Popular Astrology and Border Affairs in Early Imperial
China: An Archaeological Confirmation
David W. Pankenier
Lehigh University
One of the most unique archaeological discoveries
having to do with the inspiration of astronomical phenomena was recently
made in the desolate Taklamakan Desert of China's far northwest. Lying
in the tomb of a beautifully dressed Europoid couple near the ancient Silk
Route oasis settlement of Niya, buried by the shifting sands since the
3rd Century, excavators found an Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25-220) silk
brocade artifact. The striking multicolored decor and rare state of preservation
of this brocade made it one of the ten most important archaeological discoveries
of 1995. Not only were the colors still fresh and bright, but woven into
the decorative pattern of cosmological motifs of this unique textile remnant,
now recognized as a bowman's armguard, is also the remarkable legend "when
the five planets appear in the east it is beneficial for China." One could
hardly ask for more eloquent testimony to the pervasiveness of astrological
thinking in early imperial China than this fashion accessory from one of
the remotest frontiers of the empire. The story of how it came to be there,
and what it tells us about popular astrology in ancient China, will take
us from a look at ancient Silk Route mummies, to a discussion of a paradigm
shift in Chinese astrological thinking, to a planetary alignment in 61
B.C. and the application of the new astrological thinking to China's border
pacification strategy.
(Less suitable as poster presentation than illustrated
talk, but could probably be adapted if necessary.)
I also plan to prepare a handout (poster) introducing
a new annotated catalogue of astronomical records entitled EAST ASIAN ARCHAEOASTRONOMY:
HISTORICAL ASTRONOMICAL RECORDS OF CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA, by XU Zhentao,
David W. Pankenier, and JIANG Yaotiao (Paris: Gorden & Breach, 2000).
The catalogue provides an introduction to the various kinds of historical
astronomical records, discussion of criteria for inclusion, reckoning and
recording of time intervals in East Asian records, and new translations
of all available records from earliest times through the advent of the
telescope of various kinds of astronomical phenomena: solar and lunar eclipses,
auroras, sunspots, "guest stars" or supernovas, planetary conjunctions,
Comet Halley, as well as an assortment of phenomena recorded in China's
earliest written records, namely, the oracle bone inscriptions from the
Shang Dynasty (1554-1046 B.C.).