But they
were themselves hardly able to overcome these difficulties." (Palladius,
pp. 51-53.) - H. C.]
[1] Besides the works quoted in the text I have only been able to consult
Gaubil's notices, as abstracted in Lalande; and the Introductory
Remarks to Mr. J. Williams's Observations of Comets ... extracted
from the Chinese Annals, London, 1871.
[2] Pinnula. The French pinnule is properly a sight-vane at the end of
a traversing bar. The transverse lines imply that minutes were read
by the system of our diagonal scales; and these I understand to have
been subdivided still further by aid of a divided edge attached to the
sight-vane; qu. a Vernier?
[3] Verbiest himself speaks of the displaced instruments thus ... "ut nova
instrumenta astronomica facienda mihi imponeret, quae scilicet more
Europaeo affabre facta, et in specula Astroptica Pekinensi collocata,
aeternam Imperii Tartarici memoriam apud posteritatem servarent,
prioribus instrumentis Sinicis rudioris Minervae, quae jam a
trecentis proxime annis speculam occupabant, inde amotis.
Imperator statim annuit illorum postulatis. et totius rei curam,
publico diplomate mihi imposuit. Ego itaque intra quadriennis spatium
sex diversi generis instrumenta confeci." This is from an account of
the Observatory written by Verbiest himself, and printed at Peking in
1668 (Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas Restitutae,
etc.). My friend Mr. D. Hanbury made the extract from a copy of this
rare book in the London Institution Library. An enlarged edition was
published in Europe. (Dillingen, 1687.)
[4] On the contrary, he considered the photographs interesting, as showing
to how late a period the art of fine casting had endured.
[5] This ancient instrument is probably the same that is engraved in
Pauthier's Chine Ancienne under the title of "The Sphere of the
Emperor Shun" (B.C. 2255!).
[6] After the death of Kublai astronomy fell into neglect, and when
Hongwu, the first Ming sovereign, took the throne (1368) the subject
was almost forgotten. Nor was there any revival till the time of
Ching. The latter was a prince who in 1573 associated himself with the
astronomer Hing-yun-lu to reform the state of astronomy. (Gaubil.)
What Ricci has recorded (in Trigautius) of the dense ignorance of the
Chinese literati in astronomical matters is entirely consistent with
the preceding statements.
[7] I had entirely forgotten to look at Trigault till Mr. Wylie sent me
the extract. The copy I use (De Christiana Expeditione apud Sinas ...
Auct. Nicolao Trigautio) is of Lugdun. 1616. The first edition was
published at August. Vindelicorum (Augsburg) in 1615: the French, at
Lyons, in 1616.
[8] "Pinnulis."
[9] "Et stilus eo modo quo in horologiis ad perpendiculum collocatus."
[10] The Alidada is the traversing index bar which carries the
dioptra, pinnules, or sight-vanes.
