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Years consist of 354, 355, or 384 days. There are a handful of historical exceptions: |
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In 104 B.C. emperor Wu Ti changed the definition of New Year. The result was a long year of 442 days and 15 new moons. |
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The T' ang dynasty ended in A.D. 689 after a very short reign of less than one year, and a short year of 325 days and 11 new moons resulted. |
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The Chou dynasty reverted to the old system of defining the start of the year in A.D. 690. The new system of Wu Ti was readopted in A.D. 700, producing a long year of 444 days and 15 new moons. |
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The Chinese day begins, like the Roman day, at midnight. |
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9.10.2.1.12
Historical Background |
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There is simply too much Chinese history to perform even a cursory summary at the level of detail used for other calendars. Even the more restricted topic of Chinese astronomy is vast and not well explored. The interested reader should consult Needham's seven-volume classic, Science and Civilization in China (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1954) as the unparalleled resource on Chinese astronomy for Western readers. |
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In this section, I consider some problems and pitfalls for the unwary. |
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One difficulty in dealing with Chinese history is that, at various times, China has been composed of multiple, and usually mutually hostile, states. There are, therefore, multiple overlapping dynastic sequences which must be considered from the standpoint of regnal dating. In addition, there were essentially two opposing ways of bounding the life of a dynasty: |
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Assume that the Mandate of Heaven is a continuous dispensation and given to only one dynasty at one time. A dynasty becomes illegitimate when the legitimacy of another is recognized. This system produces a single orthodox designation for any given year. In practice, only one dynasty is recognized as the Principal Dynasty at any given time. |
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Date a dynasty according to the claims of its own annals. |
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The first method is used by Chinese scholars for the purpose of establishing a uniform chronology and is used in this work. The second method must be considered if the purpose of the application is concerned with the investigation of dynasties which were not part of the Principal line. |
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It should be noted that the reign of a ruler is not necessarily coterminous with the period of a nien hao, since an emperor continued the nien hao of his predecessor until the beginning of the following calendar year. This rule allows, again, a simple chronology to prevail. |
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Although the Chinese constantly tinkered with their calendar, particularly in the area of adjusting the calendar to the length of the solar year, the essential characteristics have not changed for about 5,000 years. |
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