iCHSTM 2013 Programme • Version 5.3.6, 27 July 2013 • ONLINE (includes late changes)
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Calculating the fate of Chinese dynasties with the European horoscope: a preliminary study of two astrological works by Xue Fengzuo 薛凤祚 (1600-1680)
Zhu Haohao | University of Science and Technology of China, China

China has a long history of its own portent astrology that was almost exclusively practised by royal astronomers and centered on the fate of the emperor, high officials and the whole country, but this did not prevent it from absorbing astrological knowledge from outside, as can be seen from the reception of Indian and Arabic astrology in the Tang (618-907) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries also introduced European astrology into China as a supplement to their astronomical work in this country. In 1652 and 1653, the Chinese astronomer Xue Fengzuo (1600-1680) became disciple of the Polish Jesuit Nikolaus Smogulecki (穆尼阁,1611-1656) and they translated Girolamo Cardano's commentaries on the Tetrabiblios. On the basis of the horoscopic astrology that he learnt from his Polish master, Xue composed a series of astrological essays, among which we can still read the "Tumu xianghui" (土木相会,The Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter) and "Yuzhou dayun" (宇宙大运,The Grand Fortune-Cycle of the Cosmos). This paper provides a preliminary analysis of both the works. I will show how a Chinese astronomer calculated the fate of all Chinese dynasties with European astrology.