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Appendix II. The Han Dynasty's Earlier Calendar
In ancient times, several calendars were used in
China. Months were always counted from new moon to new moon, a month occupying
the time of a lunation, but the year did not always begin at the same period.
For astronomical purposes, months were numbered by the twelve horary
characters, beginning with the month which normally contains the winter
solstice. The calendar anciently used in the feudal state of Chin, said to be
that of the legendary Hsia dynasty, put the first month in the third 寅
astronomical month. The Yin calendar, used in the state of Sung, began the year
one month earlier, putting New Year's day in the second 丑 astronomical month. The
royal calendar of the Chou dynasty began the year one month earlier, New Year's
day coming in the first astronomical 子 month. (Cf. H. Maspero, La Chine antique,
pp. 222-223.) The Ch'in dynasty put New Year's day one month farther forward,
into the twelfth 亥 astronomical month. The early Han rulers continued this
practise, until, in 104 B.C., the Han Emperor Wu put New Year's day back to the
period it occupied in the Hsia calendar, in the third 寅 astronomical month, where
it stayed (with unimportant exceptions) until the time of the Chinese Republic.
(For a fuller account, cf. Havret, in the T'oung Pao, vol. 8, p. 399.)
The SC and HS were both written after the Han calendar reform in 104
B.C., but they record events occurring at a time when the year began three
months earlier than at the time they were writing. Which calendar did they use?
What names did they give to the months, those in use in later Han or in Ch'in
times?
The true answer to the above questions is a very
peculiar one: the Ch'in dynasty kept the same names (numbers) for the months as
those used in Hsia (and later Han) times, but merely shifted the date of New
Year's day and the attendant official ceremonies. That is, the Ch'in dynasty
made New Year's day occur in the month which they called the "tenth" month, so
that the month which they called the "first month" was the fourth in order from
the beginning of the official year! The Han Emperor Wu merely restored New
Year's day to the beginning of what he and his predecessors had been calling
the "first" 正 month, but which month had not previously begun the year.
The existence of such an anomalous calendar as one
beginning with the "tenth" month is so unnatural that only quite conclusive
evidence should make us accept it. This evidence is even more
important because Yen Shih-ku (581-645 A.D.), the outstanding commentator on
the HS, contradicts our view---he said that the Ch'in
dynasty had really called the month with which their year began the "first"
month, and numbered the months consecutively beginning with that one; and that
the authors of the SC and HS had
changed the names of the months to correspond to the different names given them
in Han times after the calendrical reform. The evidence for the contrary view
is presented below:
I. In the first place, there is ample evidence from
the SC, HS, and other documents
to show that in Ch'in and early Han times the year did actually begin with what
the historians called the "tenth" month and that the "first" month was the
fourth in the order of the months. Since exactly three months are reckoned to a
season, the Ch'in calendar then made the year begin with the first month of
autumn and made the "first" month begin the spring season. The pertinent points
in the following passages are accordingly: the order of the months in the year,
the seasons at which certain months come, and the month and season in which
official ceremonies occurred. Italics are mine.
a. In chap. 5 of the SC we
read (cf. Mh. II, 91): "In the 48th year of King
Chao-hsiang, in the tenth month, [the state of] Han(h) offered [to Ch'in the
city of] Yüan-yung. The army of Ch'in was divided into three armies. . . . In
the first month, the troops were disbanded." Note that in the same year, the
"first" month comes after the "tenth" month.
b. In the monthly tables of the SC
(chap. 16; cf. Mh III, 59) during
the second year of the Second Emperor, the months are enumerated beginning with
the tenth month, next the eleventh and twelfth months, and then only the first
month. It is here called the 端月, for 正 was tabooed, since it was the personal name
of the First Emperor.
c. In chap. 8 of the SC (cf.
Mh II, 393) we read, "In the tenth month of the tenth
year [of Kao-tsu], Ch'ing Pu, King of Huai-nan, P'eng Yüeh, King of Liang, Lu
Wan, King of Yen, Liu Chia, King of Ching, Liu Chiao, King of Ch'u, Liu Fei,
King of Ch'i, Wu Jei, King of Ch'ang-sha, all came to court at the Ch'ang-lo
Palace. In the spring and summer, nothing [of note] happened. In the seventh
month, the Grand Emperor died at the Yo-yang Palace." The great court reception
at the beginning of the official year then occurred in the tenth month, which
was in winter, for spring came afterwards.
d. In the HS, 4: 15b f, we
read, "In the spring of the fifteenth year, a yellow dragon appeared at
Ch'eng-chi. The Emperor issued an edict ordering a discussion of a sacrifice in
the suburbs. . . . In the fourth month, in the
summer, the emperor visited Yung
and then first sacrificed to the I Five Emperors." Since the SC
says that in ancient times the sacrifice to the Five
Emperors was always made in the summer, the fourth month came in summer; hence
the first month came in the spring.
e. In HS 6: 6b we read, "In
the fourth year [of the period Yüan-kuang (131 B.C.)] Tou-yin, the Marquis of
Wei-chi, who had committed a crime, was executed publicly. In the spring, the
third month, on the day yi-mao,
the Lieutenant Chancellor [T'ien] Fen died."
But the SC 107: 12b, says, "On the last days of the
twelfth month, [the Marquis of Wei-chi] was sentenced to be publicly executed
in the market-place in Wei-ch'eng. In that spring the Marquis of Wu-an [the
chancellor] died of illness." Then the execution occurred before the spring,
according to the HS, and in the twelfth month, according
to the SC; the death occurred in the spring and in the
third month.
f. In SC 16: 9b, 10a, b, 12a
we read, "[In the first year of the state of Han(s)], in the first month,
Hsiang Yu divided Kuan-chung. . . . The second month was the beginning of the
[reign of] the King of Han(s), the former Lord of P'ei. . . . In the third
month he made Nan-cheng his capital." Now in 22: 1b we read, "In the first year
of the Emperor Kao-tsu, in the Spring, the Lord of P'ei became the King of
Han(s) and went to Nan-ch'eng." Thus the first, second, and third months came
in spring.
g. In chap. 25 of the SC,
the explanation of the twelve musical tubes begins with the tenth month (cf.
Mh III, 303), "Among the sonorous tubes, [it, i.e. the
tenth month, corresponds to] the Yin-chung." The explanation proceeds month by
month, and ends with the ninth month (cf ibid. 313),
"Among the musical tubes, [it, i.e. the ninth month, corresponds to] the
Wu-yi." Thus the order of the tubes follows that of the official year, from the
tenth to the ninth month.
h. In HS 90: 7b, 8a, b we
read, "When Wang Wen-shu . . . became the administrator of Ho-nei, . . . by the
end of the twelfth month, in all the commandery there was not a thief to make
any dogs bark. Those few [thieves] whom he did not catch and who fled to
neighboring commanderies, he pursued. Meanwhile spring had come. [Wang] Wen-shu
stamped his feet and sighed, `Alas! If the winter months should be prolonged
one more month, it would be sufficient [for my task].' . . . The Emperor
considered him an able [person] and promoted him to be Palace Military
Commander." Now according to HS 19B: 18b, he was
appointed Palace Military Commander in 119 B.C., 15 years before the reform of
the calendar. In his time, the twelfth month came in winter.
i. In the Book of Rites, chap. 17, p. 4a we find
the following, "In the third month of autumn 季秋. . , it was [ordered] that the
nobles should unify their practises and customs and that [the officials of] all
the districts [should come] to receive [instructions for their
government] at [the grand reception] on the first day of the month in the
coming year." The commentary tells us that this passage refers to Ch'in
practises. Since the great court reception was held on New Year's day, that
festival came in winter.
j. In the HS 1B: 17a we
read, "In the eleventh year . . . the second month, an imperial edict said, . .
. `The vassal kings and marquises shall regularily pay court and make offerings
in the tenth month." The reference is again to the grand court reception on New
Year's day, here stated to occur in the tenth month.
k. In HS 4: 6b we read, In
the third month of the first year, "an edict said, `Now it is the time of
spring, when [nature is] harmonious, and the plants and trees are all growing,
when things all have means of enjoying themselves." Then the third month was in
spring. But cf. p. 236, n. 4.
l. In HS 6:26a we read, In
the first year of the period Yüan-feng (110 B.C.) "an imperial edict read, `Let
the tenth month [begin] the first year of the [period] Yüan-feng.' " Hence the
year began with the tenth month. (Altho the word `begin' is not actually in the
text, the passage plainly implies it.)
m. In chap. 15 of the SC we
read, "In the thirty-seventh year, in the tenth month, on the day kuei-ch'ou
[Nov. 1, 211 B.C.], the First Emperor went out on a trip. [cf.
Mh II, 184] . . . [In the seventh month] . . . on the
ping-yin day, the First Emperor died in the P'in terrace at Sha-ch'iu . . . In
the ninth month the First Emperor was buried in Mt. Li" (cf
ibid. 193). In Chap. 15 of the SC
(Chavannes did not translate this passage), it reads, "The first year of the
Second Emperor. In the tenth month, on the day wu-yin [an edict was issued
ordering] a general freeing of criminals. In the eleventh month, he made the
Rabbit park. In the twelfth month, he went to the O-fang Palace. In the ninth
month of that year the commanderies and districts all rebelled." Thus the
historians began a year with the tenth month and ended it with the ninth month.
There are many such passages.
n. In the HS 4: 9a (cf.
Mh II, 461), we read, "In the eleventh month [of the
second year], on the day kuei-mao [Jan. 2, 180 B.C.] the last day of the month,
there was an eclipse [Oppolzer's no. 2447]. The imperial edict read: . . .
`Since on the last day of the eleventh month there was an eclipse---a reproach
that was seen in the heavens---how great must the calamity be!' " In this
passage too events in the tenth month are recorded as preceding this one and
events in the first month follow it.
o. The SC 96: 5a (HS 42: 5a), tells that when Chang Ts'ang was I Lieutenant
Chancellor, he advised that because Kao-tsu arrived at Pa-shang (cf.
HS 1A: 19b) in the tenth month, and was consequently
considered to have overthrown the Ch'in dynasty in that month, the date of New
Year's day should not be changed from the date set by the Ch'in dynasty. Thus
the conquest of Ch'in was commemorated by continuing New Year's day on the date
of his conquest. In the same chapter we read, "It was ordered that all the
kings and marquises should always appear at court and make presentations in the
tenth month." The same statement appears in SC chap. 99
and HS chap. 43. Hence the early Han tenth month was the
same as the Ch'in tenth month. An interesting confirmation is found in the
HHS, chap. 14, where it says that on the first day of
each month and at the beginning of the year a great court was held at which
presents and congratulations were received (from the nobles); the officials
(however) congratulated (with presents) in the first month. In chap. 16 of the
HHS it says "The reason that of all the first days of
the months, only on the first day of the tenth month did they follow the former
custom, was because in that month Kao-tsu subjugated the Ch'in dynasty and
began the first year of his reign."
p. In the SC and the
HS (before 104 B.C.) the intercalary month is always
called the "later ninth month" 後九月. (Since twelve lunations do not make quite a
solar year, every two or three years an extra, intercalary month was added).
After the calendrical reform in 104 B.C., the intercalary month was inserted at
various times of the year to keep the seasons occurring in the proper months.
The only adequate reason for the intercalary month always previously coming
after the ninth month is that thus it was put at the
end of the year.
II. The foregoing passages amply prove that in
Ch'in and early Han times the year began with what was later called the "tenth"
month. But did the historians change the names of the months, as Yen Shih-ku
said they did? We have already had evidence that such was not the case:
passages j, k, l, and o
quote imperial edicts which fix the months in the same
seasons as those they later occurred in. The cyclical characters in passages e,m,
and n enable us to check the dates; for, with a sixty day cycle, the same
characters would not reappear in a month that came three months later. There is
also the evidence furnished by the following passages:
q. In HS 6:31b we read, "In
the fifth month, in the summer, [in the first year of the (period) T'ai-ch'u
(104 B.C.)], the calendar was corrected, making the first 正 month begin the
year." If the months had previously been numbered from the beginning of the
official year, the record should have been different, something like the
following: The calendar was corrected, making the fourth month
the first month. The wording of the HS shows that
previously the "first" month did not begin the year.
r. The great scholar Chia Yi, who lived 200-168
B.C. (before the calendrical reform) wrote a poem which is reproduced in his
biography in the SC chap. 84 and HS chap. 48.
In that poem the word for summer occurs in the
rime, so that the historian could not have changed it, and it is coupled with
the cyclical characters for the day: "In the year Shan-o 單閼 in
the fourth month,
in the first month of summer, on the day keng-tzu,
when the sun was setting, an
owl perched in my house." The naming of the year as the fourth in the twelve
year cycle enables us to identify it as 174 B.C. If the months were numbered
beginning with the astronomical twelfth month (in which New Year's day then
occurred), the fourth month would have been the first month of spring, not
summer. The cyclical character also enables us to identify the month, for we
know the cyclical character for the day of the calendrical reform, 19 years
later, and a simple calculation (cf. Chinese Social and Political Science
Review, vol. 18, p. 166) enables us to determine the characters for the days of
each month in the year the poem refers to. The day keng-tzu could not have come
in the fourth month after New Year's day of that year; but it could have come
in the seventh month after New Year's day, which Chia Yi called the "fourth"
month. Then the "fourth" month occurred in summer and contemporary writers
numbered the month in which New Year's day came as the "tenth" month.
s. Liu An, King of Huai-nan, committed suicide in
123-2 B.C., before the reform of the calendar. In his chapter on astronomy he
writes (I confess that I do not altogether understand the passage), "The cycle
of the universe begins with the first month 正月 which is the third astronomical
month 建寅 when the sun and moon have both entered five degrees into the
[constellation] Ying-shih [ α, β Pegasus]." Here he says plainly that the "first"
month is the third astronomical month, not the twelfth astronomical month, with
which the Ch'in and early Han dynasty began the year.
t. In the same book he tells that Mercury appears
near the constellations Andromeda and Aries at the spring equinox in the second
month, near Gemini and Cancer at the summer solstice in the fifth month, near
Virgo at the autumn equinox in the eighth month, and near Sagitarious and
Capricornus at the winter solstice in the eleventh month. Elsewhere in the book
he gives the positions of the sun among the constellations for the twelve
months of the year. Allowing for the precession of the equinoxes, those
positions are the same as for the months called by I the same names in Ch'ing
times, altho the book was written before the calendar reform.
u. A stone inscription known as 漢趙璲羣臣上醻刻石 found on a hill
near Han-tan, has inscribed on it the date ping-yin in the eighth month of the
twenty-second year of the kingdom of Chao (B.C. 158). This is a contemporary
record made before the correction of the calendar. If the months had been
counted beginning with New Year's day, the eighth month could not have
contained a ping-yin day at all.
There is thus ample proof that the Ch'in and early
Han dynasties used a curious calendar in which New Year's day and the official
celebrations connected therewith came in what they called the "tenth" month,
and that the reform in 104 B.C. did not change the names of the months, but
merely shifted the date for New Year's day, altho a court celebration was
continued to be held on the first days of the tenth month, because that date
commemorated the founding of the dynasty. Hence the SC
and the HS use the same names for the months as those
used in Ch'in and Han times, which were the same as those in use in the time
their authors wrote.
The foregoing evidence has been mostly collected by
Wang Yin-chih (1766-1834; Giles no. 2252); his famous reply to Yen Shih-ku is
transcribed in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's Ch'ien-Han-shu Pu-chu, chap. 1, pt. A, pp.
23-26. Wang Hsien-ch'ien himself added material; further significant material
is found in a paper by Chen Chin-sien, "The Anomalous Calendars of the Ch'in
and Han Dynasties" in the Chinese Social and Political Science Review for July
1934, vol. 18, p. 157 ff.
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