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JHA0010.1177/0021828619866328Journal for the History of AstronomyLi

Article JHA
Journal for the History of Astronomy

New Astronomy in Service

2019, Vol. 50(4) 411­–427
© The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
of Old Astrology: Close sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0021828619866328
https://doi.org/10.1177/0021828619866328
Planetary Conjunctions journals.sagepub.com/home/jha

in Pre-Modern China

Liang Li
Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, CAS, China

Abstract
This article introduces various definitions and criteria for the astronomical phenomena
of “encroachments” (close lunar and planetary conjunctions) in pre-modern China.
With improvements in observations and mathematical astronomy, the standard of
encroachments began to undergo many changes leading to more precise explanations
of the phenomena. Before the adoption of Huihui Lifa (Islamic-Chinese calendrical
astronomy), traditional Chinese methods could not predict the phenomena of
encroachments, and records of encroachments were mainly based on actual observations.
These records abound in Chinese dynastic histories, and they play an essential role in
the interpretation of astrological omens. In the first half of the seventeenth century,
the prediction of encroachments became an effective approach for examining the
accuracy of different elements of calendrical astronomy besides solar and lunar eclipses.
In the meantime, with the introduction of western astronomical knowledge into China,
people had a better understanding of the principle of encroachments, and they began to
question its rationality in astrology. Moreover, new knowledge of encroachments also
brought new insights and inspired some philosophical discussions on the structure of
the cosmos. However, these new astronomical methods still served the old astrology,
due to the continued requirements that astronomers interpret astrological omens.

Keywords
Planets, encroachments, mathematical astronomy, Huihui Lifa, new western method

Corresponding author:
Liang Li, Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, CAS, 55 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian, Beijing
100190, P.R. China.
Email: liliang@ihns.ac.cn
412 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

Introduction
Planetary phenomena are important categories in the records of astral sciences in pre-
modern China. There are several thousand extant records of them between the second
century B.C. and the seventeenth century, which occupy a considerable proportion in all
the celestial records. These records of planetary phenomena can be classified into several
genres, i.e., yanfan 掩犯 (occultations and encroachments), liushou 留守 (guarding in
station), heju 合聚 (meeting and convergences),1 and zhoujian 晝見 (daylight appear-
ances). Among them, the genre of occultation and encroachment records is one of the
most common. In addition, it generally includes two subtypes: “lunar occultations and
encroachments on the five planets” 月掩犯五緯 and “lunar and planetary encroach-
ments on the lodges (fixed stars or asterism)” 月五星犯列舍.
The phenomena of occultations attracted some attention from earlier astronomers and
philosophers in different civilisations. Some ancient Greeks mentioned occultations in
their discussions of the order of heavenly spheres, but the ancient astronomers of the
Mediterranean region apparently did not record systematic observations of occultations.2
By contrast, the phenomena of occultation played an essential role in divinations in pre-
modern China, and Chinese imperial astronomers made a long and persistent observation
of them. Thus, there are many records of occultations extant in Chinese dynastic histories
which also benefit the research of modern astronomy such as the analysis of the earth’s
rotation.3
In addition to these observations, pre-modern astronomers also tried to find a method
to predict occultations. According to the research of Jarosław Włodarczyk and Richard L.
Kremer et al., the English astrologer Edward Gresham (1565–1613) is the earliest author
known to have worked on the prediction of planetary–stellar occultations in Europe. The
pre-telescopic astronomers in the western world turned to occultations for several reasons.
For one thing, occultations provided the occasion to “measure” planetary positions to a
precision of arcminutes without the use of angle-measuring instruments and provided one
new stellar positions to a given precision. For another, the phenomena of occultations
could offer evidence for arguments about the relative distances of celestial bodies from
the Earth.4 However, the situation in China is very different.
In contrast to the western world, the efforts to predict occultations in pre-modern
China were put in a service of astrology that focused on the “astrological–political
nature” of celestial events in the Chinese dynasties as Hilton et al. called it.5 In the early
stage, traditional Chinese mathematical astronomy could only provide a framework for
determining the longitude of planets. Due to the inability to calculate planetary latitude,
it was impossible to predict the phenomena of occultations with these methods. As math-
ematical astronomy developed, however, and especially with the adoption of Islamic and
western calendrical astronomy during the Ming and Qing periods (1368–1911), Chinese
astronomers in the Imperial Astronomy Bureau were able to predict occultations instead
of only relying on the astronomical observations. During this period, the status of occul-
tations in astral sciences was also significantly enhanced. Occultations were even used to
examine the accuracy of different forms of calendrical astronomy.
This paper will discuss occultations in pre-modern China in several parts. First, it
introduces the definition and standard of determining the phenomena of occultations
Li 413

from early imperial China to early modern China. Then it goes back to the earlier interest
in occultations, both in observational records and their interpretations of astrological
omens. Moreover, this paper also analyses philosophical discussions about the structure
of the cosmos during the period when people had the capacity to predict occultations.
How did occultations transform from an “abnormal” celestial phenomenon to a natural
phenomenon of “constancy” in people’s cognition? How did the methods of the new
astronomy serve the old astrology?

Definitions and standards of “encroachments”

In pre-modern China, the separation between the moon, the five planets, and the fixed
stars could be described on three levels. They were, namely, “ling” 凌 (approach closely),
“fan”犯 (encroach or get close) and “yan” 掩 (cover or conceal). The differences mainly
lie in the separation between these celestial bodies. The literal meaning of “fan” is
“encroachment” or “trespass,” which, when extended to the astral sciences, means the
proximity of one celestial body to another. The chapter entitled “Book of the Heaven”
天官書 in the Shiji 史記 (Records of the Grand Historian), which was finished by Sima
Qian (c. 145–86 BCE), mentions that “[The celestial bodies] within a single lunar lodge
means meeting, and the encroachment (approach closely) is fighting, which is less than
seven cun”6 同舍为合, 相陵为斗, 七寸以内必之矣.7
Another scholar Meng Kang 孟康 (fl. 240s) also explained this text further and noted
that “Fan [means the separation between two celestial bodies] is less than seven cun, and
their lights touch each other” 犯, 七寸已内, 光芒相及也.8 In ancient China, the separa-
tion between two celestial bodies is often expressed in terms of length units such as
“cun” 寸 instead of the angular units. One cun is equal to one-tenth of 1 chi 尺 (foot) in
length, and 1 chi approximately equals 1 degree in modern astronomy.9 That is, 7 cun is
about 0.7 du (or 0.7 degrees).10
From then on, the definition of “ling” and “fan” also changed several times, and their
criteria are also revised. For example, The Book of the South Qi (finished in 537) men-
tions that

Day rencheng11 of Month 12 (January 8, AD 494), Venus moves to the southeast of the sixth
star of Sagittarius, and the separation is one chi, that is an encroachment.

十二月壬辰, 太白從行在南斗第六星東南一尺, 為犯。12

This record shows that the “encroachment”13 happens within 1 chi. In addition, other
records also indicate that the separation of more than 1 chi is defined as “hexiu” 合宿
(meet in the same lunar lodge). It means that the standard of “encroachment” has been
changed from 7 cun (about 0.7 degrees) to 1 chi (about 1 degree) by the end of the fifth
century. In addition, similar records can also be found in the historical books in the Tang
period (618–907) and the Song period (960–1279).14
It is worth noting that linear units frequently were used by Chinese astronomers
instead of angular units. The genuine angular degrees (du) of roughly 365.25 units to a
414 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

circle were generally used in specifying celestial co-ordinates,15 whereas linear units chi
and cun (Chinese feet and inches) were usually used in citing angular separations or
lengths of cometary tails. In pre-Ming times, use of the term fan (encroachment) was
often rather loosely applied. For instance, research shows that many Song period obser-
vations of conjunctions between two planets in the period from A.D. 1167 to 1200 reveal
that use of the term fan was applied to observations where the separation was anywhere
ranging from 0.09 to 1.52 degrees.16
In the second half of the fourteenth century, the Huihui Lifa17 (Islamic-Chinese calen-
drical astronomy) was adopted by the Ming court (1368–1644). An earlier version of
Huihui Lifa by Liu Xin 劉信 in c. 1430s says “The [separation] less than fifty-four fen
(54 arcminutes or 0.9 degrees) [on latitude] obtains the fan (encroachment)” 視在五十四
分以下者, 取犯. However, a revised version of this book, which was finished by Bei Lin
貝琳 in 1477 and was reprinted in 1569, mentions that “The separation closer than one
du (1 degree) [on latitude] obtains [the fan]”相近一度以下者, 取之.18 In other words,
the “encroachment” means two celestial bodies have the same longitude, but different
latitude. The values for their separation on latitude in the early and middle Ming period
(1368–1644) were 0.9 and 1 degrees, respectively.
In the late Ming period, the first half of the seventeenth century, the theories and
methods of classic European astronomy were introduced into China systematically. One
of the most significant achievements of this time is the compilation of the book Chongzhen
Lishu 崇禎曆書 (Books on calendrical astronomy of the Chongzhen reign) with the
assistance of the Jesuit mission. This book, composed between 1629 and 1636, was
meant to supply the instrumental, mathematical, and astronomical basis for the calendar
reform required by the emperor Chongzhen (r. 1627–1644).19 The book combined the
traditional Chinese standard with western measurement units. The definition of
“encroachment” is that “the separation within 42 arcminutes on latitude is called the
encroachments” 緯度相距算在四十二分內, 謂之犯 and “two [celestial bodies] touch
each other is called ‘ling’ (approach closely)” 若兩相切, 則為凌.20 This criterion is
based on the traditional standard, i.e. within 7 cun 七寸已内. However, the Chongzhen
Lishu follows the western unit, which is that 1 degree equals 60 arcminutes.21 That is, the
Chinese traditional criterion of 70 fen (7 cun) is converted to 42 fen (arcminutes) (in the
western unit system) 中法用七十分, 通之得四十二分.22
By the Qing period (1644–1911), people had made a more detailed criterion for
“ling,” “fan” and “yan,” and treated them differently in different situations. He Guodong
何國棟 (fl. the 1740s), an officer in the Astronomer Bureau under the Kangxi reign
(1662–1722), finished a book named Tianwen jiyao 天文輯要 (Summary of astronomy).
In this book, it gives different standards for encroachments. It points out that two celes-
tial bodies in the same celestial longitude and latitude should be “yan” (cover or con-
ceal). If two celestial bodies have the same celestial longitude but have a minor gap on
latitude, it would be “ling” (approach closely) or “fan” (encroach or get close). Moreover,
this value depends on different celestial bodies on various occasions (see Table 1).23
It is noteworthy that, He Guodong’s brother He GuoZong 何國宗 (1686–1766),
another official astronomer, mentioned how to define which celestial body is positive or
passive in the encroachment:
Li 415

Table 1. Criteria of “ling” and “fan” in the Qing period (1644–1911).

Celestial bodies 凌 “ling” (approach closely) 犯 “fan” (encroach or close)

Between the moon and fixed stars ⩽17 arcminutes 18 arcminutes–1 degree
Between the moon and five planets ⩽3 arcminutes 4 arcminutes–1 degree
Between the planets and fixed stars ⩽17 arcminutes 18 arcminutes–1 degree
Between the five planets ⩽17 arcminutes 18 arcminutes–1 degree

Planets encroach each other, the speedier is the encroacher, and the tardy one is the one been
encroached. If two planets have the same speed, one is in a prograde motion, and the other is in
retrograde motion, then the prograde one is the encroacher, and the retrograde one is the one
been encroached.

星自相淩犯, 以行速者為淩犯之星, 以行遲者為受淩犯之星。如兩星行度相同, 而一順行,

一逆行者, 則以順行者為淩犯之星, 逆行者為受淩犯之星。24

Generally, people in ancient China believed that two celestial bodies appearing in the
same lunar lodge was the phenomenon of convergence. When their separation was close
enough to a certain extent, then it was encroachment. Furthermore, if they moved too
close and concealed each other, then it was “yan” (cover or conceal). Quantitatively, the
standard of encroachments was usually <7 cun (0.7 degrees) or 1 chi (1 degree) at differ-
ent times in early imperial China. With the improvement of observational precision, this
standard was specified in detail. In the Ming and Qing period, two celestial bodies with
the same celestial longitude and latitude could be called “yan.” If they were in same
celestial longitude but minor differences in latitude, then it was an encroachment. The
standard was 0.9 or 1 degree in Huihui Lifa used between the fourteenth and sixteenth
centuries, and it was 0.7 degree in the western method used in the first half of the seven-
teenth century. Moreover, such a standard was also revised in the middle of the eight-
eenth century.

Observations and divinations of “encroachments”

The five planets are the most visible celestial bodies to be observed with naked eye except
the sun and the moon during the pre-telescope period.25 Unlike the fixed stars, they move
along near the ecliptic and have certain synodic periods. Moreover, they are interrelated
with the Chinese traditional “five elements thought,”26 and become mysterious divination
objects in astrology. The “encroachments” between various planets and the fixed stars have
many collocations, moreover, and this also provides diversified astrological interpreta-
tions. So the “encroachments” are also an important concept in astrology as well as in
astronomy. There are corresponding astrologic interpolations for the mutual approach of
the moon and five planets to each other, as well as their approaching the fixed stars.
Chinese astrology is the study of anomalous celestial phenomena, and “encroach-
ments” appear disorderly before they are predictable. In contrast to western astrology,
which is usually based on the position of the planets at a specific time and the provision
416 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

Figure 1. Silk manuscript Wuxing Zhan (Prognostics of the five planets).

of divinations in the form of horoscopes, Chinese astrology only serves the emperors and
the imperial court, indicating omens which correspond to the “heaven.” Astrological
interpretations are usually explained through an omen series in the books of omen com-
pendia, and a method of field allocation 分野 is used to construct the connection between
the heaven and the real world.27
Most of the astrological interpretations related to “encroachments” give ominous
explanations. In 1972, a silk manuscript named Wuxing Zhan 五星占 (Prognostics of the
five planets)28 was excavated from Mawangdui 馬王堆 tomb 3 (sealed in 168 BCE). It is
one of the earliest known surviving Chinese documents that give a substantive account
of the apparent motions of the five visible planets, and discuss the significance of those
motions.29 It mentions that “For all planets [that] tend to encroach each other, a war is
inevitable” 凡大星趨相犯也, 必戰 (see Figure 1).
The chapter of the “Monograph of astronomy” 天文志 in the dynastic histories of the
Book of the Han 漢書, finished in the first century, explains that

The separation between the two planets is close enough, and it will face a big disaster. Suppose
the separation between two planets is far away, and the disaster is harmless. Moreover, these
must happen within seven cun.

二星相近者, 其殃大; 二星相遠者, 殃無傷也, 從七寸以內必之。

That is to say, the separation between two planets results in “encroachments.” If the
separation is <7 cun (0.7 degrees), it is necessary to carry out divination to forecast what
should happen. This book also provides a variety of omen interpretations for different
Li 417

Figure 2. The diagram and omens of encroachments in the Tianyuan yuli xiangyi fu saved in the
National Central Library in Taiwan.

“encroachments.” For example, the encroachment between Jupiter and Saturn indicates
civil strife, and the encroachment between Jupiter and Mars reveals famine and drought.
Since the first dynastic histories Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) finished in the
second century B.C., the records of the “encroachments” abound in all kinds of official
histories. From the Tang period (618–907), the official histories provided more detailed
categories for the records of astronomical observations, and generally, a specific section
was assigned to the part of “encroachments.”
It is worth mentioning that even though these types of records in ancient China were
recorded for astrologic purposes, many of them contain rich details with high precision.
Regarded as the most accurate observational records that could be achieved during the
pre-telescope period, they remain important references for the research of modern
astronomy.30
With the exception of dynastic histories, books of omen compendia also devoted a
specific chapter to “encroachments.” For example, Tianyuan yuli xiangyi fu 天元玉曆祥
異賦 (Tianyuan jade calendar in verse prose on the auspicious and unusual signs), pub-
lished in the mid-fifteenth century, is a divination book with rich pictures recording natu-
ral and geographical phenomena and offering people corresponding prognostications. It
also has a chapter called “The encroachments of the five planets” 五星凌犯. It gives the
omens of encroachments with diagrams (see Figure 2). For example, it says,
418 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

Mars encroaches Venus, wars occur, and the monarch is in danger.

Jupiter encroaches mercury, and the prince is at high risk.
火犯金, 兵起, 而主凶。
歲星與辰星相犯, 太子憂。31

Before the adoption of Huihui Lifa in the Ming period, the traditional Chinese method
could only calculate the longitude of the five planets and not their position in latitude.
However, for Chinese astronomers, the critical point to predict the occultation lies in
whether the separation between two celestial bodies on the latitude is available. That is
why Qing scholar Wang Xichan 王錫闡 (1628–1682) pointed out that “If the method of
latitude is unrevealed, it is hard to predict whether an encroachment should happen” 緯
度不紀, 則凌犯有無, 難預期也.
Because traditional Chinese mathematical astronomy has this deficiency in the calcu-
lation of planetary latitude, it is impossible to predict encroachments in advance.
Therefore, the only way to estimate encroachments relies on actual astronomical obser-
vations. That is also one of the reasons why dynastic histories have the convention of
recording so many phenomena of the encroachments.

From observations to predictions

The Huihui Lifa produced on the basis of translated Islamic sources is one of the two
official systems of calendrical astronomy adopted by the Ming court (1368–1644). It was
used in parallel with the Chinese traditional Datong li 大統曆 (Great concordance calen-
drical astronomy) for nearly three centuries.32 What is introduced in the Huihui Lifa are
only astronomical tables and very brief explanations of how to use them, so in this sense,
we can call it a typical Zīj.33
Different from the traditional astronomy, Huihui Lifa contains the “Method for the
latitude of five planets” 五星緯度 and “Diagrams for the passing of the moon or planets
through asterism” 凌犯入宿圖, and this makes it an appropriate method for the calcula-
tions of encroachments. The Huihui Lifa also has a star catalogue, which lists the fixed
stars within 10 degrees of the ecliptic. This catalogue lists the longitudes, latitudes, and
magnitudes of 277 fixed stars, designated under Chinese names as well as the translation
of their Islamic names.34 The reason why Huihui Lifa only provides the star catalogue
near the ecliptic instead of a full star catalogue is that this table is dedicated to the predic-
tion of planetary–stellar encroachments.
Benefitting from this method, the official astronomers in the Ming period obtained the
ability to calculate astronomical ephemerides for each year with the information of
encroachments. One existing document is the book Xuande shinian yue wuxing lingfan
宣德十年月五星凌犯 (The Encroachments of the moon and five planets in the 10th year
under the Xuande Reign), which was imported from China to Korea in the early fifteenth
century and reprinted in 1447 at the court of the Joseon dynasty. The ephemerides con-
tain very detailed information about the encroachments between 29 January 1435 and 17
January 143635 (see Figure 3).
Li 419

Figure 3. Xuande shinian yue wuxing lingfan (The Encroachments of the moon and five planets
in the 10th year under the Xuande Reign) saved in the Kyujanggak Library of the Seoul National
University in Korea.

This type of ephemerides generally named Yuewuxing lingfan li 月五星凌犯曆

(Ephemerides on the encroachments of the moon or planets and), and it begins with a
general description of the situation for the given year, and then lists the results of predic-
tions for each day. For example, the contents of the first several days in the 10th year of
the Xuande Reign are as follows:

Month I:

Night of the 2nd day (1435-1-30), Venus encroaches the 1st star of the west of Outer-screen and
is 3 arc minutes below it.

Night of the 4th day (1435-2-1), Mars encroaches the 14th star of the Ophiuchus, and Mars is
18 arc minutes below it. That is the asterism of Celestial river.

Night of the 5th day (1435-2-2), Mars approaches the 13th star of the Ophiuchus, and Mars is
1 degree and 5 arc minutes below it, which is not an encroachment. That is the asterism of
Celestial river.
420 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

[Night of the] same day, Venus encroaches the 12th star of the Pisces, and Venus is 38 arc
minutes above it. That is the 2nd star of the west of Outer-screen.

正月

初二日夜, 金星犯外屏西第一星, 金星在下離三分。

初四日夜, 火星犯人蛇像內第十四星, 火星在下離十八分。即天江中星。

初五日夜, 火星到人蛇像內第十三星, 火星在下離一度五分, 不相犯。即天江中星。

同日, 金星犯雙魚像內第十二星, 金星在上離三十八分。即外屏西第二星。36

By the late Ming period (first half of the seventh century), the status of encroachments
in astronomy had been significantly enhanced. This is due to the competition between
the traditional Chinese astronomy and western astronomy in the calendar reform that
happened during the Chongzhen reign (r. 1627–1644). The minister Xu Guanqi 徐光啟
(1562–1633) was appointed to be in charge of a new astronomical department to carry
out the reform by the emperor Chongzhen. Xu attempted to translate the western astro-
nomical literature with the assistance of Jesuits in advance, and then to modify the math-
ematical astronomy system in the western method.
In this competition, the rule for determining the advantage and disadvantage of different
methods is the prediction of solar and lunar eclipses, which is the most important aspect in
Chinese astral sciences. However, in the early stage of this competition, the western method
did not gain many advantages over the traditional Chinese method in the prediction of
eclipses.37 To highlight the advantage of the western astronomy and persuade the emperor
to adopt the western method, Li Tianjing 李天經 (1579–1659), the successor of Xu Guanqi
tried to expand the scope of competition. He suggested that the prediction of encroach-
ments should be another crucial item to be examined besides the eclipse.
At the same time, the solar and lunar eclipses do not occur frequently enough to check
the accuracy of calendrical astronomy, and sometimes the bad weather also makes it
impossible to observe. However, the planetary encroachments occur frequently day after
day, and they provide more opportunities for the examinations. Moreover, the traditional
Chinese method is not good at the prediction of encroachments, so the western method
can play a more positive role in this competition. The prediction of encroachments
became the “new battle” of competition soon, and its status was also raised.
In Chongzhen Lishu (Books on calendrical astronomy of the Chongzhen reign), it
records several results of the competition on the prediction of encroachments between
1634 and 1635 (see Figure 4). For example, one of the close conjunctions between Mars
and Saturn on 25 October 1634 was mentioned:

According to the prediction of the new method, Mars and Saturn were to be seen in the same
degree in longitude and were to be separated by 1 degree and 54 arcminutes in the direction of
Li 421

Figure 4. The diagram of the close conjunction of Mars and Saturn on 25 October 1634,
recorded in the Chongzhen Lishu.

latitude at the beginning of dusk on the 25th October 1634. According to the calculation of the
Great concordance calendrical astronomy, this phenomenon should occur about three days
later.

新法推得火星與土星同度, 南北相距一度五十四分。大統推在初七日同度, 二法約差三

日。38

In 1646, the western method was formally adopted by the Qing court (1644–1911) to
the prediction of encroachments instead of the Huihui Lifa. Since then, the method of
calculation has been modified several times based on the latest western method. To
reduce the errors in calculations, a writing format, the “template table” 算式 (suanshi)
was designed to guide the process of astronomical calculations in early modern China,
and this method was also applied in the calculation of the encroachments.
The template table has the titles of each step printed in red ink with empty entries. The
users could pick up the data from established astronomical tables and put down the val-
ues needed in the current step with black ink. Then they can get the final result which is
desired with the operation of addition and subtraction, multiplication and division as
indicated (see Figure 5).39
422 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

Figure 5. Template table for the calculation of encroachments by the imperial astronomers in
China in the first half of eighteenth century (Saved in Zhejiang Library).

Although the Jesuits did a limited modification to the western astronomical method
used in China after the middle eighteenth century, the method of lunar parallax and the
calculation of encroachments are the two most crucial items that have been revised. A
new method for the calculation of encroachments was also finished by imperial astrono-
mer Si Tingdong 司廷棟 in 1833, and this method is thought to be more precise than the
old one. It shows the superior status for the prediction of encroachments in early modern
China. It is noteworthy that, in the first part of this article, we have pointed out that the
standard of the encroachments was revised in the Qing period. The minimum separation
is below 3 arcminutes between two celestial bodies, and such scale is hard to observe
with naked eyes.40 That is, the encroachments are inclined to be decided by calculations
instead of observations.

New conception of “encroachments”

With the improvement of the method of predicting encroachments, people in early mod-
ern China gain a better understanding of its underlying principle, and this also impacts
people’s cognition to the encroachments. As the Tianwen Jiyao (Summary of astronomy),
Li 423

finished in the eighteenth century, points out that “the moon and planets have affairs such
as encroachments and occultations, and it is the same principle of eclipses” 月與星有凌
犯、掩食之事, 即日月交食之理也.41 The phenomena of encroachments were consid-
ered to be a regular celestial event, and more people began to question its role in divina-
tion. As mentioned above, the Jesuit astronomers in China adopt the western method for
the calculations of encroachments. However, they are also against its adoption in divina-
tion. The Chongzhen Lishu (Books on calendrical astronomy of the Chongzhen reign)
even claimed that

The Great concordance astronomy (used between 1384 and 1644) and other ancient systems
only assign the stages of planetary motion such as visible and invisible roughly, and there is
no record of the method for the calculating of their latitude. The theory fails to explain this as
well. For the conjunction between two stars, it is thought to be disaster or auspiciousness,
which is in truth very absurd. The stars are distributed in heaven, and they have been running
in a particular order since ancient time. Whether they are conjunct to each other, or whether
they encounter each other is regular phenomenon. Because the astronomers did not understand
the cause of conjunctions and encroachments, and the common people also did not know the
affairs of conjunctions and convergences between the stars, they are amazed at this strange
phenomenon.

大統及古曆, 皆粗定五星見伏之限而已, 其緯行不見於書, 意亦未講明及此。又凡於兩星

相會, 著為災祥之說, 於理更謬。蓋天上諸星紛布, 自古迄今, 其行不忒, 合所不得不合, 會
所不得不會, 皆理之常, 初無犯戾, 緣曆家未明合朔凌犯之故, 庶民因不知會合之宜, 駭為
變異耳。42

Another book Lingfan shicha xinfa (The new method for encroachments and parallax),
finished in the first half of the nineteenth century by Si Tingdong also mentioned that

The planetary encroachments and their stages of the station and retrograde motion are well-
founded in values and visible to all persons. However, astrologers used them to determine
whether they are auspiciousness or disaster to humans and asked for the divination in details
since the Han period. The old method only tells the prograde motion of five planets, and the
latitude of them which are inside or outside the ecliptic is unclear. So the retrograde motion is
thought to be disastrous. The terms of “ling” (approach closely), “fan” (encroachments),
fighting, conjunction, occultation and eclipse between the constellations are invented. When
examining the events in the former years, the results of divinations do not fulfill. Probably,
these are only far-fetched interpretations because they are ignorant of the prograde and
retrograde motions of the five planets.

五星淩犯及其留、退, 皆有度數之可據, 為眾目所共見者。然自漢以來, 占驗家乃用以斷人

事之吉凶, 而各占其詳眚。蓋因古法惟知五星順行, 無出入日道緯度, 而以逆行為災。
命所犯星座曰淩、犯、鬥、合、掩、食。考之當年時事, 亦不俱驗。意者, 由於不知五星有順
逆二途, 而附會其說焉。43

These texts explain why the encroachments were regarded as disaster omens for an
extended period. The reason is that predecessors did not really understand their principles
or calculation method. According to Mei Wending 梅文鼎 (1633–1721), a well-known
424 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

mathematician and astronomer, some astrological interpolations of encroachments are

ridiculous. For example, some divination books provide examples of omens in which
planets encroach an asterism with a separation of more than 20 degrees away from the
ecliptic. In fact, it is impossible for this to happen, because the orbits of the five planets
are mainly within 8 degrees near the ecliptic. The planetary–stellar encroachments are
only available for the fixed stars not far from the ecliptic.
Besides the doubts on the astrologic status of encroachments, people also began to
discuss its impact on cosmology. Different from European mechanistic understandings
of the cosmos, such as Ptolemaic geometric model of the cosmos based on crystalline
spheres, the Chinese astronomers in ancient times usually neglected the distance of the
planets and fixed stars from the earth. The Jesuits mission brought the world picture of
a closed universe of crystalline spheres nested in one another, with the earth fixed and
centred on China. This type of western cosmology was also borrowed for the explana-
tion of the principle of encroachments. As the Tianwen Jiyao (Summary of astronomy)
mentions:

The fixed stars are the highest, so the five planets can approach or encroach them. The moon is
the lowest, so it can approach or encroach the five planets. The heights of five planets are
different so that they can approach or encroach each other.

恒星最高, 故月五星皆能凌之、犯之。月最低, 故月又能凌犯五星。五星之高下各有不同,

故五星又能自相凌犯。44

Although many scholars between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in China
already accepted the western geocentric cosmology and the crystalline sphere model,
they also had a correct understanding of the principle of the occultations and believed
that it is a similar phenomenon to the eclipses. The using of the encroachments’ omens
to determine whether it will turn out good or bad was criticized as a ridiculous method.
However, in the official astronomical system, the divination of encroachments formed
since the Han period became a lasting custom, and the innovative new astronomical
method continues severed the stability requirement of old astrology.

Conclusion
First, as an astral science concept, the encroachment is used to describe the separation
between two close celestial bodies whether they be the moon, the five planets or one of
the fix stars. The definition and standard of encroachments are different in various peri-
ods: the criterion for encroachments is 7 cun (about 0.7 degrees) in two century B.C., and
this value became 1 chi (about 1 degree) in the fifth century. With the improvement of
observation precision and ability to predict the encroachments, people made a more
detailed classification for “ling” (approach closely), “fan” (encroach or get close), and
“yan” (cover or conceal) in early modern China.
Second, the astronomical phenomena of encroachments played important roles in
astrology, and most interpretations of its omens are ominous. There is a tradition to
record astronomical records in the dynastic histories, and the record of encroachments
became a specific category among them.
Li 425

Third, the Chinese traditional calendrical astronomy could not solve the problem of
planetary latitude, so it was impossible to predict the encroachments in advance, and the
records of encroachments rely on actual observations. In the fourteenth century, with the
adoption of Islamic Huihui Lifa in China, this puzzle was eventually solved. With the
assistance of the Islamic method, a kind of ephemeris listing the daily prediction of
encroachments showed up.
Fourth, with the Jesuit mission in China during the sixteenth and seventeenth centu-
ries, the Chinese astronomers began to revise the method to predict encroachments with
the new European astronomical systems. A type of template table was also used for the
convenience of encroachments calculating. At the same time, there were more discus-
sions on the principle of encroachments, and people began to have new cognition. After
encroachments were thought to be regular celestial events instead of abnormal phenom-
ena, it was controversial whether the divination of encroachments should be retained.
However, due to the continuous and stable demand of the astrologic omens, the new
astronomy method still served the old astrology.45

Acknowledgements
This paper was presented in the 8th conference of European society for the history of science held
in London on 14–17 September 2018. The author thanks Prof. Richard L. Kremer and Prof. F.
Richard Stephenson for their comments and suggestions. The author also would like to thank Dr
Nicholas A. Jacobson for his help in correcting some mistakes in the English language.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/
or publication of this article: This research has been financed by the National Social Science Fund
of China within the framework of the Grant No. 2018VJX041, titled “Research on Islamic astron-
omy in China.”

Note on contributor
Liang Li is an Associate Professor at the Institute for the History of Natural Science, Chinese
Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the history of astronomy in early modern China,
and the diffusion of astronomical knowledge from the Islamic world and Europe to China.

Notes
1. “Meeting and convergences” means that two or more planets gather together and form a clus-
ter of multiple planets.
2. J. Włodarczyk, R.L. Kremer and H.C. Hughes, “Edward Gresham, Copernican Cosmology,
and Planetary Occultations in Pre-Telescopic Astronomy,” Journal for the History of
Astronomy, 49, 2018, pp. 269–305.
3. J.L. Hilton, P.K. Seidelmann and C. Liu, “Analysis of Ancient Chinese Records of Occultations
Between Planets and Stars,” The Astronomical Journal, 96, 1988, pp. 1482–93.
4. Włodarczyk et al., “Edward Gresham.”
5. Hilton et al., “Analysis of Ancient Chinese Records of Occultations.”
6. The term cun (literally inch) is a unit of length. However, it is also used to indicate the separa-
tion between two celestial bodies in astral sciences in ancient China.
7. Maqian Si, Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian; Zhonghua shuju, 1982), p. 1321.
426 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(4)

8. This comment recorders in Shiji zhengyi (Commentary on records of the Grand Historian).
See J. Chen, “The New Annotation of ‘Book of the Heaven’ and ‘Book of the Calendar,’”
Shiji. Study in the History of Natural Sciences, 1, 1987, pp. 32–41.
9. Y. Wang, “Research on the ‘Chi’ System of Records of Historical Astronomical Phenomena,”
Study in the History of Natural Sciences, 1, 2003, pp. 42–53.
10. Celestial co-ordinates in China were purely equatorial, rather than ecliptical until the Ming
period (1368–1644). Traditionally, the equivalent of R.A. was expressed as degrees (du 度)
within one of the 28 lunar lodges (xiu 宿). Polar distance (also given in du) was used in place
of declination.
11. Rencheng is the day name counted in heavenly stems and earthly branches, and it is the 29th
day in a circle of 60 days.
12. Z. Xiao, Book of the South Qi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1972), p. 228.
13. In the following sections of this article, we will mainly use the Chinese terms “encroach-
ments” instead of the modern translation “occultations” to conform to the historical text.
14. W. Zhuang, Zhongguo gudai tianxiang jilu de yanjiu yu yingyong (Research and applica-
tion of ancient Chinese astronomical records; Beijing: China Science and Technology Press,
2012), p. 124.
15. One of the Chinese units used to measure a celestial circle is the du 度 (measure or pass
through), which depends on the precise value for the solar year. One du is defined as the dis-
placement of the mean sun over the course of 1 day. Generally, a celestial circle (360 degrees)
is equal to 365.25 du or sometimes 365.2575 in more precise terms. That is, 1 du approxi-
mates 0.9856 degree, which also can be divided into 100 fen. However, the Islamic and
western calendrical astronomy used in China is based on sexagesimal division of a circle of
360 degrees. That is, 1 du is 1 degree which contains 60 fen (arcminutes).
16. F.R. Stephenson and J.T. Baylis, “Early Chinese Observations of Occultations of Planets by
the Moon,” Journal for the History of Astronomy, 43, 2012, pp. 455–77.
17. The Huihui Lifa was produced on the basis of translated Islamic sources. What is recorded in
Huihui Lifa are astronomical tables and very brief explanations of how to use them, so in this
sense we can call it a typical Zīj in Islamic astronomy.
18. Y. Shi and L. Li, “The Actual Applications of the Chinese-Islamic System of Calendrical
Astronomy in the Ming Dynasty as Seen From the Encroachments of the Moon and the Five
Planets in the 10th Year of the Xuande Reign,” Study in the History of Natural Sciences, 2,
2013, pp. 156–63.
19. This set of books (more than 100 volumes) expounds a system of mathematical astronomy
based on the Tychonic system and introduces many new achievements in astronomy since
Copernicus.
20. G. Xu, “Astronomical Guide for the Five Planets,” Chongzhen Lishu (Books on calendrical
astronomy of the Chongzhen reign), copy in the Kyujanggak Library of the Seoul National
University in Korea, vol. 8, 30b.
21. In Chinese units, 365.25 du = 360 degrees and 1 du = 100 fen ≈ 0.9856 degree. The west-
ern calendrical astronomy used in China refers to the sexagesimal system, in which 1
degree = 60 arcminutes.
22. The Chinese centesimal system is transformed to the western sexagesimal system.
23. G. He, Tianwen Jiyao (Summary of astronomy), copy in the National library of Korea, 22a.
24. G.Z. He, Lixiang kaocheng (Thorough investigation of astronomical phenomena), Siku quan-
shu huiyao (The essentials of complete collection in four treasuries) edition, vol. 10: 6a.
25. In pre-modern China, the seven moving bodies – the sun, moon, and five planets are collec-
tively referred to “the seven luminaries.”
Li 427

26. The “five elements thought” is Chinese philosophy used to describe interactions and relation-
ships between things. The five elements – metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, – are believed
to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe and they are also related to the
five planets.
27. The field allocation divides the belt along the ecliptic through which the sun, moon, planets,
and comets commonly pass into abstract zones. These zones correspond with a geographic
region of the known world. This method allows celestial phenomena to refer to specific
regions rather than the empire as a whole.
28. The silk book Wuxing zhan discovered at the Mawangdui tomb introduces different stages
of the planetary motions and their synodic periods. In addition, it gives the ephemeris in the
form of tables that shows the place of the Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus between 245 BCE and
176 BCE.
29. C. Cullen, “Understanding the Planets in Ancient China: Prediction and Divination in the Wu
xing zhan,” Early Science and Medicine, 16, 2011, pp. 218–51.
30. L. Ciyuan and K.K.C. Yau, “Application of Early Chinese Records of Lunar Occultations and
Close Approaches,” in P. Brosche and J. Sundermann (eds), Earth’s Rotation From Eons to
Days (Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer, 1990), pp. 33–9.
31. Anonymous, Tianyuan yuli xiangyi fu 天元玉曆祥異賦 (Tianyuan jade calendar in verse
prose on the auspicious and unusual signs), published in the mid-fifteenth century, copy in the
National Central Library in Taiwan, the chapter “The encroachments of the five planets.”
32. Y. Shi, “Islamic Astronomy in the service of Yuan and Ming Monarchs,” Suhayl. International
Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilisation, 13, 2014,
pp. 41–61.
33. B. Van Dalen, “Islamic Astronomical Tables in China: The Sources for the Huihui Li,” in
S.M.R. Ansari (ed.), History of Oriental Astronomy (Dordrecht: Springer, 2002), pp. 19–31.
34. L. Li, “Arabic Astronomical Tables in China: Tabular Layout and its Implications for the
Transmission and Use of the Huihui Lifa,” East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine, 44,
2016, pp. 21–68.
35. Shi and Li, “The Actual Applications of the Chinese-Islamic System.”
36. The Imperial Astronomy Bureau, Xuande shinian yue wuxing lingfan (The Encroachments of
the moon and five planets in the tenth year under the Xuande Reign), copy in the Kyujanggak
Library of the Seoul National University in Korea, 1a.
37. L. Li, L. Lu and Y. Shi, “The Purging of Some Important Records of Eclipses in Chongzhen
Lishu,” The Chinese Journal for the History of Science and Technology, 3, 2014, pp. 303–15.
38. G. Xu, Chongzhen lishu (Books on calendrical astronomy of the Chongzhen reign), copy in
the Kyujanggak Library of the Seoul National University in Korea, vol. 9, 20a.
39. L. Li, “Template Tables and Computational Practices in Early Modern Chinese Calendric
Astronomy,” Centaurus, 58, 2016, pp. 26–45.
40. Although the telescope was introduced into China by Jesuits in the early sixteenth century at
the latest, it was not widely used in observation in the centuries that followed.
41. G. He, Tianwen jiyao (Summary of astronomy), copy in the National library of Korea, 22a.
42. G. Xu, Chongzhen Lishu (Books on calendrical astronomy of the Chongzhen reign), copy in
the Kyujanggak Library of the Seoul National University in Korea, vol. 8, 1a.
43. T. Si, Lingfan shicha xinfa (The new method for lingfan and parallax), copy in the Harvard
Yenching Library, preface 1b.
44. G. He, Tianwen Jiyao (Summary of astronomy), copy in the National library of Korea, 22a.
45. Y. Shi and H. Zhu, “Calculating the Fate of Chinese Dynasties with the Islamic Method:
Chinese Study and Application of Arabic Astrology in the 17th Century,” Micrologus: Nature,
Science and Medieval Societies, 24, 2016, pp. 311–35.