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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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T'oung Pao

International Journal of Chinese Studies

Edited by P.-E. Will (Collège de France, Paris, France), Martin Kern (Princeton University), Paul W. Kroll (University of Colorado)

Journals


ISSN:	0082-5433
E-ISSN:	1568-5322

Current:	Volume 95 (2009)
Number of Issues:	2
List price Individuals:	€ 91.00 / US$ 134.00
List price Institutions:	€ 254.00 / US$ 373.00
List price institutions online only:	€ 229.00 / US$ 336.00

Editorial Board

Jan DE MEYER, Leiden University Jean-Pierre DIENY, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris Helen DUNSTAN, Chinese Studies, University of Sydney Wilt IDEMA, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University Martin KERN, East Asian Studies, Princeton University Paul W. KROLL, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Colorado Angela K. LEUNG (Liang Qizi), Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica André LEVY, Section de Chinois, Université de Bordeaux III Michèle PIRAZZOLI-T’SERSTEVENS, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris

Abstracting & Indexing

America: History & Life American Humanities Index Arts & Humanities Citation Index Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals Bibliography of Asian Studies Current Contents Dietrich's Index Philosophicus Historical Abstracts (Part A & B) Index Islamicus International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scolarly Literature Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur aus allen Gebieten des Wissens / International Bibliography of Periodicals from all Fields of Knowledge Linguistic Bibliography Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts M L A International Bibliography of Books & Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures Periodicals Contents Index Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale Research Alert (Philadelphia) Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies

Instructions for Author(s)

Back Volumes

T'oung Pao, Volume 93 (2007)

T'oung Pao, Volume 94 (2008)

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T'oung Pao hardly needs an introduction; over 100 years of publication have made it into the leading journal on all aspects of traditional China. In the course of its existence, T'oung Pao has featured a long range of formative contributions to Sinology by almost all major scholars in this extensive field of ever-increasing importance. Peer-reviewed, under the guidance of its Leiden and Paris main editors, T'oung Pao offers you the opportunity to remain ahead of new and existing scholarship on the fascinating world of China. T'oung Pao features an extensive book review section. For back volumes or issues older than 2 years, please contact Periodicals Service Company, 11 Main Street, Germantown, NY 12526, USA psc@periodicals.com / www.periodicals.com/brill.html

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Extra

From 1 January 2010 Martin Kern Princeton University) and Paul W. Kroll (University of Colorado) will be joining Pierre-Étienne Will (Collège de France) as editors of T’oung Pao. Download this information and the Call for Papers here.