Abstract
The importance of early Korean records of supernovae, comets, meteors and aurorae in modern astronomy is well-known. However, the most extensive Korean source of such data, the Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Daily records of the Office of Royal Secretariat), has received relatively little attention among historians of astronomy. Written in Chinese (Hanmun), the Seungjeongwon Ilgi is a day-to-day chronicle of important events. The main emphasis is on matters of court and state, but observations of a wide variety of astronomical phenomena are regularly included. Although maintenance of the chronicle began early in the Joseon Dynasty (AD 1392–1910), due to wars and rebellions only the records from AD 1623 to 1894 now survive. Nevertheless, the remaining text is substantial, containing more than 3,000 chapters. In this paper, the general format of the astronomical records in the Seungjeongwon Ilgi is discussed, together with examples of the various types of celestial observations which this huge compilation contains.
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Notes
- 1.
For this purpose, the night from dusk to dawn was divided into five equal watches.
- 2.
During this 2.5-year period, in some months the Seungjeong-won Ilgi records as many as 10 of these occurrences. Each separate record cites the night watch during which the event was observed and also the relevant octant or quadrant of the sky.
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Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the valuable opportunities provided by the award of a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship.
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Stephenson, F.R. (2011). The Seungjeongwon Ilgi as a Major Source of Korean Astronomical Records. In: Orchiston, W., Nakamura, T., Strom, R. (eds) Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8161-5_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8161-5_12
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