Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia's Interregnum Decades, 1911-1931

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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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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia's Interregnum Decades, 1911-1931

Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia's Interregnum Decades, 1911-1931

Christopher P. Atwood

Books

Available
Publication year: 2002


Series:	Brill's Inner Asian Library, 6
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 12607 7
ISBN-10:	90 04 12607 4

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	I: xxii, 516 pp.; II: vi, 666 pp. 16 illus.

List price:	€ 212.00 / US$ 314.00

Reviews

'We are now fortunate to have Christopher Atwood's magisterial account of the history of the IMPRP, from its birth in 1925, including its background and aftermath, based on the rich archival materials in Mongolia, most of which have been made accessible for the first time after the democratisation of Mongolia in 1990, and cross-checking materials published in China and Russia.'
Uradyn E. Bulag, The Journal of Asian Studies, 2005.

Readership

Those interested in the political and social history of Mongolia.

About the author(s)

Christopher P. Atwood currently teaches Mongolian studies at Indiana University’s Central Eurasian Studies Department. A graduate of Indiana University, he has traveled widely in Inner Mongolia and independent Mongolia and published numerous articles on Inner Mongolia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia’s Interregnum Decades, 1911-1931, a vivid narrative of the underground world of pan-Mongolist agitation in China, the author shows how the paradoxical legacy of China’s New Policies reforms left ethnically-based nationalism as the only common denominator for political action.
In the turbulent years of China’s warlord republic, educated Mongol nationalists and rural vigilantes sought to unify Inner Mongolia with the independent state in Mongolia proper. Brought together by the Soviet embassy, the nationalists fought for an autonomous Inner Mongolia until their final doomed uprisings of 1928.
Based on previously closed Mongolian archives, Young Mongols and Vigilantes is a path-breaking contribution to the history of Soviet involvement in Inner Mongolia, Chinese Communist nationality policy, and the social history of multi-ethnic Inner Mongolia.

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