conjunction. This is discussed by Father Martin (MSS. of De Lisle);
also by M. Desvignolles (Mem. Acad. Berlin, vol. iii., p. 193), and by
M. Kirsch (ditto, vol. v., p. 19), who both found that Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, and Mercury were all between the eleventh and eighteenth
degrees of Pisces, all visible together in the evening on February
28th 2446 B.C., while on the same day the sun and moon were in
conjunction at 9 a.m., and that on March 1st the moon was in
conjunction with the other four planets. But this needs confirmation.

Yao, referred to above, gave instructions to his astronomers to
determine the positions of the solstices and equinoxes, and they
reported the names of the stars in the places occupied by the sun at
these seasons, and in 2285 B.C. he gave them further orders. If this
account be true, it shows a knowledge that the vault of heaven is a
complete sphere, and that stars are shining at mid-day, although
eclipsed by the sun's brightness.

It is also asserted, in the book called _Chu-King_, that in the
time of Yao the year was known to have 365-1/4 days, and that he
adopted 365 days and added an intercalary day every four years (as in
the Julian Calendar). This may be true or not, but the ancient Chinese
certainly seem to have divided the circle into 365 degrees. To learn
the length of the year needed only patient observation--a
characteristic of the Chinese; but many younger nations got into a
terrible mess with their calendar from ignorance of the year's length.

It is stated that in 2159 B.C. the royal astronomers Hi and Ho failed
to predict an eclipse. It probably created great terror, for they were
executed in punishment for their neglect. If this account be true, it
means that in the twenty-second century B.C. some rule for calculating