Gilded Silver Armillary Sphere

Among Chinese emperors of all dynasties, Kangxi was remembered for his commitment to systematically studying Western knowledge of various disciplines such as astronomy, geography, mathematics, and medicine. He also led and promoted many large-scale scientific activities, making great contributions to the Sino-European exchange in science, technology, and culture.

The gilded silver armillary sphere was a teaching instrument used by Emperor Kangxi to study astronomy, indicating that Qing-dynasty nobles began to accept and absorb exotic cultures.

The instrument on a red sandalwood base consists of three sets of rings, one inside another. Those on the outside are the horizontal, meridian, and celestial equator rings.

The inscriptions on the rings indicate that it was made by Ferdinand Verbiest in 1669, the eighth year of the Kangxi reign. A missionary from Belgium, Verbiest served the Qing royal court for 28 years, taking responsibility for work like astronomical observation, calendar formulation, weapon improvement, and machine design. He also acted as a science teacher for Emperor Kangxi.

The innermost ring set of the armillary sphere stands for the earth, which carries the names of continents such as Asia, Europe, and Americas. The instrument can imitate solar and lunar eclipses and show a scene of the sun and moon revolving around the earth, indicating that it is an astronomical instrument based on geocentrism.

Back then, the Kangxi reign had just witnessed a debate between old and new calendars. The emergence of the instrument played a positive role in re-application of the Western calendar and improvements of astrological instruments in China.

銀鍍金渾天儀

在中國歷代帝王中，康熙是系統(tǒng)認(rèn)真學(xué)習(xí)過西方天文、地理、數(shù)學(xué)、醫(yī)藥等各種學(xué)科的帝王，而且還主持推動了多項大規(guī)模的科學(xué)活動，對中西科技文化交流做出了巨大貢獻(xiàn)。

銀鍍金渾天儀是康熙皇帝學(xué)習(xí)天文知識時所用的教具，象征著清代貴族階層對外來文化的接納與融合。儀器被放置在紫檀木底座中，有三層銀鍍金圈環(huán)，外層是地平圈、子午圈、赤道圈，圈上刻字顯示康熙八年（1669）南懷仁制作。南懷仁是比利時人，曾為清代宮廷服務(wù)28年，負(fù)責(zé)天文觀測、制定歷法、改良武器、設(shè)計機(jī)械等工作，還擔(dān)任過康熙皇帝的科學(xué)教師。

銀鍍金渾天儀最中間為地球，地球上還標(biāo)注了亞洲、歐洲、美洲等大洲當(dāng)時的名稱。儀器可以演示日食與月食現(xiàn)象，表現(xiàn)太陽、月亮圍繞地球轉(zhuǎn)動的情景，說明這是一件以地心說為基礎(chǔ)的天文演示儀器。對于剛剛結(jié)束新舊歷法之爭的康熙朝，其在再度應(yīng)用西洋歷法、改進(jìn)中國測天儀器等方面，都起了積極的作用。