Category of Astronomical Heritage: tangible immovable
Beijing ancient observatory, China
Format: Short Description (ICOMOS-IAU Case Study format)
Presentation
Geographical position
The Beijing Ancient Observatory is located in Beijing, the capital city of the Jin (1115-1234CE), Yuan (1271-1368CE), Ming (1368-1644CE) and Qing (1644-1912CE) dynasties. The name of the city was Yanjing 燕京 in the Jin dynasty, and Dadu 大都, the Great Capital, in the Yuan dynasty.
Location
Latitude 39° 54′ 22″ N, longitude 116° 25′ 43″ E. Elevation 49m above mean sea level.
General description
Fig. 1. Plan of the site. © Authorised for non-profitable use
Fig. 2. The brick platform. © Authorised for non-profitable use
The observatory site covers an area of 10,000m². The brick platform of the observatory is 14m high and the top measures 20.4m from north to south and 23.9m from east to west. It used to be a part of the city wall once surrounding Beijing.
Brief inventory
On top of the platform are eight bronze instruments constructed in the Qing dynasty. Six of them were built by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) in 1669:
- Chidao jingwei yi 赤道经纬仪, literally the instrument for equatorial longitude and latitude, or the equatorial armillary sphere;
- Huangao jingwei yi 黄道经纬仪, literally the instrument for ecliptic longitude and latitude, or the ecliptic armillary sphere;
- Tianti yi 天体仪, literally the instrument of the celestial body, or the star globe;
- Diping jingyi 地平经仪, literally the instrument for azimuth, or the azimuthal ring;
- Xiangxian yi 象限仪, literally the quadrant instrument, or the quadrant; and
- Hushi yi 弧矢仪, literally bow and arrow instrument, or the sextant.
The other two instruments are:
- Diuping jingwei yi 地平经纬仪, literally the instrument for azimuth and altitude, or the azimuth quadrant; and
- Jiheng fucheng yi 玑衡抚辰仪, literally the divine instrument for pacifying luminaries.
Fig. 3. Verbiest’s illustration of the observatory (from a 17th-century European manuscript). Creative Commons Licence
The first of these was constructed by the Portuguese Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) between 1713 and 1715, while the maker of the latter is not clear. The seven instruments made by the two Jesuits are based on Tycho Brahe’s design but with Chinese decorations, while the last one belongs to the Chinese tradition but with a European system of graduation and sighting. Overall, the observatory is now the only example in the world that is equipped with Tychonic instruments.
History
The Beijing Ancient Observatory is located in Beijing, the capital city of the Jin (1115-1234CE), Yuan (1271-1368CE), Ming (1368-1644CE) and Qing (1644-1912CE) dynasties. The name of the city was Yanjing 燕京 in the Jin dynasty, and Dadu 大都, the Great Capital, in the Yuan dynasty.
Location
Latitude 39° 54′ 22″ N, longitude 116° 25′ 43″ E. Elevation 49m above mean sea level.
General description
Fig. 1. Plan of the site. © Authorised for non-profitable use
Fig. 2. The brick platform. © Authorised for non-profitable use
The observatory site covers an area of 10,000m². The brick platform of the observatory is 14m high and the top measures 20.4m from north to south and 23.9m from east to west. It used to be a part of the city wall once surrounding Beijing.
Brief inventory
On top of the platform are eight bronze instruments constructed in the Qing dynasty. Six of them were built by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) in 1669:
- Chidao jingwei yi 赤道经纬仪, literally the instrument for equatorial longitude and latitude, or the equatorial armillary sphere;
- Huangao jingwei yi 黄道经纬仪, literally the instrument for ecliptic longitude and latitude, or the ecliptic armillary sphere;
- Tianti yi 天体仪, literally the instrument of the celestial body, or the star globe;
- Diping jingyi 地平经仪, literally the instrument for azimuth, or the azimuthal ring;
- Xiangxian yi 象限仪, literally the quadrant instrument, or the quadrant; and
- Hushi yi 弧矢仪, literally bow and arrow instrument, or the sextant.
The other two instruments are:
- Diuping jingwei yi 地平经纬仪, literally the instrument for azimuth and altitude, or the azimuth quadrant; and
- Jiheng fucheng yi 玑衡抚辰仪, literally the divine instrument for pacifying luminaries.
Fig. 3. Verbiest’s illustration of the observatory (from a 17th-century European manuscript). Creative Commons Licence
The first of these was constructed by the Portuguese Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) between 1713 and 1715, while the maker of the latter is not clear. The seven instruments made by the two Jesuits are based on Tycho Brahe’s design but with Chinese decorations, while the last one belongs to the Chinese tradition but with a European system of graduation and sighting. Overall, the observatory is now the only example in the world that is equipped with Tychonic instruments.
History
Latitude 39° 54′ 22″ N, longitude 116° 25′ 43″ E. Elevation 49m above mean sea level.
General description
Fig. 1. Plan of the site. © Authorised for non-profitable use
Fig. 2. The brick platform. © Authorised for non-profitable use
The observatory site covers an area of 10,000m². The brick platform of the observatory is 14m high and the top measures 20.4m from north to south and 23.9m from east to west. It used to be a part of the city wall once surrounding Beijing.
Brief inventory
On top of the platform are eight bronze instruments constructed in the Qing dynasty. Six of them were built by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) in 1669:
- Chidao jingwei yi 赤道经纬仪, literally the instrument for equatorial longitude and latitude, or the equatorial armillary sphere;
- Huangao jingwei yi 黄道经纬仪, literally the instrument for ecliptic longitude and latitude, or the ecliptic armillary sphere;
- Tianti yi 天体仪, literally the instrument of the celestial body, or the star globe;
- Diping jingyi 地平经仪, literally the instrument for azimuth, or the azimuthal ring;
- Xiangxian yi 象限仪, literally the quadrant instrument, or the quadrant; and
- Hushi yi 弧矢仪, literally bow and arrow instrument, or the sextant.
The other two instruments are:
- Diuping jingwei yi 地平经纬仪, literally the instrument for azimuth and altitude, or the azimuth quadrant; and
- Jiheng fucheng yi 玑衡抚辰仪, literally the divine instrument for pacifying luminaries.
Fig. 3. Verbiest’s illustration of the observatory (from a 17th-century European manuscript). Creative Commons Licence
The first of these was constructed by the Portuguese Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) between 1713 and 1715, while the maker of the latter is not clear. The seven instruments made by the two Jesuits are based on Tycho Brahe’s design but with Chinese decorations, while the last one belongs to the Chinese tradition but with a European system of graduation and sighting. Overall, the observatory is now the only example in the world that is equipped with Tychonic instruments.
History
Fig. 1. Plan of the site. © Authorised for non-profitable use
Fig. 2. The brick platform. © Authorised for non-profitable use
The observatory site covers an area of 10,000m². The brick platform of the observatory is 14m high and the top measures 20.4m from north to south and 23.9m from east to west. It used to be a part of the city wall once surrounding Beijing.
Brief inventory
On top of the platform are eight bronze instruments constructed in the Qing dynasty. Six of them were built by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) in 1669:
- Chidao jingwei yi 赤道经纬仪, literally the instrument for equatorial longitude and latitude, or the equatorial armillary sphere;
- Huangao jingwei yi 黄道经纬仪, literally the instrument for ecliptic longitude and latitude, or the ecliptic armillary sphere;
- Tianti yi 天体仪, literally the instrument of the celestial body, or the star globe;
- Diping jingyi 地平经仪, literally the instrument for azimuth, or the azimuthal ring;
- Xiangxian yi 象限仪, literally the quadrant instrument, or the quadrant; and
- Hushi yi 弧矢仪, literally bow and arrow instrument, or the sextant.
The other two instruments are:
- Diuping jingwei yi 地平经纬仪, literally the instrument for azimuth and altitude, or the azimuth quadrant; and
- Jiheng fucheng yi 玑衡抚辰仪, literally the divine instrument for pacifying luminaries.
Fig. 3. Verbiest’s illustration of the observatory (from a 17th-century European manuscript). Creative Commons Licence
The first of these was constructed by the Portuguese Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) between 1713 and 1715, while the maker of the latter is not clear. The seven instruments made by the two Jesuits are based on Tycho Brahe’s design but with Chinese decorations, while the last one belongs to the Chinese tradition but with a European system of graduation and sighting. Overall, the observatory is now the only example in the world that is equipped with Tychonic instruments.
History
On top of the platform are eight bronze instruments constructed in the Qing dynasty. Six of them were built by the Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) in 1669:
- Chidao jingwei yi 赤道经纬仪, literally the instrument for equatorial longitude and latitude, or the equatorial armillary sphere;
- Huangao jingwei yi 黄道经纬仪, literally the instrument for ecliptic longitude and latitude, or the ecliptic armillary sphere;
- Tianti yi 天体仪, literally the instrument of the celestial body, or the star globe;
- Diping jingyi 地平经仪, literally the instrument for azimuth, or the azimuthal ring;
- Xiangxian yi 象限仪, literally the quadrant instrument, or the quadrant; and
- Hushi yi 弧矢仪, literally bow and arrow instrument, or the sextant.
The other two instruments are:
- Diuping jingwei yi 地平经纬仪, literally the instrument for azimuth and altitude, or the azimuth quadrant; and
- Jiheng fucheng yi 玑衡抚辰仪, literally the divine instrument for pacifying luminaries.
Fig. 3. Verbiest’s illustration of the observatory (from a 17th-century European manuscript). Creative Commons Licence
The first of these was constructed by the Portuguese Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) between 1713 and 1715, while the maker of the latter is not clear. The seven instruments made by the two Jesuits are based on Tycho Brahe’s design but with Chinese decorations, while the last one belongs to the Chinese tradition but with a European system of graduation and sighting. Overall, the observatory is now the only example in the world that is equipped with Tychonic instruments.