Treffer: Translating Six Dynasties astronomy in Python and a city-centred framework for knowledge systems

In 2023, I launched a long-term project to translate all astronomical procedure texts (历法) from the Wei-Jin-Nanbei chao (魏晋南北朝) period into both English and Python code, gradually constructing executable, verifiable, and modifiable 'living translations'. By converting the original narrative descriptions of these texts into explicit computational steps, I have been able to systematically compare their choices of astronomical constants, the internal structure of constant systems, parallel relationships between different texts and procedures, and the relative computational workload and complexity of each calendar system.In my 2021 research, I argued that the history of astronomy during the Wei-Jin-Nanbei chao period can no longer be narrated using dynastic succession as the basic unit. With multiple regimes occupying different cities, the exchange among astronomers exhibited strong regional characteristics, and the transmission and accumulation of knowledge often followed city-lineage networks rather than 'dynastic lines'.In this presentation, I attempt to combine these two research threads to propose a new analytical framework. Mathematical processing of the procedure texts reveals that when we shift the method of comparing astronomical constants from decimal values to fractional equivalence, the borrowing relationships that were 'masked' by traditional constant systems composed of integer resonance periods become clearly visible. The isomorphism of these constant systems often corresponds closely to specific cities, political environments, and scholarly lineages. Analysis of the procedure texts reveals another transmission trajectory: their modular compositional features (similar to what Assyriologists call 'System A' and 'System B' in cuneiform astronomy) repeatedly appear across different texts, independent of differences in constant systems.Through the digital and computational reconstruction of texts and procedures, we can simultaneously track the evolution of both \textbf{constant systems} and \textbf{procedure systems}, thereby reorganising the mathematical literature of this period along 'city-region-lineage' lines rather than by 'dynasty'. This digital humanities approach provides a more explanatory framework for the overall structure of astronomical traditions in the Wei-Jin-Nanbei chao period.
2023 年，我启动了一个长期计划：将魏晋南北朝时期的全部历法以英文与 Python 代码的双重形式重新表述，逐步构建可执行、可检验、可修改的"活体翻译"（living translations）。通过把历法文本的原始叙述转换为明确的计算步骤，我得以系统比较其天文常数的选择、常数体系的内部结构、不同文本与术式之间的平行关系，以及各套历法在具体计算上的相对工作量与复杂度。在此之前，我在 2021 年的研究中提出：魏晋南北朝时期的天文学史不能再以朝代更替为基本单位来叙述。由于多个政权分据不同城市，天文学家的交流呈现强烈的地域性特征，知识的传递与累积往往沿着城市—传承的网络而非"王朝线"展开。在本次报告中，我尝试把上述两条研究线索结合起来，提出一个新的分析框架。对历法文本进行数学化处理显示：当我们将天文常数的比较方式从十进制转为分数等价形式时，传统以一组整数谐振搭配构成的常数体系所"掩蔽"的借用关系便清晰显现出来。这些常数体系的同构性往往与特定的城市、政治环境与学术传承密切对应。对历法术文的分析则揭示出另一种传播轨迹：其模块化组合特征（类似楔形文字天文学中所谓的 "系统 A" 与 "系统 B"）在不同文本间反复出现，但不以常数体系的差异为转移。通过对文本与程序的电子化、计算化重构，我们可以同时追踪常数体系与程序体系的演变，从而以"城市—区域—传承线"而非"朝代"来重新组织这一时期的历法文献。这样的数字人文方法，为魏晋南北朝天文传统的整体结构提供了一个更具解释力的框架。