Can you live forever

Chapter 6 Pole measurement, born with Tai Chi

"Pole measurement?"

"What does this have to do with yin and yang?"

Zhang Zhixiang doesn't understand very well, he only knows that the shadow at noon is the shortest, and the winter solstice is the day when the noon shadow length is longest in a year, now that the winter solstice has just passed, the difference should not be too big.

Now the sky is clear after the snow, the sun is shining brightly, and the shadow of the bamboo pole is quite clear.

Come on.

The ancients probably also used the length of the shadow of the sun to determine the two most special seasons of the winter solstice and the summer solstice according to the shadow measurement on the pole...

"The winter solstice has the longest shadow, and the summer solstice has the shortest shadow. You know this, right?"

Zhang Baichuan took another bamboo pole, left a gap outside the shadow of the sun, and then used it as a radius to draw a circle in the snow, not to mention, it was quite round.

After his son answered, Zhang Baichuan pointed to the circle on the ground and said: "This is the earth, which is the planet we live in."

"Well... like an egg."

"In the theory of the sky theory, the sun, the moon and the stars are all in the eggshell and the egg white, while we live on the egg yolk, the sky is round and the earth is round, but in fact the earth is relative."

"Do you understand this?"

Zhang Baichuan was worried that his son would not be able to understand such advanced astronomical knowledge, while Zhang Zhixiang was shocked that the Ming Dynasty realized that he lived on a planet!
"I can understand..."

"Well, it's good to understand. It is said in Pangu Kaitian that the heaven and earth are chaotic like chickens. Hehe, in fact, after the heaven and earth are enlightened, they are also chickens. The sun, moon and stars are all supported by Qi, so they hang high in the sky."

"This is what Xuan Ye said."

"In short, Gaitian theory, Huntian theory, and Xuanye theory are the three major theories of astronomy. You can learn about them when you have time. Now, let's continue talking about yin and yang."

While speaking, Zhang Baichuan marked 24 scales on the circle.

Pointing to the bottom, he said, "This is the winter solstice."

Pointing to the top, he said, "This is the summer solstice. There are 24 scales, corresponding to the 24 solar terms."

"If you have read "Zhou Bi Suan Jing", there are all records about the length of the shadow of the 24 solar terms. The winter solstice is 1 zhang 3 feet 5 inches, the spring and autumn are divided into 7 feet 5 inches and 5 minutes, and the summer solstice is 1 foot 6 inch, I can’t remember the others, but it’s roughly a gradual process.”

"And at the summer solstice, on the Tropic of Cancer, that is, at 23 degrees 26 minutes north latitude, the sun shines directly at noon, and the length of the sun's shadow is zero."

"This can also be fed back to the map."

"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and so do the stars."

"If you have watched the starry sky overnight, you will find that all the stars in the entire starry sky except Polaris are rotating counterclockwise from west to east."

"As the sky turns, so does the earth."

"So, to the left of the winter solstice is Xiaohan, and the solar terms are arranged like this."

"The winter solstice is the time when the yin energy in the heaven and the earth is the heaviest, so at this time, the yin is born in the heart and the yang is born at the end. When it comes to the summer solstice, the yang is the most abundant at this time, so next is the yang that is born in the heart and the yin is born at the end. At the beginning of the summer solstice, the length of the shadow needs to be drawn from the circumference."

"We draw and connect the shadow lengths of the 24 solar terms in turn..."

"Look, the Tai Chi diagram is formed."

Zhang Zhixiang's eyes widened. It never occurred to him that the Taiji Diagram was not a product of philosophical enlightenment, but a scientific induction based on the length of the shadow of the sun!

"Hey, are you surprised?"

Zhang Baichuan was very satisfied with his son's expression, which gave him a sense of accomplishment as a father. Although he was a scholar who was sloppy in writing stereotyped articles, he read a lot of miscellaneous books.

He sat down again, drank some wine and sang opera.

Zhang Baichuan is only in his thirties, and he still has the style of a son. Although the Zhang family is not a landlord, they are also a wealthy family. They have a shop in Shangqing Town and a hundred acres of fertile land.

If the family has surplus money, it is natural and unrestrained.

Zhang Fu doesn't think her husband is so frivolous. On the contrary, her husband is very talented, easy-going and lively, and knows how to be considerate. She couldn't be more satisfied, so the eyes of her husband are full of love.

The little girl Yushui also thinks the master is very handsome.

Da Fangfeng admired Zhang Baichuan's talent and learning. He looked down on those rotten Confucians who only made fuss, but he sincerely admired people like Zhang Xiucai who knew both astronomy and geography.

Zhang Zhixiang was still in shock, he murmured, "Where's the Yin Yang fish?"

"Ah... you can ask the old celestial master. Hetu, Luoshu, and the five elements are also involved. Although I can tell you, the connection in practice is not very clear. It is better for the old celestial master to explain it. .”

"Um……"

Zhang Zhixiang was a little distracted, but Zhang Baichuan didn't want to see him like a nerd, pulled him over, hugged him, and said, "I've finished teaching you the serious knowledge, I'll teach you something more useful."

"Come on, let the rain come over."

"Anping, look at the rain, if you want to praise the rain, how should you praise it?"

Zhang Zhixiang looked at the rain in a daze. The little girl is ten years old. Although she hasn't bloomed, she is pretty and lovely. After thinking for a while, she said, "It's very clean, like grass in spring, soft and smooth, fresh and natural. .”

"Yo... not bad, and a bit of talent. If you don't know Yushui, how would you strike up a conversation with her?"

"what?"

Zhang Zhixiang probably realized what his father was teaching, Yu Shui blushed pretty, and said in disbelief, "Master!!"

Zhang Baichuan laughed loudly: "Yu Shui, how about marrying Anping in the future?"

"Master knows how to joke!"

Blushing and retorting, the rain ran away, which made Zhang Baichuan even happier, and continued to teach his son a unique skill, Zhang Fushi didn't stop it...

Zhang Zhixiang looked helpless, we are only five years old, dad.

……

After staying at home for half a day, Zhang Zhixiang went back to the mountain, mainly because of Da Fangfeng's size, the Zhang family didn't have the conditions for him to stay overnight, so he couldn't let him sleep on the ground.

Before reaching the top of the mountain, I saw a little girl sitting on the bluestone steps.

Wearing a bright red coat, she looked festive and cute, with her face propped up in her hands, her small mouth pouting high, puffed up like a little puffer fish, cute and fierce.

Only then did Zhang Zhixiang remember that she seemed to have told him yesterday that she wanted to go down the mountain to play together.

He forgot...

"Well... Dudu, the imperial envoy sent a lot of fruit yesterday, let's make strawberry smoothie."

"Strawberry smoothie?"

Zhang Jingdu was puzzled and curious, and the ferocity on his face could not be maintained anymore. This made Zhang Zhixiang heave a sigh of relief. The origin of strawberries is also Shangzhou. This kind of "exotic flowers and herbs" must have existed in Zheng He's fleet back then. Collection, but not many folks have introduced it, but there must be some cultivated in the royal garden. The strawberry fruit is not big, and the taste is also sour. He tried one yesterday and found it a bit difficult to taste.

But if it is boiled with sugar to make strawberry jam, it will be fine.

There is no industrial waste gas these days, and the snow is still very clean. Fill a bowl of snow with strawberry jam, tsk tsk...

(PS: Strawberries are also a product of the Americas. Regardless of whether they are proven or not, let’s assume that the Ming Dynasty and Zheng He’s fleet went to America in the book. After all, this is a fairy tale of alternate history. In addition, there is a Jingwei website on the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. )
(PS: "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica" was written in 1436, which contains records of the medicinal value of corn. "Ming Shilu" records that the price of corn in the fifth year of Jiajing was 5 coins per stone. This shows that in 5, the price of corn in the market The transaction volume is large enough to be worth recording.)
(PS: The age of the old heavenly master has been revised. It is more than twenty years older than in history. Originally, he was old enough to have a son. In the book, it is changed to a young man who has a son. There is also a granddaughter, Xiao Zhang Zhixiang, who is one year old.)
(End of this chapter)