This article examines the transmission and influence of Tang-period foreign astrology in China through two representative texts: the Futian Calendar (Futian li 符天历) and the Yusi Scripture (Yusi jing 聿斯经). The Tang and Song official and private bibliographies, which record numerous works belonging to the Futian system and the Yusi system, indicate that, after the Futian Calendar and the Yusi Scripture were introduced into China in the Jianzhong and Zhenyuan eras, respectively, they were widely disseminated through the practices and manipulations of folk diviners. An analysis of the surviving scattered records that reflect the contents of these two texts suggests that the Futian Calendar and the Yusi Scripture represent two sides of the same coin in the foreign astrology introduced to China: the Futian Calendar supplied the mathematical methods for calculating planetary positions for the fortune-telling aspect of astrology, which is mathematically demanding, while the Yusi Scripture provided the rules for astrological calculations, predicting an individual’s fate based on the configuration of celestial bodies in the ecliptic at the time of the person’s birth as determined by the Futian Calendar. The Yusi Scripture likely underwent multiple translations, reintroductions, and localizations, transforming the practice from predicting fate based on the seven luminaries to doing so with the eleven luminaries. The Tang-period foreign astrology represented by the Futian Calendar and the Yusi Scripture exerted a profound influence on China’s indigenous astronomy and even its indigenous culture. This influence not only functioned at the broad social and cultural levels but also permeated from the civilian to the official sphere, eventually becoming an integral part of traditional Chinese culture. The study highlights how knowledge exchange and transmission drive civilizational development, and argues that necessary encounters and fusion between local culture and foreign knowledge constitute a healthy condition for preserving cultural independence and diversity.
NIU Weixing (Wed,) studied this question.