Ming Qing yuegui xinggui jiegou kao.

On the base of collecting the records of almost all the documents and the cultural relic about moon-dial and star-dial, and also the base of using the works of our predecessors for reference, this article studies and analyzes the structure and usage of moon-dial and star-dial of Ming and Qing Dynasties. The main clue is to sort out their structures, and the secondary clue is to reproduce their models and observe with the models. The article also analyzes how the scales are divided, where the original points are and which directions they tend to. Moon-dial can be divided into two types: the early type and the late type. Star-dial can also be divided into two types: the type of the fixed under-dial and the type of the both dials moving. The ways of the operation of the four types are different. When we observe the models, we find that moon-dial have comparatively more errors but star-dial less. Furthermore, we find that some scales of the stone sun-moon-dial standing front of the Yangxing Palace in the Forbidden City are not right. Finally, the article puts forward the suggestions of reproducing moon-dial and star-dial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]