Reading Explanations of the Ch'i-heng t'u: An Initial Discussion of New Evidence Regarding the Origins of the Khai Tien Theory

Shih Chang-ju

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

    The Ch'i-heng t'u is a pattern representing one of the Ancient Chinese cosmic theories, explaining the distance between the earth and the heavens, the movement of the sun and human relationships. While some scholars maintain that explanations such as these may have existed as early as the late Yin period, two instances of new evidence from Yin-hsu illustrate the fact that the origin of these patterns may be traced back to a time preceding the late Yin period.

Keywords: Ch'i-heng t'u (Diagram of the Seven Declination Circles), Khai Tien Theory (Theory of a Hemispherical Dome), Chou Pi Suan Ching (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven)