中国最早的观象台发掘

在山西襄汾县陶寺镇附近发掘出距今约4000年的最早观象台兼祭祀台遗址,它是由观测点、夯土柱和柱间狭缝组成,用于观测日出方位变化,确定回归年长度来制订历法。模拟观测结果表明,位于东南和东北的二狭缝可准确测定冬至和夏至日期,而此二狭缝之间有10个土柱,应象征着视太阳向北和向南每位移一个土柱为一个节气。由此推之,帝尧时的历法特征是将一岁分成20个节气的阳历,上古时的阴阳五行历即十月太阳历是源于它奠定的基础。

Digging up the Earliest Astronomical Observatory in China

At the town of Taosi,the county of Xiangfen,Shanxi province the earliest (up to date about 4000 years ago) astronomical observatory and sacrificial altar relic was dug up,which consists of an observing site,some tamped soil columniations and slits between those columniations,This construction was used to observe the variations of the sunrise azimuth and determine the tropical year length in order to constitute the calendar.It is indicated from the simulated observations that the two slits located in the southeast and the northeast could be precisely used to determine the dates of the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice.Between those two slits there are 10 columniations which could indicate that the visual Sun moving from the one columniation to another is a solar term.It implies that in the Emperor Yao time the calendar was the solar calendar in which one year was divided into 20 solar terms.The Yin-Yang five-element calendar,that is,10-month solar calendar in the very ancient time was based on this calendar.