Beijing Ancient Observatory
Beijing Ancient Observatory (c) Xinjin Zhao 2020

Beijing Ancient Observatory

Beijing CBD by Xinjin Zhai

Beijing is a city of stark contrast. On the one hand, you can see the modern skyline not only in the central business district (CBD) but all around the city. On the other hand, you can find many ancient and historical sites to visit and enjoy.

Beijing Ancient Observatory, located about three kilometers east of the Tiananmen Square and originally built in 1442, is one of the world's earliest royal observatories. It was the evolution of an older, smaller observatory established in 1227. The Observatory has 500 years successive astronomical observation history from the Zhengtong period in Ming Dynasty to the year 1929.

The observatory is located on a 15 meter tall brick tower, originally connected to the old Ming dynasty era city wall that once encircled Beijing. The observatory assisted the Ming and Qing astronomers in their observation reports for the Emperor. As the Emperor was considered the “son of heaven”, the movements of the heavenly bodies were an important government affair. Another more practical function was to assist sea navigation at the time.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, between 1667 and 1674, six instruments designed by Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) (南怀仁), after an astronomy contest, were installed: equatorial armilla, ecliptic armilla, quadrant, celestial globe, sextant, and altazimuth. Verbiest used knowledge from the West, but had them beautifully crafted with Chinese symbolism and images. Two additional instruments were added later, the azimuth theodolite by Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) (纪理安) and the new armilla with the assistance from Ignaz Kögler (1680-1746) (戴进贤). These instruments are delicate in shape and patterns, accurate in gradation and measurement, influenced by European astronomy in Renaissance before the invention of telescope. They are historical witnesses to the East and West cultural exchanges, especially through the Jesuit Chinese missions in the seventeenth century which formed an important chapter in the long and often complex relationship between religion and science including the life long dedication of some of the most well known Jesuit missionary in China including Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) (利玛窦), Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666) (汤若望), and Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) (南怀仁). I should mention that all the missionaries had Chinese name and many in China today may not even realize that they were Western missionaries from Europe.

In a twist of history during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Field Marshal von Waldersee, as Allied Supreme Commander in China, conducted punitive expeditions which succeeded in defeating the Boxers in China. While in Beijing, he was amazed by the ornately made astronomical instruments that he ordered to have five of the most spectacular ones dismantled and taken to Germany for display in the Potsdam Palace. It wasn’t until in 1921 were they returned to Beijing under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. Another five instruments were taken to the French Embassy in Beijing around the same time, but later returned to China in 1902.

Today, the Beijing Ancient Observatory is operated as a museum in affiliation with the Beijing Planetarium. There are many other instruments in the museum, but here are a set of photos I took of the eight located on the platform of the observatory. I have not been able to find one, but I wish there was a good book describing the design and use of those fabulous instruments, as well as the historical context.

Beijing Ancieng Observatory by Xinjin Zhao


Related Articles

Matteo Ricci (10/29/2017)

Mona Lisa, Pine Tree, and The Taj Mahal (12/16/2017)

Understand China Through Historical Lens (2/25/2019)


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Thomas Siddons

Transforming Manufacturing via affordable, point-of-need metal & carbon fibre 3D printing | Natively Multilingual Sales Nearshoring into DACH / EMEA / US - from GTM to Team Management | AI | MarTech | MedTech | Startups

4y

Very insightful, thank you. Ah, the good old days when #CBD still primarily described a district...

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Francis Laleman

conceptual art and experience design practitioner & teacher, participatory design, cooperative learning, non-conventional facilitation, systems, agile communities, Sanskrit & Pali studies

4y

Matteo Ricci was a weird charachter indeed. When I was a student, I practised Ricci's memory palace technique, which served me well to keep track of "the things one knows" - a skill that was quintessential in pre-google days ... The Beijing observatory is one of these mind-boggling places where one is left in awe of what scientists were able to achieve, even in pre-industrial times. I have always loved to dwell on this, and how it puts the world of today into perspective - where we have all this science, and yet, seem to be unable to deal with it, or have politicians in power who openly despise it. Have you ever visited one of Sawai Jai Singh's Jantar Mantar observatories, Xinjin Zhao, in Delhi or Jaipur? - Like in Beijing, they radiate cross-cultural scientific endeavour, with Mongol, Jesuit and Muslim connections coming together in the quest to understand the world.

Ashok Thakur

MSIL Nexa Channel Partner Standard Motocorp Pvt Ltd Jabalpur MP VP & Head | Ex-VW,Skoda,Kia,Honda,Toyota,Ford,Msil & Hero Motors Dealerships

4y

👏👏 Xinjin Zhao🔥👋

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Hasil Murad Hunzai

Businessman at Three Star Automobile

4y

Thank you for again remembering me

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