From star field affiliation to sundial theory: spatial expression in Qing dynasty Taiwan gazetteers

Following Taiwan’s incorporation into the Qing Empire in 1683 and the establishment of one prefecture and three counties, mainland officials and scholars compiled Taiwan gazetteers that sought not only to describe geography but also to assert Taiwan’s integration into China. Within traditional gazetteers, star field affiliation (SFA) rooted in the cosmology of the heaven–earth–human continuum was a standard element. SFA drew on systems such as the Twenty-Eight Mansions and the Nine Provinces, attempting increasingly fine correspondences between celestial mansions and terrestrial units. However, as divisions became more detailed, inconsistencies with observed geography grew, even as SFA’s divinatory functions were politically salient. Taiwan had not figured in earlier SFA systems prior to Qing incorporation, making its celestial categorization a contested issue. The study asks how Qing intellectuals presented Taiwan within SFA and what these debates reveal about knowledge, politics, and unification in Qing geographical thought.

Prior scholarship has deeply analyzed the SFA paradigm and its history (e.g., Chen 1982; Feng 2001; Jiang 1991, 1999, 2005; Li 1992; Liu 2008; Qiu 2020; Xu 1990), including regional studies of Ming–Qing gazetteers such as Shandong and Guizhou (Meng 2009, 2013; Tian 2010; Tian and Meng 2013). However, comprehensive analyses of Taiwan’s SFA treatment are relatively scarce (Qiu 2013). Before Qing rule, Chinese knowledge of Taiwan’s geography was limited, so Taiwan was absent from earlier SFA systems, making its categorization a focal concern for Qing-era compilers.

Data sources comprise Qing-era Taiwan gazetteers: over 40 were compiled, with 21 preserved and published, spanning from Kangxi (1685) through Guangxu (1895). Compilation was largely state-driven to support the national project The Total Annals of the Qing Dynasty, ensuring official voices predominated. Methods include textual analysis and contrastive comparison across gazetteers and periods, tracing SFA statements (e.g., Nü Xu, Niu Nü, Yi Zhen) and their reasoning. The study also contrasts Taiwan’s treatment with Xinjiang during Qianlong’s reign to examine paradigm tensions between traditional SFA and Western mapping (longitude/latitude). The focus is on how political imperatives shaped geographic knowledge, while situating shifts within broader intellectual currents (textology, Western learning).

• The earliest Qing Taiwan gazetteer (Jiang Yuying, 1685) assigned Taiwan to Nü Xu based on geographic position, while also aligning Taiwan administratively with ancient Yangzhou, creating an internal inconsistency because Yangzhou’s SFA is Niu Nü.
• Gao Gongqian’s Taiwan Prefecture Gazetteer (1694–1695) rejected Nü Xu and argued Taiwan should follow Fujian’s SFA (Niu Nü), citing administrative ties (Penghu under Quanzhou; provincial capital Fuzhou in Niu Nü). This position gained official endorsement in The Total Annals of the Qing Dynasty.
• The Zhuluo County Gazetteer (1717) introduced Chen Yuanlin’s Yi Zhen proposal (classifying Taiwan with island ‘barbarians’ like Japan/Luzon), claiming Matteo Ricci as source; later research showed this attribution was spurious, and the Yi Zhen classification was widely rejected (e.g., Fengshan County Gazetteer, 1719).
• Across Qing writings (poetry/prose), Niu Nü became the broadly accepted SFA label for Taiwan; references to Nü Xu were rare; Yi Zhen did not gain literary usage.
• Compilers recognized inherent flaws in SFA (e.g., inconsistent terrestrial–celestial scaling, conflicting degree–li conversions). Some avoided firm conclusions, acknowledging that accurate determination would require specialist astronomical methods.
• Politically, SFA functioned as a tool for asserting territorial sovereignty; integrating Taiwan into SFA expressed inclusion in the imperial order. Similar dynamics appeared in Guizhou’s transition in SFA treatment from ‘foreign land’ to ‘old territory’ across dynasties.
• During Qianlong’s reign, major territorial expansion (e.g., Xinjiang) exposed SFA’s inadequacy. Qianlong criticized SFA’s China-centrism and uneven celestial-terrestrial allocations, deeming it unreliable and unorthodox when tied to omens.
• A paradigm shift ensued: Western mapping and measurement (sundial degrees representing latitude/longitude with Beijing as prime reference) replaced SFA in state works (e.g., Atlas of the Western Regions, Rehe Gazetteer, Huangchao Tongzhi: Astronomy brief). SFA persisted culturally but lost practical authority.
• Late Qing Taiwan gazetteers began adopting sundial degrees. The Gazetteer of Penghu Subprefecture (Lin Hao, Guangxu) reported Penghu latitudes ~23°11′ to 23°47′ N, reconciling discrepancies by providing a field measurement method (protractor, plumb line) and citing Haidao Tushuo and Taiwan Geographic Map, while still appending SFA as legacy discourse.
• The Taiwan Comprehensive Gazetteer provided detailed longitudes/latitudes (sourced from maps due to limited field conditions) and explained methods (latitude by solar altitude at noon; longitude by timing lunar eclipses), appended SFA as contested and inconclusive.
• Knowledge integration was uneven; some late Qing gazetteers confused latitude/longitude, indicating partial assimilation of Western geodesy.
• Quantitative context: Qing produced 5701 gazetteers versus 992 in the Ming; Taiwan generated over 40 gazetteers under Qing rule, 21 preserved and analyzed.
• After Taiwan’s cession to Japan (1895), the political function of SFA in Taiwan ceased, and Western geographical knowledge became dominant.

The findings show that attempts to place Taiwan within the traditional SFA framework highlighted contradictions between cosmological-territorial schemas and evolving imperial boundaries. Early debates (Nü Xu vs Niu Nü vs Yi Zhen) reveal competing logics: physical-geographic positioning, political-administrative affiliation, and textological reinterpretation. As imperial unification imperatives required that space be legible within authoritative knowledge systems, SFA served as a symbolic assertion of sovereignty. However, territorial expansion and the import of Western geodesy exposed SFA’s inability to scale and to include new regions coherently. Qianlong’s critique catalyzed a transition toward sundial degrees (latitude/longitude), gradually displacing SFA in official geography and later in Taiwan gazetteers. Taiwan’s case demonstrates the politics of knowledge: traditional cosmological geography yielding to cosmopolitan, measurement-based mapping, while legacy discourse lingered as cultural residue. This transition addresses the research question by showing how Taiwan’s categorization reflects broader shifts in Qing epistemology, administration, and global engagement.

The paper traces how Qing-era Taiwan gazetteers negotiated Taiwan’s placement within traditional SFA, cycling through three main theories—Nü Xu (geographical position), Niu Nü (political affiliation via Fujian), and Yi Zhen (island-barbarian category via Shixian Calendar)—with Niu Nü gaining consensus but never fully resolving theoretical tensions. The expansion of Qing territories and the introduction of Western astronomy and mapping precipitated a paradigm shift: sundial degree (latitude/longitude, Beijing-referenced) supplanted SFA in official works and, by late Qing, in Taiwan gazetteers, where coordinates were reported and SFA retained only as an appendix. This shift exemplifies the interplay of academic, political, and global knowledge, marking the replacement of traditional Chinese geographic epistemology by a modern, global system. Future research could extend comparative analyses across other frontier regions, examine manuscript variants and field measurements in greater detail, and explore how post-1895 Japanese cartographic regimes reshaped Taiwan’s geographic knowledge.

The study is qualitative and relies on extant documentary sources: 21 preserved Taiwan gazetteers from the Qing era. As gazetteer compilation was state-dominated, official voices heavily shape the record, potentially limiting perspectives from local literati and other actors. No new empirical measurements or datasets were generated or analyzed. Some late Qing coordinate reports cited existing maps due to limited field conditions, reflecting uneven contemporary understanding of longitude/latitude, which may affect the precision of cited examples.