• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2023

Shoushili was the official calendrical method promulgated in 1280 CE by the Yuan dynasty. It contains a list of the angular spans in right ascensions for the 28 lunar lodges. They are known to have been measured by Guo Shoujing with his advanced instruments with an unprecedented precision or reading error of 5'. Such precise data are useful to determine their observational epoch with an error range which is narrow enough to pinpoint on which historical occasion they were observed. Using the precise SIMBAD data based on eDR3 of GAIA and carefully identified determinative stars and considering the precession of equinoxes and proper motions, we apply linear regression methods to those data and obtain the observational epoch of 1271 ± 16 CE and the measurement error of 4.1'. We also have polar distances corresponding to declinations written in another manuscript of the Ming dynasty. Since the two data sets have similar significant digits, they were suggested to have the same origin. However, we obtain their observational epoch of 1364±5 CE and the measurement error of 5.7'. They must have been measured with different instruments and on a different occasion from the observations related to Shoushili. We review the history of the calendrical reform during the 13th century in the Yuan dynasty. We conclude that the observational epoch obtained from lodge spans in Shoushili agrees with the period of observations led by Guo Shoujing or 1276-1279 CE, which is also supported by the fact that the ecliptic lodge span values listed in Shoushili were calculated from the equatorial lodge spans.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

We report a calendar sheet for the 31st year of the reign of King Gojong (1894) (hereafter, calendar sheet 1894) in Korea, which calendrical data in a single page. This calendar sheet 1894 is composed of 14 rows by 14 columns (about 190 cells), and various calendrical data are recorded such as the sexagenary circle of the first day in each month, 24 solar terms, full moon day. In this paper, we compare calendrical data of 1894 calendar sheet with those of the almanac based on the Shixian calendar (hereafter, annual almanac) of the same year. Our findings are as follows. First, we find that the year is expressed using the reign-year of the king of the Joseon dynasty differently from using the reign-style of China in the annual almanac those times. Other calendar days of this calendar sheet are the same as those of the annual almanac in term of lunar dates, 24 solar terms, sexagenary days and so forth. Second, we find that the calendar sheet 1894 contains memorial days for 64 lineally ancestors of the Joseon royal family. These royal memorial days appears in the annual almanac two years later (i.e., 1896). Third, as the most distinctive feature, we find that the symbol of 工 kept every two cells. It was found that the cells can be filled with three days as the maximum number of days and then are labelled the same symbol 工 every second cell. This feature allows us to get the first year in which this kind of calendar sheet was published. It is conjectured one of 11 years, such as 1845, 1846, 1847, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879 or 1880. We also think that the format of the calendar sheet 1894 has influenced on the Daehan-Minryeok (Korean civil calendar sheet) of 1920.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.191-200
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• 2017

We analyze the time data recorded in Korean astronomical almanacs for the years from 1913 to 1945, which belong to the period in which Japan occupied Korea (1910-1945). These almanacs, published by Japanese scholars, differ from previous almanacs in terms of organization, content, and calendrical methods. In this study, we first extract twelve kinds of time data from the almanacs at the following times: solar terms, rising and setting of the Sun and Moon, transit of the Sun, phases of the Moon (i.e., new Moon, first quarter Moon, full Moon, and last quarter Moon), and eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Then, we compare the time data with that obtained from modern calculations. Even though all time data in the almanacs are tabulated in units of minutes, we calculate the data in units of seconds and determine the root mean square (RMS) deviation values for each kind of time data to estimate the accuracy of the data. Our findings are as follows: First, the kind and tabulation method of time data changes several times. For instance, solar transit time is listed only for six years from 1937 to 1942. Second, the times of two equinoxes and those of a new Moon are considerably close to midnight. Third, there are some typographical errors in the almanacs, particularly in the times of moonrise and moonset. Fourth, the contact times for lunar eclipses represent the times of the umbra and not of the penumbra, which is different from the times for solar eclipses. Finally, the RMS deviation values are approximately 0.5 min on average in all kinds of time data, even though they show slightly large differences in the times related to the Moon. In conclusion, we believe that this study is useful for investigating the time data in the almanacs of other East Asian countries that were published during the same period, such as China, Japan, and Manchuria.