Guo Shoujing, Wang Xun, Xu Heng, and their collaborators compiled the Shoushi calendar using observations gathered across an unusually broad network of sites.
Accumulated errors in inherited calendars led to inaccurate celestial predictions; ordered a nationwide astronomical survey to formulate a definitive imperial calendar.
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Epochal Overview
Astronomer invented 13 advanced instruments, deployed 27 observation stations from Siberia to the South China Sea, and promulgated the Shoushi Calendar, calculating the solar year to 365.2425 days.
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Civilizational Impact
The Shoushi Calendar served for 363 years—the longest in Chinese history—and matched the accuracy of the Gregorian calendar three centuries before Europe.
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Key Figures
directed technical innovation alongside mathematicians Wang Xun and Xu Heng, completing calculations within four years.
