Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Astronomer and Mathematician

Zu Chongzhi 祖沖之

Attested AD 457 - AD 510

Passages: 10
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Zu Chongzhi was an Astronomer and Mathematician.

Life and dates

Attested activity

AD 510 天監九年正月
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 221
AD 457 to AD 464 大明
Strongly inferred · History of Liao 44, passages 7, 9
AD 462 宋武帝大明六年
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 11
AD 462 宋武帝大明六年
Dated from the passage context · History of Liao 42, passages 4, 11, 234
AD 504 梁武帝天監三年
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 220

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Heng (恒)
son 子
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 220

Key source chapters

Places and affiliations

Polity Id liu-song · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · History of Liao 44, passage 7

Works and attributed material

Daming Calendar 大明曆
Relation Author
Directly stated · History of Liao 44, passage 7
Great Brightness Calendar 大明曆
Relation Author
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passages 11, 234
Jiazi Epoch Calendar 甲子元曆
Relation Author
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passages 11, 221
Jiazi Origin Calendar 甲子元曆
Relation Author
Directly stated · History of Liao 44, passage 7

Events and relationships

Insisted solar eclipses fall on the new moon and allowed an intercalary month as seldom as once in four years
Scholarly · Calendar author · Formulated eclipse and intercalation rules
Directly stated · History of Liao 44, passage 9
Presented calendar methods
AD 462 宋武帝大明六年 · Scholarly · Presenter
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 11
AD 510 天監九年正月
Scholarly · Calendar author adopted
Directly stated · History of Liao 42, passage 221
AD 510 陳氏因梁，亦用祖沖之歷
Scholarly · Calendar author continued
Dated from the passage context · History of Liao 42, passages 221-222

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · History of Liao 44, passage 7

References in the histories

Search passages

History

10 passages

History of Liao, Chapter 42Volume 42 Treatises 12: Celestial Phenomena 1 · 8 passages

歷書法禁不可得，求《大明曆》元，得祖沖之法於外史。 Official calendrical methods were barred from circulation; in seeking the Great Brightness epoch we found Zu Chongzhi's procedures in an outside history.

沖之之法，遼歷之所從出也歟？ Did the Liao calendar ultimately derive from Chongzhi's methods?

以沖之法算，而至於遼更歷之年，以起元數，是蓋遼《大明曆》。 Working forward with Chongzhi's arithmetic to the Liao calendar reform and deriving the epoch from that point yields the Liao Great Brightness Calendar.

《大明曆》本宋祖沖之法，具見沈約《宋書》。 The Great Brightness Calendar ultimately derives from Zu Chongzhi's Song methods, as fully recorded in Shen Yue's Book of Song.

宋武帝大明六年，祖沖之上《甲子元曆》法，未及施用，因名《大明曆》。 In the sixth year of Emperor Wu of Song's Daming reign (462 CE), Zu Chongzhi presented the Jiazi Epoch Calendar methods; before adoption they were called the Great Brightness Calendar.

梁武帝天監三年，沖之子恒上疏，論何承天歷乖謬不可用。 In Tianjian 3 (504), during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, Zu Chongzhi's son Heng memorialized that He Chengtian's calendar was erroneous and unusable.

九年正月，詔用祖沖之所造《甲子元曆》頒朔。 In first month of year 9, an edict adopted Zu Chongzhi's Jiazi Epoch Calendar for issuing the new moon.

陳氏因梁，亦用祖沖之歷。 Chen continued Liang practice and used Chongzhi's calendar.

History of Liao, Chapter 44Volume 44 Treatises 14: Celestial Phenomena 3 · 2 passages

遼初用《乙未元曆》，本何承天《元嘉曆》法，後用《大明曆》，本祖沖之《甲子元曆》法。 The Liao first adopted the 《Yiwei Origin Calendar》, derived from He Chengtian's 《Yuanjia Calendar》, and later the 《Daming Calendar》, derived from Zu Chongzhi's 《Jiazi Origin Calendar》.

沖之日食必朔，或四年一閏。 Zu Chongzhi insisted eclipses fall on the new moon and allowed an intercalary month as seldom as once in four years.