Ways Of Passing On Traditional Chinese Astronomical And Calendrical Knowledge

“Chou-Ren” are a special education group in the history of ancient Chinese education,and they are responsible for the transmission of astronomical and calendrical knowledge,which had a special significance in ancient China.The way in which they transmitted astronomical and calendrical knowledge evolved and changed as new elements of history emerged,interpreting the history of the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge.This paper is centred on Ruan Yuan’s “Chou-Ren Zhuan” and its sequel.It examines the way in which traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge was passed on,analyses its evolution and development,and reflects on the historical gains and losses of the way in which traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge was passed on.The paper uses documentary research,historical statistics and historical-geographical analysis.The paper is centred on “Chou-Ren Zhuan” and its sequel,combined with historical sources such as the Twenty-Five Histories,local chronicles and the astronomical and calendar works written by Chou-Ren,to supplement the portrait of the Chou-Ren.The information on the Chou-Ren is filtered and collated in four dimensions,including their place of origin,their origin,their learning experience and their academic teaching experience,to form a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge.A three-dimensional dimension of the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge is constructed,discussing the particularities of the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge in time and space,and analysing the ways in which the domainers passed on their astronomical and calendrical knowledge under geographical constraints.This paper is divided into four main parts:Part I: Introduction.It explains the origin of the topic of the paper,introduces the significance and innovation of the paper based on the results of established academic history,and explains the research methodology used in the paper and defines several concepts involved in the paper.Part II: Chapter 1.This chapter provides a detailed introduction to the important research base of this article,namely Chou-Ren Zhuan and its author,the content of the Chou-Ren Zhuan,the disciplines involved in the Chou-Ren Zhuan and their educational heritage,in order to sort out the research premises for the reader.Part III: Chapters 2 to 4.Based on the information of the Chou-Ren Zhuan and its sequels,this part takes the four concepts of “Chou-Ren” as explained in Tantai’s “Chou-Ren Jie” as the starting point,and systematically compares four aspects of the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge,including the transmission of family education,private education,governmental education,and the influence of foreigners.This paper examines the four aspects of the transmission of traditional astronomical and calendrical knowledge in China,and analyses the historical conditions for the existence of different transmission methods.At the same time,it reveals the transformation of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge from the late Ming Dynasty to modern science,as it continued to break out of the scope of knowledge of Chou-Ren.Part IV: Conclusion.This part discusses the stages of development and the characteristics of the traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge transmission methods,and the motivations for the evolution of the traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge transmission methods,based on the changes in the inheritance of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge in different periods and the emergence of new elements in the process of inheritance of astronomical and calendrical knowledge.It also analyses the different roles played by family learning,private teaching,government training and foreign influence in the transmission of traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge,and reflects on the ways in which traditional Chinese astronomical and calendrical knowledge was transmitted.