,1936), pp. 81-88. Other significant geographical worksby Chia Tan were the Huang-hua ssu-ta chi _*e9A,(10 chuan) presented to the throne in 789 and the Kit-chin chun-kuo hsien-too ssu-i shu *A7.0p441tvilic

THE CHUNG CHI JOURNAL

(40 chuan) in 801 . In the Sung dynasty, small replicasof Chia's map were made entitled the Chang-shan Hua-it'u T -1- 41 iN -

64 Fang Hao, op. cit ., Vol . 2, pp . 53-55 .n5 Sarton, Vol . 2, pt . 2, pp . 645-646 ; Fang Hao, op .

cit., Vol . 2, pp . 56-59 ; Friccirich Hirth and W.W. Rock-hill, Chou Jrr-l(ua (St . Petersburg : Imperial Academv ofSciences, 1911) . The Chrt-fan chill was included in 1805by Chang Hsi-p'eng 4164% in his collection entitledHsr7ci-clung t'ao-yuan

f1*o1 gf ,05 E.H . L. Schwarz, "The Chinese Connection with

Africa," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, BengalBranch, IV (1937), pp . 175-193 ; J.J .L . Dud-vendak,China's Discovery of Africa (London, 1949) ; "SomeRemarks on the Country of Ta-ch'in as known to theChinese under the Sung," Asia Minor, IV : 1 (August,1954), pp . 1-19 .

s' Fang Hao, op . cit ., Vol . 3, pp . 56-61 .es Ibid ., pp . 61-65 .s9 lbid., pp . 65-67 .

°° Naito Torajiro dlA~llt'.rkPp , "The Geographer ChuSsu-pen" * ;t*, Tolkushi Soraku ttit ft (1929),pp. 391-410, translated by Wu Han -31, * in the Bulletinof the National Library of Peiping, VII :2 (March-April,1933), pp . 11-22 .

' t Walter Fuchs, The "Mongol Atlas" of China byChu Ssu-pen and the Kuang-yu (Peiping, 1964) . It wassaid that the original of Chu's map was lost, but thetraditions was continued by Lo Hung-hsien A + , inhis atlas Kuang yu-t'rt #jk&® . Sarton, Vol . 3, pp. 807-808 ; Arthur Hummel, Report of the Library of Congress(1927), p . 246 ; (1937), pp. 174-176 .°2 For a discussion of these maps, see Wang Yung

M), , Chung--kuo ti-li hsr7eh-shih + 01 l t~ (His-tory of Chinese Geography) (Changsha, 1938), pp .89-92 .

'3 Yuan-shih (Astronomical Section), chuan 48, p . 86 .Cf . Juan Y6an, Tseng-tzu shih-p'ien I'-j--["'A , chuan4, pp . 6a-7a .

'" ' 4 Fang Hao, op . cit_ Vol . 3, pp .

180-210 ; KuanChing-ch'eng

OteA,

"Cheng Ho hsia Hsi-yang tichuunn" *per T 6 4 6!14]&

("The Ships of Cheng Hoin His Voyages to the Western Ocean"), T'ung-fang tsa-chih, XLUI :1 (January 15, 1947), pp . 45-51 .

'S Fang Hao, op, cit ., Vol . 3, pp . 180-181 .'s For countries visited on these voyages, see P. Pelliot,

"Les glands voyages maritimes Chinois au debut du XVsiecle," T'oung Pao (1933), pp . 237-452 ; "Notes addi-tionneles sur Tcheng Houo et sur ses voyages," ibid.,(1935), pp . 274-314 ; "Encore a propos des voyages deTcheng Houo," ibid. (1936), pp. 210-222 ; J .J .L . Duyven-dak, "The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expedi-tions in the Early Fifteenth Century," ibid. (193 1)), pp .

341-412 ; Ma Huan Re-Examined (Amsterdam, 1933) ;George Phillips, "The Seaports of India and Ceylon,Described by Chinese Voyages of the 15th Century,"Journal of the North China Branch . Royal Asiatic Society(1885), pp . 209-226 and (1886), pp . 30-42 ; W.P .Groneveldt, Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca(Batavia, 1877) ; Carrington L . Goodrich, "GeographicalAddtions of the XIV and XV Centuries," MonumentaSerica, XV (1956), pp.203-212 .