Gan de - Books

Books

As the earliest attempt to document the sky during the Warring States Period, Gan De's work possesses high scientific value. He wrote two books, the Treatise on Jupiter and the 8-volumes Treatise on Astronomical Astrology, both of which have been lost. Gan De also wrote the Astronomic star observation (天文星占, Tianwen xingzhan).

It can be seen on the quotations under Shiji (volume 27) and Hanshu (volume 26), but was preserved mostly in the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era.

In 1973, a similar catalogue by him and Shi Shen was uncovered in Mawangdui. It was arranged under the name of Divination of Five Planets. It records the motion of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and other planets in their orbits between 246 BC and 177 BC.

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