ANCIENT CHINESE OBSERVATIONS OF SOLAR HALOES AND PARHELIA By Ho PING-YU (University of Malaya) and JOSEPH NEEDHAM, F.R.S. (University of Cambridge) from Gonville 8 Caiws College, Cambridge

HE first European description of a complex display of haloes and mock T s u n s * was that of Christopher Scheiner in +1630, who saw one at the rather southerly latitude of Rome ; the next was that of Hevelius a t Danzig in + 1661, but the most elaborate and complicated effect ever seen was probably that described by Tobias Lowitz at St. Petersburg in f1794. In antiquity Aristotle had had somethingto say about solar haloes, mock suns and ' rods ' (presumably columns), but his description was rather jejune, and he was more interested in trying to explain the causation of the common rainbow.? It is less generally known that in China astrologically minded star-clerks devoted meticulous observation to halo phenomena for many centuries. So impressive they found them that an emperor himself did not disdain to write an illustrated book which dealt, inter alia, with such phenomena. This is the Thien Ywan Yii Li Hsiang I Fu3' $ (Essay on Astronomical and Meteorological Presages), by Chu Kao- Chih,33 who reigned (for one year only) as Jen TsungM in.+I425. This book was never printed, but a manuscript copy, with coloured illustrations, is preserved in the Cambridge University Library. Two of its pictures are reproduced here (Figs. I and 2).

The section on the ' Ten Haloes ' (shih yii12)3' in one of the astronomical chapters of the Chin Shw35 (Official History of the Chin Dynasty), completed about $635, contains some twenty-six technical terms which can be identified with almost every component of the solar halo system. Complete haloes were known as yiin' and the multiple suns (shw jib)' were strung along the mi3 (' complete ' or parhelic circle). Partial lateral arcs of the 46" halo were termed erh4 (lit. ' ear-rings I ) , those of the 2 2 O halo pa05 (lit. ' embracements I ) , and of Hall's halo chiieh' (lit. ' thumb-rings '). Partial upper arcs of the 46" halo were hsii' (' arrays '), of the zzo halo kuad (' bonnets ') ; while the jih tai9 ('sun crown') can clearly be identified as Parry's arc. Even the triangular effects known as oblique Lowitz arcs were described as W0 (' supporting brackets '). Lower tangent arcs of the 22' halo were called ying" (the ' tas- sels '), and the infra-lateral tangent arcs of the 46" halo had the very appropriate name of chi'' (' leaning lances '). Further identifications will be found tabu- lated below, page 129, and may be compared with charts of the whole parhelic system (Figs. 3 and 4). A translation of the relevant section of the Chin Shut now follows :

* The modern literature may be approached through the recent elaborate publication A classical presentation is that of Pernter & Exner.

t Meteorologica, 111, ii (371 b 18ff). 3 Superscripts refer to the list of Chinese characters on p. 134. § Ch. 12, pp. 8a to gb.

of Liljequist.

'THE TEN HALOES

' According to the Chou Li36* (Institutions of the Chou Dynasty), the Shih Chin Shih (one of the official prognosticators) took charge of the shih yiin (Ten Haloes) method for the identification of signs auspicious or ominous by observing phenomena in the heavens.

' (I) chid3 (invasive haloes), arising from the relative preponderance and mutual interfusion of the different coloured vapours of the Yin and Yang (in Nature). Some say that the pao5 (embracements), the erh4 (ear-rings), the peiZ3 (oppositions) and the chiieh6 (thumb-rings) ,t all of them being incomplete (lit. short) rainbow-like arcs, belong to this category.

' ( 2 ) hsiangx4 (images), cloudy vapours in the form of a red bird in flight carrying the sun with it, etc.

' (3) hsi15 (or hGi) (metal ornaments), vapours near the sun which pierce it, and take the form of metal ornaments such as are worn by children.

' (4) chienx6 (overshadowings), cloudy vapours which closely cover the sun from above.

' (5) anx7 (eclipses), eclipses of the sun and moon, also known as veilings. ' (6) mingx8 (obscurities), as when (the day) is darkened and (the light)

obscured. ' (7) mi3 (completions), as when a white " rainbow " on which the sun is

threaded surrounds the whole sky. ' (8) hsii7 (ordered arrays),$ vapours appearing above the sun in the shape

of a mountain. Some include (under this head) Kuan8 (bonnets), erh4 (ear- rings), $ei23 (oppositions) and chiieh6 (thumb-rings) piled up in order by the side of the sun.

' (9) ch29 (rainbows), a form of vaporous haloes (yiin') which some call " rainbows "-as the Shih Ching4* (Book of Odes) has it " When ' rainbows ' in the west at morn appear ".$

' (10) hsiangm (thought associations) ; vapours of the five colours taking certain forms are called hsiang. For instance blue-green signifies hunger, red warfare, white mourning, black anxiety, and yellow the ripening (of crops). Some say that the word hsiang means suggestion. (Thus one) can infer the meaning, auspicious or not (as the case may be), of a red cloud which has the form of a hunter.

' When drifting vapoyrs conceal the heavens and the sun and moon lose their colour, it is a sign of wind and rain. When gloom obscures the light of the sun or moon, when the sun is hidden by day and the stars concealed by night, with barricades of driving rain and cloud, then enemies will conspire against one another. A dull sun foretells insurrection among troops. It is also said that when multiple suns (shNjih') appear near each other as if joined in combat,

(The Ten Haloes were as follows :-)

* Ch. 6, p. 29b ; tr. E. Biot, 2, p. 84. t Especially archers' thumb-rings, but also semicircular symbolic jades. 1 The character used in the Chou Li here differs from that in Chi% Shu. g Ti Tung ode, Mao No. 5 1 ; tr. Karlgren, p. 33.

.125

soldiers will meet in great battles, and one may expect the capture of forts and cities below the spot where this occurs.

' An jih tui9 (sun crown) appears above the sun like a straight band with the centre protruding slightly upwards. The " crown " signifies virtue and will bring happiness to a country. Another account defines the " crown " as any appearance seen above the sun. (Thus) blue-green and red vapours are (called) PUG (embracements), w d small ones above the sun are known as k.uana (bon- nets). Short bands of blue- green and red (halo) vapours intersecting below the sun form the yilzg" (tassels). Circular blue-green and red (halo) vapours found either alone or in pairs a t the left and right sides beneath the sun form the ni.u21 (knots). A small arc of blue-green and red vapours like half a halo (yiin') above the sun forms the fit" (burden), a sign of joy and territorial expansion. Other descriptions mention the chi1" (lance), a long blue-green and red vapour band standing inclined at the side of the sun.

' The erh4 (ear-rings) appear a t the left and right sides of the sun in the form of small (lengths of) circular blue-green and red (halo) vapours. If yellow and white in colour they predict happiness. It is also said that for an army the presence of a single erh by the side of the sun will bring good luck. When it is seen west of the sun victory will go to the army in the west, and when it is seen east of the sun the army of the east will conquer. The same prognostication can be made when (the sign is observed) south or north of the sun. In time of peace it predicts the promotion of a general.

' Again, there are (haloes) in the form of semi-circles found by the side of and concave towards the sun ; these are known as the pa05 (embracements). A blue-green and red (halo) vapour shaped like the new moon but convex towards the sun constitutes a peiZ3 (opposition). Another authority describes the pe i as a blue-green and red (halo) vapour bent outwards facing (away from the sun). It is a symbol of rebellion and, if it divides, a prediction that a city or fortified place will turn against (its own governor).

' The chiieh' (thumb-ring) resembles a (semi-circular) girdle-pendant and surrounds the sun on all four sides (or may do so). Long blue-green and red (halo) vapours standing up beside the sun are known as the chih24 (straight columns). The presence of one " straight column " beside the sun indicates that the enemy's position is in that quarter, and victory will follow a planned attack in the direction which it indicates. The presence of two chih and three puo beside the sun predicts a failure of the defencC, and victory will smile on the army which launches its attack in the direction of the pao. The (defending) general will be killed in the action.

' (Halo) vapours appearing like triangles at the four sides of the sun form the thi" (supporting brackets). (Halo) vapours coloured blue-green and red above or below the sun form the Ko25 (pattern). The ch&ng26 (support) is a semi-circular halo ( y i i d ) appearing below the sun ; it signifies the support given to the emperor by his ministers. Another account mentions three-layered yellow (halo) vapours, similar to the puo, which may appear below the sun.

126

A " bonnet " brings good fortune to a country.

Fig.

By courtesy of the Cambridge University Library

Fig. z (right). Translation of the text : Chu Wen-Kung says, ' A yiin' appearing with two erh4 and penetrated by a " rainbow " (parhelic arc) presages the capture of a general '. The Sung Chih says, 'When a yun' appears with two erh4 and is penetrated by a " rainbow " (parhelic arc) (one may expect) the capture of two generals. Three erh4 would refer to the capture of three generals '

BY courtesy of the Cambridge University Library

I (left). Translation of the text: Chu W&n-Kung says, ' When a yun' appears together with four erh,4 four pei'3 and four chueh6 a conspiracy among the ministers is presaged. The gates should be closed and travelling is inadvisable.' The Khai Yuan Chan says, ' When a yiin' appears together with four erh,4 four pe i s and four chiieh6 expect a conspiracy among the ministers or some very urgent matter. The gates should be closed, travel should be cancelled and orders should be changed. The event also forecasts rain within three days, but it will soon disperse '

b b

2 ; 32

Fig. 3 Halo-Components (cylindrical azimnth projection)

Fig. 4. Halo-Components (zenithal projection)

128

KEY TO FIGS. 3 and 4

a, sun ; a' anthelion with fragments of anthelic arcs ; az, horizon ; b. parhelic circle ; c, parhelia (mock suns) ; c' goo paranthelia ; C" 120' paranthelia ; d, supra-solar column ; e, infra-solar column ; f, Hall's halo : g, 22O halo ; g', upper tangent arc of zzo halo : g", lower tangent arc of 22' halo ; h, 46O halo ; h' fragments of Hevelius' go" halo ; i, upper arcs of circumscribing oval halo ; j, lower arcs of circumscribing oval halo ; k, oblique arcs of LBwitz ; 1, Parry's arc ; m, extensions of g' enclosing zenith ; n upper tangent arc of 46' halo (circumzenitha: arc) ; p, infra-lateral tangent arcs of 46" h& (the supra-lateral counterparts are predicted by theory but have never been seen) ; z, zenith.

IDENTIFICATIONS

an'' chhlngz6 chhlng fu3? chi" chi'9 chienT6 chih*r vertical columns or pillars, unless it means flat lateral arcs of erh, pao and chueh

chin'3 this includes erh,, pao,S chueh6 and pei.33 chueh6 partial lateral arcs of 22' halo (9) and of Hall's halo ( f ) . erhr fuzz hsi's hsiangr4

hsiangZo coloured clouds ? hsu7

j i h tai9 Parry arc (1). j i h yun'a solar halo ko3s kuana Ziz8 lower tangent arc of 2 2 O halo (g") and lower arc of the 46" halo (h), forming an

enclosed space. mbngI8 dimness. ma3 parhelic circle (b). 7iizsZT

pa05 pei23

eclipses and veilings of the sun and moon. lower tangent arc of 22' halo (g").

more pronounced form of chhlng. long flat infra-lateral tangent arcs of the 46" halo (p). whole and complete halo (Hall's, 22' or 46"), see yQn.'

upper part of Hall's halo (f) or perhaps also of 22' halo (g).

type.

partial lateral arcs of 46" halo (h), perhaps also of circumscribing oval halo (i, j ) upper part of Hall's halo (f). vertical column or pillar (d, e)

upper tangent arc of 22' halo, plus upper parts of circumscribing oval halo, plus Parry arc, forming a bird-shaped appearance above the sun.

Parry arc (1) and/or upper parts of 22' and 46" haloes ih chhuang3O (solar pennant) long columns.

partial upper or lower arcs of the 22' halo (9) upper part of 22' halo (9) and of Hall's halo (f) .

infra-lateral tangent arcs of the 46" halo near their junction with it (p). partial lateral arcs of circumscribing ovalXalo (i, j ) and of 22' halo (g). upper part of circumscribing oval halo, forming with parts (g') of the tangent arc

Also corresponding lower parts, of the 22' halo, a short curve convex to the sun. much more rarely visible.

one pa05 and one peal3 near the sun. Perhaps also the upper tangent arc of the 46" halo (n).

pho tsou'9

shujih' parhelia (c, c). ' t h P vi?zg"

yun'

oblique Lowitz arcs (k) and adjacent parhelic circle (b). junction of lower tangent arc of 22' halo (g") with halo and oval circumscribing

halo (g, i , j). whole and complete halo (Hall's, 22" or 46O), and also halo due to diffraction.

These are the chhdng fuZ7 (glorious supports) ; they mean happiness for the emperor and presage territorial expansion. A blue-green and white (halo) vapour like a shoe below the sun is called the lZz8 (shoe).

‘Five pa05 layers beside the sun predict victory for the army which follows their direction. One pao and one pez (near) the sun is known as a pho tsouZ9 (annihilation). As pa05 favours movement in its direction and pei23 acts contrariwise, when two armies come into combat the one which moves in the direction of the pao and against that of the pei will win. Hence the name pho tsou.*9 When one pa05 and two erh4 are present together with another “ rainbow ” which pierces through the pao extending as far as the sun, an army launching an attack following the direction of the ‘‘ rainbow ” will be victorious, and one of the enemy generals will be slain. When one pao5 appears together with two erh4 and one chiieh,6 and two ‘ I rainbows” piercing the pao and reaching as far as the sun, again the army which follows the direction of the “ rainbows” will be victorious. With two pao near the sun and a chueh within the pao,* victory will attend the army which launches its attack follow- ing the direction of the pao. It is also said that this sign is a warning of the presence of rebellious elements within an army. When there is a double- layered pao, with two erh one on each side of the sun, and a white ‘‘ rainbow ” piercing through the pao, an army following the direction of the pao will win the day and capture two enemy generals. When three “ rainbows ” are seen, three enemy generals will be captured.

‘ When a paos appears gleaming yellow and white, the side facing the sun being red and that away from the sun blue-green, it predicts happiness for the emperor. The enemy will surrender as if their soldiers were exhausted, and offer terms of intermarriage, so that there will be no occasion for the army to fight. Blue-green and yellow colours bring happiness to commanders, red predicts strife between general and soldiers, white predicts mourning for generals, and black forecasts their death. In the presence of a double-layered pao5 and a pez,’3 an army which attacks following the direction of the pao5 will win the battle and occupy enemy territory. When (two) armies are (both) exhausted, and a chiieh6 and two erh are observed inside and outside a double- layeredpao,5t then the side which fights following the direction indicated by the pao5 will conquer, the vanquished army suffering defeat through dissension within its own camp.

‘ A yiin‘ (full halo) is a vapour which forms a complete circle around the sun, red inside and blue-green outside. When the sun has such a yiin halo, it symbolizes the tents of an army. This appearance encircles the sun with a ring of even thickness and indicates that the strengths of the two armies are equally matched. In time of peace it means that the emperor is losing his grip and that there will be many revolts among the people. The presence of all the five colours in the yiin‘ foretells happiness, but the absence of one or more of them means that there will be anxiety.

‘ Whenever two armies face one another, it is of great importance for the *t Important for the definition of the terms.

130

prognosticator to observe carefully both sun and moon, and to know the positions of the haloes and vapours, their distances, similarities, speeds, sizes, thicknesses and lengths, to identify whether they are pa05 or Pei'3 and to note their number, to observe whether they are broken or continuous, of long or short duration, close together or far apart, and whether bright or dull in appearance. Their relations and influences are as follows : nearness (to the sun) takes precedence over remoteness, high speed over low, great magnitude over small, thickness over thinness, greater length over shorter, pao over pei, larger number over smaller, presence over absence, continuity over discon- tinuity, longer duration over shorter, closeness over great separation, and brightness over dullness. A double-layered pei'3 will bring heavy defeat, while a double-layered p a d indicates an armistice with intermarriage between the two warring countries. The greater the number of $ao, the more such inter- marriages are to be expected. A pei'3 means disagreement among countries ; they will be divided among themselves and will go their separate ways. When a pei is inside (another appearance) it predicts that divisions will arise through internal causes, and when it is outside (another appearance) it predicts that divisions will originate from outside.'

Thus the most meticulous observation was combined with a corpus of archaic astrology. According to custom all kinds of presages were inferred from these phenomena. In another section of the same chapter* as many as twenty-eight observations of halo-parhelia phenomena dating from +24g to +420 are recorded, and connected in each case with certain occurrences which they were believed to have portended.

(a) ' In the seventh month of the 2nd year of the Hsien-Khang reign- period (+336) a white " rainbow '' (parhelic arc) penetrated the sun. After that time the government was controlled by the Empress-Mother Yii, who rose to power through her position as the (former) Empress. (In other words) the empire had come under the rule of a woman. This untoward state of affairs was correlated with repeated penetrations of the sun by white " rainbows " (parhelic arcs) during previous years.'

(a) ' On a chia-tzu day in the second month of the 1st year of the Yuan- Hsing reign-period (13 April +402) an j ih yiin'" (solar halo) appeared and a white " rainbow " (parhelic arc) penetrated the sun. . . . Soon afterwards Huan Hsiian attacked the capital and defeated the royalists. The following year he usurped the throne.'

In the seventh month of the 7th year of the I-Hsi reign-period ($411) five-layered " rainbows " (haloes) appeared in the east, presaging the abdication of the Emperor. Later Liu Yu took over the throne from the ruling dynasty of Chin.'

Such are the texts which show that by the early +7th century the official Chinese astronomers of the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy had not only observed nearly all the component parts of the solar halo and parhelia complex

We may take a few examples.

(c)

* Chin Shu, ch. 12, pp. 15a, tl

but had given them specific names. The question arises, how far back did this technical terminology go ?

Yu Chi-Tshail' (+516 to +603) was the son and the grandson of astronomers in the State service, in which he himself spent most of his life, serving successively the Liang, Northern Chou and Sui dynasties. His book, the Ling Thai Pi Y ~ a n 5 ~ (Secret Garden of the Observatory), an important compendium of astronomical knowledge, would date from about +580. I t is still extant, and in ch. 7, on the sun, it has a good deal to say about the Ten Haloes {shih yiin)3' and the vapours around the sun (j ih phang chhi).54

In -fact their nucleus must have been developing in the time of Aristotle. A description of the Shih Chin,3' one of the prognosticatory officials, is given in the Chou Li36 (Institutions of the Chou Dynasty) ,* a compendium of government structure compiled in the Chhin and Early Han but containing material from the Warring States period (-3rd and -4th centuries).

' The Shih Chin is concerned with the method of studying the Ten Haloes (shih yiin)3' in order to observe extraordinary phenomena (in the heavens). . . . At the beginning of the year he starts his observations, and at the end of the year he analyses them.'

In one of the chapters of the great history completed by Ssuma Chhien about -90, the Shih Chi@ (Historical Records), we can findt about half a dozen of the technical terms used in the Chin Shu.35 A very similar account also appears: in the Chhien Hun Shu39 (Official History of the Former Han Dynasty), while several observations of the halo-parhelia phenomena are recorded in the Hou Hun Shu4' (Official History of the Later Han Dynasty). For examples

(a) ' On a ping-yin day in the fourth month of the 7th year of the Chien-Wu reign-period of the Emperor Kuang-Wu (13 May +31), the sun appeared with a complete halo (yiin)' and a partial lateral arc ( ~ u o ) , ~ while a white " rainbow " (parhelic arc) penetrated the halo. This was observed 8 degrees from the lunar mansion Pi (Taurus).'

(b) ' On a chi-ssu day in the second month of the 4th year of the Kuang-Ho reign-period (9 March +181) a yellow vapour embraced the sun flanked by yellow white '' ear-rings " (erh).'4

(c) ' On a jen-chhen day in the second month of the 1st year of the Chhu- Phing reign-period of the Emperor Hsien (14 April +190) a white " rainbow " penetrated the sun.'

Occasional references to the halo-parhelia phenomena are also to be found in some of the ' apocryphal treatises ' on prognostication dating from the Han period (-Ist/+Ist century), e.g. the H o Thu Wei Chi Yao Kou~' (Apocryphal Treatise on the River Chart ; Investigation of the Full Circle of the Celestial

Already in the previous century most of it is to be found.

But many of the terms are much older even than this.

* Ch. 6, p. 29b (ch. 24, p. 30) tr. auct., adjuv. E. Biot, 2, p. 84. t Ch. 27, p. 29a, b, tr. Chavannes, 3 , p. 385. 1 Ch. 26, p. 19b. 5 Ch. 28. pp. I zb t o 13b.

Brightnesses).* Many examples of solar and especially lunar haloes are cited in the Ho Thu Wei Ti Lan Hsi44 (Apocryphal Treatise on the River Chart ; Leisure Studies of the Emperor),t while a large number of prognostications are given in the Lo S h ~ 4 ~ (Omen Book).f The Hsiao Wei Nei Chi Thd6 (Apocry- phal Treatise on the Filial Piety Classic ; Diagrams of the Inner Records)$ also mentions weather prediction from the halo arhelia phenomena, and almost the whole of the Hsiao Wei Tzhu Hsiung: fu47 (Apocryphal Treatise on the Filial Piety Classic ; Diagrams of Male and Female Influences) is devoted to prognostications from them."

It is rather interesting that the halo-parhelia observations were also systematically used by the Chinese in later times for weather forecasting. Lou Y~an-Shan4~ of the Sung Dynasty wrote in his Thien Chia Wu Hsing5O (The Farmer's Book of Five-Element Natural Philosophy) :

The saying goes, " If the ' ear-ring ' appears in the south there will be fair weather, if in the north there will be rain. If the sun grows two 'ear-rings' wind and rain will stop. If the ' ear-rings ' are long and hang right down to the earth then they are called jih chhuang3" (solar pennants) predicting a long period of fair weather ' I . . .'TI

Thus we may conclude that observations of solar haloes and parhelia with all their complicated appearances began in China in the Warring States period about the same time as the studies of the Peripatetic School in the West. But they were much more thoroughly recorded, and although embedded in a context of archaic astrology, constituted by the +7th century a body of knowledge unapproached until the Renaikance in the West a thousand years later. Only with the coming of modern science, of course, could the causative factors be traced to the presence of small ice-crystals suspended high in the atmosphere.

' Ear-rings (erh)' born from the sun govern rain and fair weather.

REFERENCES BIOT, E. (tr.) 1851 Le TEheou-Li on Rites des Tcheou, 3 vols. (Imp.

Nat. ,Paris), repr. Peiping 1930 CHAVANNES, E. (tr.) I 895-1905 Les MLmoires Historiques de Se-Ma Ts'ien.

(Leroux) Paris, repr. Shanghai n.d. Ho PING-YU (Ho PENG-YOKE) 1957 ' The Astronomical Chapters of the Chin Shu.'

Inaug. Diss. University of Malaya LEE, H. D. P. (tr.) 1952 Aristotle's Meteorologica. Loeb Classics Series,

LILJEQUIST, G. H. (Heinemann) London ' Halo-Phenomena and Ice-Crystals ', Norwegian -British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition Ig49-1952 Scientific Results. Vol. 11. Norsk Polarin-

1956

stituti, 0s10 PERNTER, J. M., and 1922 Meteorologische Optik (Braumiiller) Vienna and

EXNER, F. M. Leipzig

* Ku Wei Shu,43 ch. 33, pp. Ia, ff. t Ku Wei Shu.43 ch. 33, pp. 2b, ff. 3 Han Hsiieh Thang Tshung Shu ( I Shu Kha0),4~ p6n 16, pp. 2b. ff.. 6a. § Han Hsiieh Thang Tshung Shu ( I Shu Khao),@ pen 16, pp. Ib. ff., 5b. 11 Yi i Han Shan Fang Chi I Sku, ch. 58, pp. 58a, ff. This book opens with an account

We think that this must certainly mean parhelia with small white Cf. the text, p. 63a

of ' comets ' of the sun. tails such as are described by Liljequist, p. 63.

r[ Cit. in KO Chih Ching Yuan,s' ch. 2 , p. 5a.

LIST OF CHINESE CHARACTERS

The numbers refer to the superscripts in the text.

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