Philosophical Reflection On Astronomical Observation During The Calendar Reform In The Early Qing Dynasty

Since the missionaries came to China in the late Ming Dynasty,the collision,exchange and fusion of the two heterogeneous cultures of East and West also began.In the early Qing Dynasty,under the interweaving of national sentiment and cultural differences,Yang Guangxian’s anti-teaching case broke out.The Confucian conservatives represented by Yang Guangxian achieved initial victory by relying on political power.With the change of the Qing Dynasty’s regime and Kangxi held real power,the ruler’s standard for calendar selection finally returned to rationality,and the case also ushered in an important turning point.Nan Huairen has carried out astronomical observation activities such as the solar shadow test many times,showing that the theoretical prediction of the calendar is highly consistent with the actual occurrence of astronomical phenomena,which defeated the old calendar and winning the western calendar.It is an authoritative status because it is in line with the ancient Chinese judging criteria for the quality of the calendar,which is based on the unity of the sky.Missionaries regained control of the Qing Dynasty’s calendar revision power,and the rulers trusted them and continued to entrust them with important tasks,but they were willing to cater to the rulers,trying to maintain the authoritative status of the Western calendar.They deleted the astronomical records of the failure of western calendar predictions and they began to lie about the eclipse of the sun and the moon.What’s more,they directly calculated and converted the data in the western star table without actual measurement.This kind of behavior of missionaries is not only necessary to maintain the authoritative status of the western calendar,but also reflects their simple epistemological thinking of "theory-loadness of observation",they can realize that there is no absolute consistency between calendar predictions and actual observations.They think that astronomical observation activities are always affected by factors such as observation instruments,natural weather and other factors,and there will always be inevitable errors.They believe that observations are fallible,and do not regarded every astronomical observation activity as a "crucial experiment".They do not believe that every observation has absolute test significance for the prediction and calculation of the calendar theory;Confucian scholars in the Ming and Qing Dynasties believed that observations were objective and accurate.Under the influence of the Confucian epistemology’s emphasis on experience,they regarded astronomical observation activities as a crucial experiment,and strived to be able to match each observation with each other.They hope the calendar predictions are consistent with calculations.Confucian scholars and missionaries have given different cognition and evaluation standards for astronomical observation activities,and missionaries in China had to explain and weigh the " errors "under the guiding ideology of "heaven-based" in ancient China.Although Confucian scholars and missionaries endow "observation" with different epistemological statuses,it is undeniable that both sides attach great importance to the "observation" in the development of the calendar.The missionaries used actual astronomical phenomena to confirm the new astronomical table of the west,and to a certain extent affirmed the role of the crucial experiment played by the observation activities.They lied about the eclipse of the sun and the moon,which is the performance of their strategy of "combining Confucianism" in the field of astronomy.By reviewing the development history of astronomy in the early Qing Dynasty,we also verified the model of scientific development proposed by the historicist philosopher Kuhn as a whole.When the predicted value of the calendar does not match the measured value,neither China nor the West will immediately "falsify" the current calendar theory,but they will adjust and revise the cosmic model and the calendar theory again.From the use of the "Shixian Calendar" that Tang Ruowang submitted to the court in the early Qing Dynasty,to the compilation of "Yu Zhi Li Xiang Kao Cheng"in the Kangxi Dynasty,and then to the compilation of "Yu Zhi Li Xiang Kao Cheng Hou Bian" in the Yongzheng Dynasty,the official astronomical system of the Qing Dynasty continued to update.The reform of the calendar is not achieved overnight.The accumulation of "abnormal"is the prerequisite for promoting the reform of the calendar.The missionaries maintain close contact with Western scientists and astronomers.The old paradigms are replaced by new paradigms,and new Western astronomical theories must be introduced in every reform.The introduction of Western astronomical theories into China is also accompanied by localized "transformation".Traditional Chinese Confucianism affects the content and the form and the scope of Western science dissemination in China.Astronomy in the early Qing Dynasty made new progress in the conflict,difference,compromise and integration between China and the West.