Classical Chinese astronomy is recorded in the Han period and appears in the form of three schools, which are attributed to astronomers of the Zhanguo period.

In 1258, when both North China and the Islamic world were part of the Mongol Empire, Hulagu Khan established an observatory in Maragheh for the astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi at which a few Chinese astronomers were present, resulting in the Chinese-Uighur calendar that al-Tusi describes in his Zij-i Ilkhani.

The model of an egg was often used by Chinese astronomers like Zhang Heng ( 78-139 AD ) to describe the heavens as spherical:

This analogy with a curved egg led some modern historians, notably Joseph Needham, to conjecture that Chinese astronomers were, after all, aware of the Earth's sphericity.

Chinese astronomers, many of them brilliant men by any standards, continued to think in flat-earth terms until the seventeenth century ; this surprising fact might be the starting-point for a re-examination of the apparent facility with which the idea of a spherical earth found acceptance in fifth-century B. C.

As noted in the book Huai Nan Zu, in the 2nd Century BC Chinese astronomers effectively inverted Eratosthenes ' calculation of the curvature of the Earth to calculate the height of the sun above the earth.

The first planetarium was invented by the ancient Chinese, and the official astronomers were paid to keep track of the solar, lunar, and planetary motions.

The supernova that created the Crab Nebula, the SN 1054, was observed by Arabic and Chinese astronomers in 1054.

In spite of the apparent immutability of the heavens, Chinese astronomers were aware that new stars could appear.

The brightest stellar event in recorded history was the SN 1006 supernova, which was observed in 1006 and written about by the Egyptian astronomer Ali ibn Ridwan and several Chinese astronomers.

The SN 1054 supernova, which gave birth to the Crab Nebula, was also observed by Chinese and Islamic astronomers.

By 28 BC, Chinese astronomers were regularly recording sunspot observations in official imperial records.

Star catalogues are traditionally attributed to Shi Shen and Gan De, two rather obscure Chinese astronomers who may have been active in the 4th century BC of the Warring States Period ( 403-221 BC ).

* 1077: Chinese official Su Song is sent on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Dynasty and discovers that the Khitan calendar is more mathematically accurate than the Song calendar ; Emperor Zhezong later sponsors Su Song's astronomical clock tower in order to compete with Liao astronomers.

* The Chinese astronomer Gan De divides the celestial sphere into 365¼ degrees, and the tropical year into 365¼ days at a time when most astronomers used the Babylon division of the celestial sphere as 360 degrees ( Deng, Yinke.

* Chinese astronomers observe the guest star SN 393.

* A supernova now known as SN 185 is noted by Chinese astronomers in the Astrological Annals of the Houhanshu, making it the earliest recorded supernova.

* Chinese astronomers observe a supernova in the Crab Nebula

* Chinese and Japanese astronomers observe what has since come to be understood as a supernova.

* March 4 – Chinese astronomers observe a total eclipse of the Sun in China.

Han Chinese astronomers made star catalogues and detailed records of comets that appeared in the night sky, including recording the 12 BCE appearance of the comet now known as Halley's comet.

Despite the difficulties of observing the sun directly, they noted the existence of sunspots, the first confirmed instance of their observation ( though unclear statements in East Asian annals suggest that Chinese astronomers may have discovered them with the naked eye previously, and Fabricius may have noticed them himself without a telescope a few years before ).

The apparition of 12 BCE was recorded in the Book of Han by Chinese astronomers of the Han Dynasty who tracked it from August through October.

* 2nd millennium BC – Chinese astronomers record a solar eclipse

A few weeks ago, I read in the Bulletin that there were to be given Chinese classes in Cranston.

I never found it among any of the Chinese with whom I spoke, though granted they were, almost all, members of the official family who, presumably, harbor official thoughts.

The Peiping Chinese were the only major silver seller in the world markets who stopped selling the metal on Monday morning, November 27, anticipating by two days the announcement of the U.S. Treasury that the pegged offering price will be removed.

Chinese and Indian merchants across the street were slamming their steel shutters.

My father went as a missionary to China in a generation that responded to Student Volunteer Movement speakers who held watches in their hands and announced to the students in their audiences how many Chinese souls were going to hell each second because these students were not over there saving them.

But in the Chinese mind, there was little difference between the two -- the bonzes were no more metaphysical than a magician has to be.

Even though this period-known in its earlier part as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period-in its latter part was fraught with chaos and bloody battles, it is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy because a broad range of thoughts and ideas were developed and discussed freely.

The Physiocrats were partially influenced by Chinese agrarianism ; leading physiocrats like François Quesnay were avid Confucianists that advocated China's agrarian policies.

Restaurants ( along with Chinese laundries ) provided an ethnic niche for small businesses at a time when the Chinese people were excluded from most jobs in the wage economy by ethnic discrimination or lack of language fluency.

In New York's Chinatown, the restaurants were known for having a " phantom " menu with food preferred by ethnic Chinese, but believed to be disliked by non-Chinese Americans.

The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty ( 1046 – 256 BC ) and flourished during the Han Dynasty ( 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD ), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.

In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor, tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood ( a scented heartwood and root wood of a thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora ), dragon's blood, rattan, edible bird's nests and various spices were among the most valuable items from Borneo.

A more general binomial theorem and the so-called " Pascal's triangle " were known in the 10th-century A. D. to Indian mathematician Halayudha and Persian mathematician Al-Karaji, in the 11th century to Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam, and in the 13th century to Chinese mathematician Yang Hui, who all derived similar results .< ref > Al-Karaji also provided a mathematical proof of both the binomial theorem and Pascal's triangle, using mathematical induction.

" However, Costas ' comments were made subsequent to the suspension of Chinese coach Zhou Ming after seven of his swimmers were caught using steroids in 1994.

Including these failed drug tests, 27 Chinese swimmers were caught using performance enhancing drugs from 1990 through 1997 ; more than the rest of the world combined.

The population of the Banda Islands prior to Dutch conquest is generally estimated to have been around 13, 000-15, 000 people, some of whom were Malay and Javanese traders, as well as Chinese and Arabs.

In addition, the Chinese Communists were able to fill the political vacuum left in Manchuria after Soviet forces withdrew from the area and thus gained China's prime industrial base.

The Chinese Communists were able to fight their way from the north and northeast, and virtually all of mainland China was taken by the end of 1949.