\tWith so much excitement, it is no wonder that astronomy is of great importance to China. By looking at the skies in order to measure time and plan social events, the Chinese eventually developed their first astronomical research institution, Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. What used to be a practice reserved for farmers and academics is now a hobby to be enjoyed by all.<\/p>\n
\tThe Chinese have been calculating horoscopes and positions of celestial bodies since the Xia (\u590f) dynasty (23-17c B.C.). According to the “Canon of Yao” in the Book of Documents (\u4e66\u7ecf Shujing), a king ordered his brothers Xi (\u7fb2) and Hé (\u548c) “to conform themselves to august heaven, to calculate and plot the sun, the moon, the stars and the celestial bodies and respectfully to submit a calendar for humankind.”<\/p>\n
\tIn any case, science played a role, too, because of China’s many farmers. They looked to the skies to determine agricultural and social patterns. There were many terms describing heaven (\u5929 ti\u0101n), including its motions\/cycles (\u5386\u8c61 lìxi\u0101ng) and objects in the sky (heavenly bodies, \u5929\u6587 ti\u0101nwén). The Xia created a calendar (\u590f\u5c0f\u6b63 xi\u0103ozh\u0113ng) and called measuring the calendar lìf\u0103 (\u5386\u6cd5).<\/p>\n
\tTwo branches of “heaven” study soon emerged: astronomy and astrology. Both disciplines influenced themes in Chinese philosophy, such as the Uniformity of Heaven and Man (\u5929\u4eba\u5408\u4e00 ti\u0101nrén héy\u012b) and the Sympathy between Heaven and Man (\u5929\u4eba\u611f\u5e94 ti\u0101nrén g\u0103nyìng).<\/p>\n