Weather Prognostication in Late Imperial China as Presented in Local Gazetteers (1644–1722)

Abstract

This article examines Late Imperial Chinese prognostication practices in relation to weather and climate, as they appear in local gazetteers 方志 (fangzhi) – a sort of local history or reference book – from across the country. My focus is on the so-called “farmers’ prognostications 農占 (nongzhan).” Where and by whom were weather prognostications used? How great were the internal differences within China? What were the main methods used to predict the year’s harvest? The research’s scope is limited by the available sources: out of the many thousands of extant gazetteers, I strictly work only with those works published during the two first Qing 清 (1644–1912) reigns Shunzhi 順治 (1644–1661) and Kangxi 康熙 (1662–1722). The geographical area is determined by these sources but basically corresponds to the Han-majority provinces of “China proper.”