摘要
本文概述了中国古代历法中计算日食三限与月食五限的算法沿革，详细论述了宋元时期日月食起讫算法之精度的演变发展。在元代郭守敬的《授时历》（１２８０年）之前的中国传统历法，采用的都是纯粹的数值方法去构造一系列相应的函数。自《授时历》起，开始利用日月食的几何模型构造一类十分不同的函数。研究表明，《授时历》运用的几何模型与唐代印度风格的《九执历》（７１８年），及元代阿拉伯传统的《回回历》（１３８３年）是完全一样的。由于《授时历》仍然沿袭中国传统历法中的习惯，以食分为自变量构造其日食三限与月食五限算法，因此在形式上掩盖了它与《九执历》及《回回历》在此算法上之本质的相同。从这个特殊的视角可以发现，中国古代历法家在保持传统拒绝接受外来合理的天文学观念５００多年后，最终还是在一定程度上接受了它们的影响。
In ancient and medieval Chinese calendar - making system, there were algorithms for calcula ting the eclipse phases of the sun and the moon. Normally speaking,for any kind of solar eclipse, Chinese calendar-makers derived a function to calculate the times of its first contact, middle of eclipse and last contact. But for a total lunar eclipse , a function would be used for calculating its five eclipse pheaes. In such functions, the magnitudes of eclipses were used as their independent variable. How did such functions being constructed by Chinese calendar - makers? A study of this pa- per shows that those functions used before 1280AD were all constructed by some pure numerical methods. But the functions used in the Shoushi li《授时历》(1280AD) were derived from the geo- metric models of eclipse phase. It is interesting that such geometric models were also used in two calendar -- making systems compiled by Indian and Islamic calendar- makers for deriving their algorithms of eclipse phase. It is Well Known that there were some Indian and Islamic astronomers worked in the observatory of China in the sib and 13th century. Two calendar - making systems they left, which are named the Jiuzhi li《九执历》, an Indian traditional calendar, and the Huihui li《回回历》, an Islamic traditional calendar, respectively. The point is that although the Chinese calendar - makers had known the geometric models from the Indian calendar Jiuzhi li《九执历》for many years, they refused to use them for deriving their algorithms of eclipse phase until they learnt the same models again from the Islamic as-tronomers in the 13th century. As an example of the construction of functions for calculating the eclipse phases, we may come to a conclusion that there might be some influence from Indian and Islamic astronomy on Chinese calendar - making system.
出处
《自然辩证法通讯》
CSSCI
2000年第3期58-68,共11页
Journal of Dialectics of Nature
基金
陕西省教委专项基金!(99JK095)
国家留学基金!(97861043)
