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In which dynasty did the perpetual calendar begin?
If we want to trace the origin of the perpetual calendar, the story must start from the ancient Shang Dynasty ... A famous woodcutter named Wannian, one day he went up the mountain to cut wood and sat under a tree to rest. He stared at the shadows of the trees and thought about how to set the festival accurately. Unconsciously, after more than half an hour, he found that the shadow on the ground had moved quietly. I had a brainwave and thought about it for 10 thousand years. Why not use the length of the sun shadow to calculate the time? After returning to China, I designed a 10,000-year-old sundial instrument. However, when it rains, the sundial instrument loses its utility again.

One day, Wan Nian was drinking water by the spring and saw the water dripping rhythmically on the cliff. The regular drip inspired him. After returning to China, Wan Nian began to make a five-story leaky pot and timed it by leaking water. In this way, whether it is sunny or rainy, we can grasp the time correctly. With the tools of timing, Wannian observed the changes of weather and seasons more attentively. After a long induction, he found that the length of the weather will repeat every 360 days. As long as you understand the laws of the sun and the moon, you don't have to worry about the inaccuracy of solar terms. Ten thousand years ago, I went to see Zu Ti, the son of heaven, with my homemade sundial and leaky kettle, explaining that festivals were not allowed to have nothing to do with gods. Zu Ti thought that Wan Nian was very reasonable, so he left Wan Nian, built a sundial table and a leaky pot pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, and sent twelve boys for Wan Nian to send. From then on, you can concentrate on studying seasons for ten thousand years. After a while, Zu Ti sent Ah Heng to learn about the perpetual calendar. Wan nian took out his own preliminary results and said: sunrise and sunset are 360, and Tuesday [3] will start all over again. Vegetation is divided into four seasons, and there are twelve circles in a year.

After listening to this, Ah Heng felt uneasy. He was worried that making accurate calendars would be reused by the emperor, which directly threatened his position. So Ah Heng bought an assassin with a large sum of money and prepared to assassinate him for ten thousand years. I have no choice but to study the seasons of ten thousand years wholeheartedly and hardly leave the Sun Moon Pavilion where I live. The assassin had to take advantage of the dead of night to roll up an arrow and shoot it for ten thousand years. Only heard a whoosh, an arrow hit Wan Nian's arm and fell down in Wan Nian. The boys shouted at the assassin, and the guards caught the assassin in time and handed him over to the son of heaven. Zu Ti discovered that it was Aheng's trick, ordered Aheng to be taken into custody, and personally visited Riyuege for ten thousand years. Ten thousand years ago, I reported my latest research results to Zu Ti: Shen Xing caught hundreds of silkworms, the astrology recovered, the children had sex at night, the old year passed and spring began again. I hope the son of heaven will name a festival! Zu Ti said: Spring is the first year of a year. Let's call it Spring Festival. At that time, Zu Ti saw Wan Nian overworked day and night and was injured by an arrow. He couldn't bear it, so he was invited to the palace to recuperate. Wannian replied: "Thank you for your kindness, but the current solar calendar is still a grass calendar, which is not accurate enough. We should jump in at the end of the year. Otherwise, over time, it will cause disorder of festivals. In order to live up to expectations, I must stay and continue to set the solar calendar. " After dozens of winters and summers, the 10,000-year-old solar calendar has finally been completed. When he dedicated the solar calendar to Zu Ti, he was already a white-haired old man. Deeply moved, Zu Ti named the solar calendar as the perpetual calendar, and the perpetual calendar as the birthday star of the sun, the moon and the moon. This is the origin of the name perpetual calendar.

Second edition

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a young man named Wannian who saw that the festival at that time was very chaotic and wanted to make it accurate. One day, he went up the mountain to cut wood and sat in a tree.

perpetual calendar

Taking a rest in the shade of a tree, the movement of the shadow inspired him. He designed a sundial to measure a day. But it was raining and foggy at that time, which affected the measurement. Later, the dripping spring on the cliff aroused his interest, and he began to make a five-story clepsydra. As time went on, he found that the length of the weather would repeat every 360 days. At that time, the monarch was called Zu Ti, and the unpredictable weather made him very upset.

A minister named Aheng, in order to please the emperor, said that he would set up a rooftop to worship the gods. Zu Ti thought it was reasonable, so he led officials to make sacrifices to heaven, but to no avail. Knowing that ten thousand years later, I couldn't help but go to see the emperor with a sundial and a clepsydra and explain to Zu Ti why the sun and the moon run. Zu Ti was very happy after hearing this and felt reasonable. So I left for ten thousand years and built the Sun and Moon Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, as well as the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion. Send twelve boys to serve for ten thousand years. Zu Ti said to Wannian: "I hope you can accurately measure the laws of the sun and the moon, calculate the exact time in the morning and evening, and create a calendar for the benefit of the people all over the world." On one occasion, Zu Ti sent a message to Ah Heng asking about the progress of the perpetual calendar. Climb the altar of the sun and the moon and see the inscription on the stone wall next to the Temple of Heaven: sunrise 360, sunset 360, start all over again. Vegetation is divided into four seasons, and there are twelve circles in a year. When Ah Heng saw this, he knew that the study of perpetual calendar was successful, and his heart was uneasy. He was extremely afraid that the monarch would blame himself for putting forward the idea of offering sacrifices to the gods, because he was favored by calendars created for thousands of years. So he plotted and sent an assassin to get rid of Wan Nian. The assassin climbed up the Sun Moon Pavilion and saw Wannian watching the stars on the pavilion, so he drew an arrow with his bow and prepared to shoot him. Who knows, the assassin was found by the guards and arrested on the spot. When Zu Ti learned of this, he punished Ah Heng and personally went to Riyuege to visit Wan Nian. Wan Nian pointed to the astronomical phenomena and said to Zu Ti, "It's been twelve months now, the old year has passed and the new year has begun again. Please make a festival for you. " Zu Ti said, "Spring is the beginning of a year, so it is called the Spring Festival." Winter goes and spring comes, year after year. Later, after long-term observation and careful calculation, it took 10 thousand years to calculate the accurate solar calendar. When he showed his successor the solar calendar, he was covered with silver whiskers. The monarch was deeply moved. In order to commemorate the achievements of 10 thousand years, he named the solar calendar "perpetual calendar" and named it the birthday star of the sun, moon and moon. In the future, people will hang up the Shou Xingtu during the Chinese New Year, which is said to commemorate the venerable ten thousand years.