Don’t get this zero-line chart. What is the significance? The Huang Ti bit is entirely bogus by the way. His persona is entirely legend, no known arch. evidence, nor any time line. The thing about his astronomers is nonsense. Real astronomy and calendar fixing began in CHina probably under the Xia dynasty, quasi-historical system of kings, ca. 2500 BC. Chinese have no sense of “years zero”. Every event came under a new dynasty’s named reign periods, w/o any attempt to make a universal timeline (implying a zero, when that universal system began). The best-evidenced astronomy dates from Western Han times, and they did find a celestial conjunction event (lineup of planets, sun, moon), but this had no effect on the civil calendars. In modern times, yes, it’s true that the 1911 revolution brought about a new year-count.
Very nice. But you forgot the founding of Rome (ab urbe condita).
The Khmer Rouge also had a Year Zero, didn’t they?
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Don’t forget Dad’s birthday (Juche 0).
How about the Unix epoch? (January 1, 1970 = 0)
Fascist Italy had a year zero too, backdated to the March on Rome.
Don’t get this zero-line chart. What is the significance? The Huang Ti bit is entirely bogus by the way. His persona is entirely legend, no known arch. evidence, nor any time line. The thing about his astronomers is nonsense. Real astronomy and calendar fixing began in CHina probably under the Xia dynasty, quasi-historical system of kings, ca. 2500 BC. Chinese have no sense of “years zero”. Every event came under a new dynasty’s named reign periods, w/o any attempt to make a universal timeline (implying a zero, when that universal system began). The best-evidenced astronomy dates from Western Han times, and they did find a celestial conjunction event (lineup of planets, sun, moon), but this had no effect on the civil calendars. In modern times, yes, it’s true that the 1911 revolution brought about a new year-count.
howard, you are boring.