格致鏡原 (Gezhi Jingyuan: Mirror of Scientific Origins) 100 Volumes

...of the Song, recovered an ancient copper Armillary Sphere in Chang'an. Although the structure was complete, it did not include the seven luminaries. That year, he ordered the Grand Historian to reconstruct the Armillary Sphere. Qian Lezhi, following ancient theories and modeling the celestial images, cast a copper one with a diameter of six feet, with one degree equaling five 'fen'. It had a vertical axis and used water to rotate it, modeling the movement of the heavens. The positions of the stars at dusk and dawn matched the actual heavens. In the 4th year of the Yongxing era of Emperor Mingyuan of the Northern Wei, an order was given to build an iron instrument at the Grand Historian's observation post to establish the laws of the 'All-Encompassing Heaven'. By examining the accuracy of the Jade Pivot, it was constructed of copper and iron, with the star degrees inlaid in silver. The 'All-Encompassing Heaven' model had a pivot but no balance. At the end of the Liang dynasty, the Imperial Library had one made of wood, round like a ball, and several feet in circumference. Both the north and south ends had axes. The entire body was covered with the twenty-eight constellations, the three schools of stars, the ecliptic and equatorial paths, and the Milky Way. It had separate horizontal rings to align it, but it was not like the Armillary Sphere, which had a separate sighting tube for measuring the sun, moon, and star degrees. The Wu dynasty Grand Historian Chen Miao said: "The sages of old made an instrument of wood called the 'All-Encompassing Heaven'—is this what they meant?" Speaking from this perspective, the instrument and the model are distinct and do not involve each other. Book of Liang: Tao Hongjing once built an 'All-Encompassing Heaven' model about three feet high, with the earth at the center and the heavens rotating while the earth remained immobile, using machinery to move it, all perfectly matching the heavens. Book of Sui: Geng Xun, using his own creative ideas, built an Armillary Sphere that did not require human effort, using water to rotate it. It was placed in a darkened room, and the observations of the celestial time were as accurate as a tally. Old Book of Tang: At the beginning of the Zhenguan era of the Tang, Li Chunfeng stated: "The current observation instrument at the Lingtai Astronomical Observatory is a relic from the Wei dynasty; its structure is very loose and inaccurate." The Emperor ordered him to build a new one. It was completed in the 7th year of the Zhenguan era. The structure was made of copper with three layers. The base was in the shape of a cross, with turtle-shaped feet at the ends to support the four quarters. The first instrument was called the 'Six Harmonies Instrument', the second the 'Three Luminaries Instrument', and the third the 'Four Journeys Instrument', all made of copper. The Emperor placed them in the Ninghui Pavilion, and at the time, they were praised for their ingenuity. Qunshu Kaosuo: Chunfeng's instrument had three layers: the Six Harmonies, Three Luminaries, and Four Journeys, all of which are distinct instruments. The celestial meridians and the golden all-encompassing [sphere] corresponding to the Jade Pivot are the rings within the instrument. On top are listed the ten suns, twelve earthly branches, and 365 degrees, with the sun, moon, and five planets...