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The Observatory, Peking, 1890

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0115/RCS/Y302E/7

Scope and Contents

View looking along rows of instruments in the Peking Observatory. Norman (1895, p. 203) provides this description: A walk of a mile along the top of the wall brings you to the famous Observatory, and the marvellous bronzes of the Jesuit Father Verbiest, who made and eerected them in 1668. Below the wall, in a shady garden, are the much older ones which Marco Polo saw, less accurate astronomically, but even more beautiful for their grace and delicacy, and linking ones imagination closely with the romantic past; for this great globe and sextant and armillary zodiacal sphere were constructed in 1279 by the astronomer of Khublai Khan. Either the climate or their own intrinsic excellence has preserved them so well that every line and bit of tracery is as perfect to our eyes as it was to those of the great Khan himself.

Dates

  • Creation: 1890

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Language of Materials

English

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Good condition, apart from slight yellowing and silvering.

Related Materials

A similar view to that in Norman (1895) p. 204.

Bibliography

Norman, Henry (1895). The people and politics of the Far East, London : T.F. Unwin.

General

PJ.

Date information

DateText: The date is approximate..

Finding aid date

2002-07-04 15:05:57+00:00

Includes index.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

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