The 'Chinese' Theory: For and Against

[Jorge_Stolfi]

I saw your request regarding whether there is a detailed description in Chinese texts of dividing every solar term interval into 15 parts. I would be happy to help clarify this.

To be direct: No, such a system does not exist in traditional Chinese astronomy or calendar literature.

While the number 15 is extremely significant in Chinese culture (e.g., 15 days per solar term, 15 minutes per quarter-hour), ancient Chinese calendars never divided the ~15 days of a solar term into 15 equal "things" or units.

Thanks!

So, while the Chinese Solar Terms system is still the only source we know that divides the year into 24 equal parts, we still have no idea of why the VMS Author decided to further divide each 1/24 (or 1/12) of the year always into 15 (or 30) individually named "things". 

Here is how Chinese calendar systems actually divided time:

Thanks, but i knew that there were other calendar systems in common use in China. But they were not relevant because they did not divide the year into 24 equal parts.

Solar terms (节气): There are 24 solar terms in a tropical year. They are determined by the sun's ecliptic longitude (定气) or by simply dividing the tropical year into 24 equal parts (平气).

I understand that the division based on sun's longitude is a relatively recent reform.  By 1400 it was the time of a full year that was divided into 24 equal parts.  The reform resulted in small shifts in the positions of the terms along the Ecliptic, and small changes to the time spans between the terms.  That is, while the reform made the solar terms equally spaced along the Ecliptic, it made them (slightly) irregularly spaced in time.

There is no classical text that supports the idea of mapping the VMS "things" to ...

Do you really mean "there is no classical text", or "I could not find any classical text"?

Speaking of which, here is another way you could help me.  Suppose that the Dictation Scenario is true, and our Author has just decided to take some of the Chinese medical knowledge back to Europe.  

He must have asked "Which of your medical books should I copy?  One that gives a broad overview of your science, that is considered the most authoritative, etc etc?"

I supposed that the immediate answer must have been "The Zenghe Bencao here, of course.  Its 26 volumes and 1000+ pages include the theory and experience of all our most respected doctors since 300 BCE..."

"A thousand pages?  *Gasp*! I mean, what is the best book that I can hope to copy in my spare time, before I die?"

"Well, ... there is the Shennong Bencao Jing.  It is only about 30 pages, but it is the very core and foundation of our pharmaceutical knowledge.   It was written by the Divine Farmer himself, and ..."

So here is my question.  After doing the SBJ, at some point our Author must have asked

"And about astronomy and astrology, which treatise do you recommend -- one that is short but gives a  broad overview of your knowledge in those fields, especially the parts that are different from the science of Arabs and Indians?"

Any idea of which could have been the answer?

All the best, --stolfi