History of Astronomy - Astronomy in China, Korea & Japan prior to the Jesuit missionary arrivals in China and Japan.

Astronomy in China, Korea & Japan presents a total change to how we in the west look at the night sky. You could call it astronomical dyslexia, only two constellations in the Chinese night sky would be recognizable to us, plus it is Polar rather than ecliptically influenced. The region was also isolated from the West by distance and language.

Chinese written records are based on observations dating back 1000+ years BC and more, the British Museum holds the Dunhuang star map, possibly the first pictorial representation of the night sky drawn in 600AD but based on much older records.

The cultural influence of Chinese observational astronomy heavily influenced both Korean and Japanese observations of their night skies. But they too added their own observations and cultural concepts.

I will try to introduce Asian astronomy prior to the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries. Rather than mythical beasts and legendary heroes…