This dissertation examines the intersection of classical learning and mathematical astronomy in early and medieval China through the lens of historical chronology. It reconstructs a series of calendrical and chronological works of the early imperial period, and argues that the development of historical chronology was deeply connected with classical exegesis and calendrical calculations. By closely analyzing both scholarly and technical texts, this study sheds light on the shared interests and practices of classicists and astronomers, as well as their roles in shaping the traditional knowledge and conceptions of ancient history in pre-modern China. This dissertation is divided into three parts, each of which is comprised of specific and interconnected case studies. Part I focuses on the construction of the chronological framework of ancient China, a period when no reliable source of absolute dates has been available since the Han dynasty. Part II turns to the scholarship on the Spring and Autumn Annals and its Zuo Commentary, emphasizing the significance of calendrical astronomy in the development of this hermeneutic tradition. Part III considers the relationship between the Chinese astronomers’ calendar-making practices and their reading of canonical and historical texts. In the first part, chapter 1 reconstructs how Liu Xin determined the date of the Zhou conquest of Shang, and contextualizes his Canon of the Ages within the intellectual culture of “numerical techniques” in early China. Chapter 2 discusses Zheng Xuan’s hermeneutical principles and methods by looking into his commentary writings with regard to the early Western Zhou history. Chapter 3 explores the continuation and modification of early chronological systems in medieval Chinese historiography, demonstrating the connections between “calendrical listing” and “annalistic history.” In the second part, chapter 4 examines Liu Xin’s connected endeavors in composing the Triple Concordance Calendar and explaining the Classic of Annals, highlighting his hermeneutical stance that was distinct from contemporary classical scholarship. Chapter 5 analyzes how Du Yu constructed the Chronological Table of the Spring and Autumn by drawing on the calendrical data presented in the Classic of Annals and the Zuo Commentary. In the last part, chapter 6 traces the Chinese astronomers’ efforts to coordinate estimations of the precession effect with their reading of the “Canon of Yao,” the opening chapter of the Book of Documents that depicts a pattern of seasonal stars. Chapter 7 investigates the records of winter solstice dates in the Zuo Commentary and their lasting impact on the measurements of the tropical year length in pre-modern Chinese calendars. The important role of classical texts in astronomical practices demonstrates the persistent efforts to create a calendar that is “all-time effective.”

本文以漢唐之間的學術史爲研究對象,探討中國古代關於上古歷史年代的知識和觀念。自漢代以降,學者、術家基於不同的文獻和技術知識,提出了構擬中國古史年代的若干不同方案。這些年代學體系經過篩選、改造、整合,逐漸發展爲傳統歷史知識的重要組成部分,影響深遠。本文希望回到漢唐之間的知識史,在經典詮釋與天文曆算的交互作用中,研究古史年代論説形成、發展和演變的過程。 全文分爲彼此關聯的三個專題,每個部分又由具體的個案研究組成。其中,第一部分以殷周年代學爲討論對象,分析古代學者以曆法構建年代框架和史事繫年的具體過程及其立論基礎。第二部分圍繞劉歆、杜預的《左傳》學著作,復原漢晉之間經學家對《春秋》曆譜的探索。第三部分選取中國古代曆法中的若干基本項目,考察天文學實踐與經典詮釋、史傳文本之間的互動關係。 上篇第一章以劉歆的《世經》爲中心,闡述漢代學者、曆家推演西周年代的不同方案。還原這些學説的史料依據和推算過程,可以揭示數術知識在古史年代建構中的關鍵作用。第二章研究鄭玄著作中關於周初歷史的各種論述,通過經説細節的辨析,探究其中的經學理論和數術原理。鄭玄經學有鮮明的歷史意識,從中可以看出漢代曆學傳統對經典詮釋的影響。第三章討論年代學傳統在漢代之後的延續和變化,並且分析基於曆算的年代體系與編年體史書之間的關聯。 中篇第四章關注劉歆《三統曆譜》中的《春秋》經解。劉歆以《左傳》設定的解經原則爲基礎,藉助《三統曆》對《春秋》中的朔閏、日食做了系統的解釋,使曆算成爲《左氏》學義理的關鍵因素。第五章從《春秋長曆》入手,探討杜預考校《春秋》經傳月日的原則和具體方法。杜預以經傳所記日食、晦朔干支作爲排布閏月和連大月的基準,再參照其餘曆日和傳文“微旨”,上下推排,以得出朔閏表。 下篇第六章結合《尚書·堯典》的詮釋史,梳理歲差理論的發生和演化。歲差的發現和測算與《堯典》四時中星關係密切,又反過來改變了原有的經學闡釋。第七章論述《左傳》中的兩次“日南至”及此後的冬至時刻測定,並且考察這些歷史記録對古代曆法回歸年長度的計算造成了怎樣的影響。經史文獻在曆算實踐中的重要作用,反映了古人對“會通今古”的理想曆法的持續探索。