Chinese hereditary mathematician families of the Astronomical Bureau, 1620--1850 / Ping-Ying Chang.

Thesis, Ph.D. (History)--City University of New York, 2015.
Includes bibliographical references.
City University of New York. History, degree granting institution. Joseph W. Dauben, degree supervisor.

Link to ProQuest via BC Libraries

Local access dig.pdf. [Chang-Hereditary mathematicians.pdf]

The Chinese Astronomical Bureau, 1620-1850 : lineages, bureaucracy and technical expertise / Ping-Ying Chang.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Organization of the Qing Astronomical Bureau -- From the Old Method to the New Method -- Kangxi Calendar Dispute -- Emperors and the He Brothers -- The Solar Eclipse of 1730 -- Knowledge Reproduction -- Maintaining a Familial Career -- The Decline of Missionary Influence and the Nineteenth-Century Reforms of the Astronomical Bureau.

"This book offers a new insight into one of the most interesting and long-lived institutions known to historians of science, the Chinese imperial Astronomical Bureau, which for two millennia observed, recorded, interpreted and predicted the movements of the celestial bodies. Utilising archival material, such as the résumés written for imperial audiences and personnel administration records, the book traces the rise and fall of more than thirty hereditary families serving at the Astronomical Bureau from the late Ming period to the end of the Qing dynasty. The book also presents an in-depth view into the organisation and function of the Bureau and succinctly charts the impacts of historical developments during the Ming and Qing periods, including the Regency of Prince Dorgon, the influence of the Jesuits, the relationship between the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors and the He family and the failure of the bureau to predict correctly the solar eclipse of 1730. Presenting a social history of the Qing Astronomical Bureau from the perspective of hereditary astronomer families, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Chinese Imperial history, the history of science and Asian history"-- Provided by publisher

The Chinese Astronomical Bureau, 1620-1850, 2023: CIP title page (Chinese Astronomical Bureau) galley (Qing Astronomical Bureau; the Astronomical Bureau (Qintianjian 欽天監 [Qin tian jian]); Unlike the Ming dynasty, which maintained a branch of the Astronomical Bureau in Nanjing,  the entire Qing Astronomical Bureau was in Beijing; The Bureau had three major workplaces; The first was the main office (yamen 衙門), which was located in the block  of central government institutions between and slightly to the east of the Gate of Heavenly  Peace (Tiananmen 天安門) and the Gate of the Great Qing (Da Qing men 大清門); The second major workplace was the observatory (guanxiangtai 觀象臺) located at the  southeast corner of the Beijing city wall; The third was the Drum Tower (Gulou 鼓樓) located at the north end of the central axis of  the Inner City; For most of the Qing era, the Astronomical Bureau was a middle-ranking but autonomous institution) publisher's note ("Chinese imperial [sic] Astronomical Bureau")—LC authority record.

Local access dig.pdf. [Chang-Chinese Astronomical Bureau.pdf]