The Planetary Visibility Tables in the Second-Century BC Manuscript Wu xing zhan 五星占

Abstract

This article is a study of the planetary tables in the second century BC manuscript Wu xing zhan . Products of computation in this and later texts are compared to what we know about contemporary bodies of planetary knowledge to highlight discrepancies between theory and practice, as well as pluralities of tradition, within the early imperial astral sciences. In particular, this study focuses on such tables’ apparent use of a solar calendar (as distinct from the lunisolar civil calendar) for the purposes of planetary astronomy; it also attempts to explain anomalous features of the Wu xing zhan ’s planetary tables in the context of early manuscript culture.