The universe follows the Eastern concept

The Eastern concept of the Universe is in the ancient and medieval times

At the end of the 5th century, in the Heavenly Continent, there were three schools of distinction about the concept of the Universe structure. It is the theory of celestial nature (Heaven has a lid), Tuyen ngoc (darkness spread everywhere, endless air) and Hon Thien (immense structure including the Earth). The sages wanted to open the "Heavenly Path" for the Emperor to go to heaven so these theories, though having the scientific goal to understand the Universe, were still influenced by metaphysical thought and astrology.

The theory of Cai Thien, the oldest, envisioned the sky as a hemispherical lid and the Earth as a bowl upside down in the same center. The bottom of the Earth's feet is not a circle but is square like a chessboard, perhaps because of the concept of four heavens (east, west, south, north). Rain from the sky, where there are stars, falls to the four corners of the Earth into four pools. We now know that rainwater particles are deposited in the Earth's atmosphere, not from the Falling Universe. the sky turns to follow the Moon and the Sun. These two celestial bodies move slowly n, facing the sky. In the "big frame" Thien Luan, written in the 3rd century, the sky is like an egg membrane with "raw air" so it does not sink to the surface of four tanks. The sun is like a light moving in the sky and illuminating only one area. The Three Noble Arts ie the Sun, the Moon and the stars when hidden when present, have night and day. in fact, "Cai Thien" theory has two stages, during the Eastern Chu (5th century BC) theory "Thien Vien Dia Phuong" (Heavenly round earth) for the Earth to stand still, the Moon, the Sun and the stars to transport in the sky. It was not until the War of the World that this theory developed into a hemispherical dome, Earth was like a bowl. From the first stage to the flat Earth such as the chessboard to the second stage for the Earth, including the arc is a step forward of the "Cai Thien" theory.

Truong Hanh's theory of "Celestial spirit" (78-139) during the Dong Han period, likened the sky like a chicken egg but round, in the middle is the yolk symbolizing the Earth. The sky has "gas" inside and the horizon has water, Earth floats on the water. There are three "gods" in the sky, probably the Sun, the Moon and the stars, and the Earth has three "figures" that can be earth, water and air. Gods and figures can be observed. The sun is like on a spinning wheel constantly. The space outside the sky is unlimited (infinity, infinity), known as the "Universe" and considered mysterious. Thus, the theory of Hon Thien envisioned that outside of the Sun, the Moon and stars still had an immense but unpredictable Universe.

The theory of Declaration states that the empty dome is far away and immense (infinity). The sun, the moon and the stars are places of accumulation (gas) that fly into the air. Seven stars (That miraculous) means that the Sun, the Moon and the five planets in the sky do not stick to the sky but move freely, going back and forth. These five planets are the five naked-eyed planets, ie Water, Kim, Fire, Carpentry and Earth. The North Star is always standing in one place (because it is near the axis of the sky). The endless concept of air is connected with the idea of ​​"nothingness" of Taoism and "nothingness" of Buddhism. Heaven and Earth are large, but just like a grain of rice compared to nothing in it can have other Heavens and Earths.

From the 6th century, the concept of two gas hemispheres, the symbol of Heaven and Earth of the "Celestial" theory is accepted. However, there was the question that if only half of the sphere was seen, it was only half of the truth. Over the following centuries, the Universe model has gradually been improved. For example, stars and planets do not stick to the sky, but are raised by a "hard wind" (erection), like compressed air of jet engines. In the sky there are nine layers of air with different pressure and speed similar to the parasite. The circulating operation of the Earth and the tide are all due to the positive and negative forces.

The sun is Tai Yang (big being) and other stars are Xiao Yang (small is small). And the Moon is the Tai Yin and the other planets are Little Yin. The Earth is also of the negative type. We now know that the Moon is Earth's satellite. The sun is very hot and self-emitting because of the energy produced by fusion reactions in their hearts. Leaving the Earth, the Moon and the planets because of cold should not emit themselves, but only reflect sunlight to them. So put the Sun and stars in the positive category, while the Earth, the Moon and the planets are kind of correct. The Sun itself is a star like tens of billions of other stars in the Milky Way and the Moon is one of the planets of the Solar System. Because the Sun and Moon near the Earth should look big and called the Sun and Tai Yin.

The evolution of Chinese astronomy over the ages has been influenced by Confucian thought of Confucius (6th century BC) and Buddhism. According to Confucianism, the Universe was initially vague in a state called "Tai Chi" and turned into "yin" and "yang". The two yin and yang entities are similar to each other, but are coordinated according to the regulation of harmony and relative, in order to create the temperament of the metal, wood, water, fire and earth (the Five Elements). The living religion of people in society also relies on the yin and yang entities in the Universe. We can liken the yin and yang abstract entities as two basic particles in modern physics, particles and particle particles capable of self-destructing when touching. Confucianism is somewhat rational but does not pay special attention to nature. The doctrine of Taoism refers much to nature, but lacks rationalism. Trang Tử (4th century BC) wonders why the heavens turn and the Earth stands again? The sun and the moon alternately appear in the sky?

The ancient ideas of the Universe, though mystical and metaphysical, sometimes reflect events found by modern scientific arguments. Through modern means of observation and calculation, astrophysics suggests that the Universe was created 15 billion years ago by a Great Primitive Explosion called Big Bang. The original universe was just a fuzzy fog (see details below) visualized by Confucianism. Vuong Sung, a famous philosopher of the Dong Han Dynasty, said that the Earth was formed by the freezing of a cloud of gas. This hypothesis was not developed because of the lack of physical and mathematical facilities. According to modern research theories, celestial bodies such as stars and planets are formed from the giants of gas that contract and freeze because of the gravitational attraction of the atmosphere. According to the law of reincarnation of Buddhism, create a rotation like a wheel. The chaotic states of all things can recur after normal moral organs. Theory of the structure and evolution of the Universe (Universe) based on the current science of proposing the universe can also undergo periodic periodic elasticity and the original Universe in a chaotic state.

In short, ancient Eastern astronomers did not have an accurate model of the Universe and the orbits of planets in the Solar System, because physics and mathematics, especially geometry, were not distributed. development.

However, their conception of the Universe is likely to change relatively to the reality. Thanks to the development of science through the ages, we now know that Earth is one of nine planets in the Solar System. The Earth rotates around the Sun with a cycle of about 365 days in an almost circular elliptical orbit where the Sun is at a focal point. The page is a satellite rotating around the Earth. Stars do not stick on the sky but far away from the earth at different distances. The universe has hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with tens of billions of stars like the sun. Each star has dozens of planets. The Milky Way is one of the galaxies, except that the Milky Way has the solar system and we have the earth. So the Milky Way is also called "our galaxy". The center of the Milky Way is about 30 thousand light years from Earth. The Earth rotates around the Sun at a rate of 30 km / s and rotates with all of the Solar System around the center of the Milky Way at a speed of 250 km / s. At great speed, but because the Milky Way is great, the earth must leave 200 million years to spin one round around the Milky Way.