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The Shixian calendar is the general name for Chinese calendars implemented in China's Qing dynasty (1636–1912) and Korea's Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). This calendar made under the influence of Western sciences was revised several times. Referring to the Yuzhi lixiang kaocheng, compiled by Mei Juecheng et al. in 1724, we analyze calendrical methods employed in the Shixian calendar for calculating sunrise and sunset times in terms of astronomy and mathematics. In astronomy, the Polaris was used to measure the latitude, and the Sun's diurnal parallax was considered to increase accuracy. In mathematics, Western mathematics, such as trigonometric functions and properties of similar spherical triangles, were used to calculate sunrise and sunset times. In addition, ready reckoner tables were used to obtain the trigonometric values. The reproduced sunrise and sunset times are compared the results recorded in Shixian annual almanacs published in China and Korea to obtain the rules regarding dates on which these recording were made in the almanacs. We find that sunrise and sunset times were changed before and after around 1726 and in 1728 in the Shixian almanacs of China and Korea, respectively. Furthermore, we verify the values of the latitude and obliquity of the ecliptic used for calculating the sunrise and sunset times in the almanacs in each dynasty. This study will help understand the Shixian calendar and its annual almanacs in China and Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Miscelanea Comillas is the property of Universidad Pontificia Comillas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Islamic astronomy, Huihui tianwen in Chinese, once had a splendid time in the history of Chinese sciences. It was in practical usage parallel with Chinese traditional astronomy for almost four centuries. It spread to China since the beginning of Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), and officially abolished by Manchu Qing authority in 1669. During this approximately seven hundred years, Islamic astronomy played the roles of either adding astronomical values into that of Chinese astronomy or of running as independent establishment alongside Chinese astronomical bureau. In this short article we intend to briefly delineate the rise and fall of Islamic astronomy in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anales del Seminario de Historia de la Filosofía is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Estimating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's case fatality rate (CFR) has been the focus and interest of many stakeholders as it plays a key role in understanding this pandemic and guides appropriate responses and efficient mitigation strategies. • The traditional cumulative CFR estimation is static; however, it is a dynamic value. Moreover, the estimation of the global CFR of COVID-19 according to either the calendar date or the days since the outbreak of the first confirmed case, is different. • We propose that the estimated kinetics of CFR according to days since the outbreak of the first confirmed case could be a useful predictor to design COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December of 2019 in China, estimating the pandemic's case fatality rate (CFR) has been the focus and interest of many stakeholders. In this manuscript, we prove that the method of using the cumulative CFR is static and does not reflect the trend according to the daily change per unit of time. A proportion meta-analysis was carried out on the CFR in every country reporting COVID-19 cases. Based on these results, we performed a meta-analysis for a global COVID-19 CFR. Each analysis was performed using two different calculations of CFR: according to the calendar date and according to the days since the outbreak of the first confirmed case. We thus explored an innovative and original calculation of CFR, concurrently based on the date of the first confirmed case as well as on a daily basis. For the first time, we showed that using meta-analyses according to the calendar date and days since the outbreak of the first confirmed case, were different. We propose that a CFR according to days since the outbreak of the first confirmed case might be a better predictor of the current CFR of COVID-19 and its kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission of European astronomical knowledge at the end of XVI century to Chinese elites has been one of the critical factors of the evangelization process applied by the Jesuits in China. Sabatino de Ursis, first collaborator of Matteo Ricci in Beijing and after his death his substitute, has been one of the first Jesuits to contribute to this transmission proving how the Western mathematical and astronomical knowledge was more advanced than the methods used by the Chinese astronomers to predict astronomical phenomena. With him the process of penetration of the Jesuits in the Imperial astronomical office for the calendar has started and later the Jesuits were appointed directors of this office from the mid of the XVII century until the end of XVIII century. In my contribution I will present the information about de Ursis’ astronomical activity and the works he dictated to be translated in Chinese, with consideration of his role in the more general context of the astronomical activity of the Jesuits in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Civilisations is the property of Institut de Sociologie - ULB and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zhongguo Kejishi Zazhi (Chinese Journal for the History of Science & Technology) is the property of Chinese Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article introduces a writing format, the 'template table' ( suanshi, ) that was designed to guide the process of calendrical astronomical calculations in early modern China. In conjunction with another kind of text, known as 'detailed procedures' ( xicao, ), users could perform calculations easily by operating the 'template table' and extracting data from given numerical tables. This method, that not only normalized the use of numerical tables but also linked instructions with the corresponding tables in computational practices, became widespread from the Ming period (1368-1644) onwards. Wanting to acquire this computational regimen, the Joseon court of Korea (1392-1897) even sent skilled officers to China to learn it secretly. The circulation of the template method beyond China suggests its significance. The article also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the stock return impact of “lucky” numbered days in markets dominated by Chinese participants. The existence of such patterns might present arbitrage opportunities for investors who do not share a belief in the Chinese system of “lucky” numbers. Design/methodology/approach – In univariate and multivariate analyses, the author examines the statistical significance of return differences between “lucky” numbered days and other days. The author examines samples which only consider single digit days and months, and the author also considers samples based on the last digit of the day or month. Based on the findings in these tests, the author designs and tests a trading strategy on the Shenzhen Exchange that produces significant risk-adjusted returns in excess of the buy-and-hold return on the Shenzhen Composite Index. Findings – The author shows that “lucky” numbered dates impact stock returns in Chinese markets and demonstrate a “lucky” number date trading strategy for the Shenzhen market that produces risk-adjusted returns in excess of the market return. Originality/value – Prior research on home address numbers and stock trading codes shows that, in markets dominated by Chinese participants, assets with identifiers containing numbers defined by Feng Shui as “lucky” sell at a premium and assets with identifiers containing “unlucky” numbers sell at a discount. In such markets, prices are more likely to end in a “lucky” number than an “unlucky” number. Chinese firms also tend to price their shares at IPO using “lucky” numbers and avoiding “unlucky” numbers. The author extends this literature to examine whether dates containing “lucky” and “unlucky” numbers experience stock returns significantly different than other days on Chinese stock exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shanghai’s peculiar status between 1842 and 1943, its sovereignty degraded in key ways, meant that it gave sanctuary to, and spawned, a wide range of nationalist activity and counteractivity. This essay examines five different layers of activity that the city hosted, and spawned, and explores how they interacted, and touches also on their legacies. It outlines the three key factors that gave shape to the city and to its overt and covert political communities: space, law, and time (or the calendar). The essay explores the interplay of the physical and administrative realms that cut across the city, the restrictions they imposed, and the opportunities they opened up, and shows vividly how nationalism and the urban intersected in this site of multinational imperial power. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Mongolian blockprinted documents discovered in Turfan contained several fragments of a calendar dating from the 14th century which had been translated from the Chinese. This is one of the indicators that the Mongolian elite of the Yuan empire used traditional forms of Chinese legitimation to reinforce their supremacy in the eyes of the Mongolian populace. After the Yuan dynasty collapsed, the translated calendars disappeared. However, the Chinese divination methods of the calendars had not been abandoned and were used within by the Mongolian public in straight chronological sequence until their "re-introduction" during the Qing period. The evidence found in the birch bark manuscripts from Xarbuxyn Balgas proves that this tradition continued beyond the end of the Yuan, determined by popular Mongolian choice rather than their rulers' interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Within the context of the mainland Chinese (Shanghai and Shenzhen) and Hong Kong market places, we investigate two of the most important documented calendar anomalies: the 'turn-of-the-month' and Chinese Lunar New Year (CLNY) return effects. Both appear as features of all three markets over the 1995 to 2010 time-frame. However, the 'turn-of-the-month' effect is much more pronounced in Hong Kong and the mainland B-markets than it is in the more segmented and less international (mainland Chinese) A-market. The CLNY effect is concentrated in returns over four trading days: three days prior to and one day after the CLNY holiday. Moreover, the effect is common to all major sectors of the Hong Kong market as well as to the Shanghai and Shenzhen A- and B-markets. Despite an elevation in mean return levels at the 'turn-of-the-month' and CLNY, volatility levels appear little different to other periods. In addition, as in McGuinness (2005), a pre-CLNY seasonal effect is absent from results. A post-CLNY seasonal effect, capturing the earnings reporting season in Hong Kong, also proved elusive. Consistent with McConnell and Xu (2008) for the US, we also offer no discernible evidence of a 'turn-of-the-month' effect at quarter ends. Finally, and importantly, we find strong evidence that Hong Kong short-sales turnover shrinks as the calendar month-end nears. This is consistent with some participants delaying or bringing-forward short positions so as to avoid an anticipated upturn in returns at month-end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal information is one of the essential components in many domains, especially those related to history. Up until the twentieth century, the Chinese used a lunisolar calendar with the title of an Emperor and a reign period to express temporal information. When describing a historical event in Chinese history, it is inadequate to use existing time ontologies as presented in the traditional Chinese way of thinking to capture and encode time. To date, no attention in the field has been given to modelling ancient Chinese time. In this paper, we identify the problems encountered when modelling Chinese time resulting from the distinctive nature of a non-western time scale. We design a new model of temporal information with combined approaches, which are more appropriate for Chinese dynasties, emperors, and reign periods, and apply the OWL-Time ontology onto the ancient Chinese lunisolar calendar. This approach can also be applied to other ancient time-keeping methods in non-western time scales. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the role of astronomy in ancient Chinese society and culture from the view of the relation between heaven and man. It depicts that ancient Chinese astronomy was closely related to the worship of heaven from the start. It mentions that astronomical observation was an activity of heaven worshiping and means of relating to heaven.

Abstract: This paper discusses the lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that affect Chinese restaurant operations. In-depth interviews and a survey were carried out with 50 catering professionals to provide information that was subsequently used to estimate the change of restaurant turnover due to the identified festivals. Four core common lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that create more demand for dining out across China were identified. They generated extra revenue, which was nearly 10% of total annual business for restaurants. The study also ascertained 21 measures related to revenue management strategies to cope with these demand variations. In addition, a new restaurant revenue management strategy framework was developed. Recommendations based on this study were suggested to multi-functional restaurants and hotel systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper uses rolling sample tests to investigate time-varying calendar effects in the Chinese stock market, based on the GARCH (1, 1)-GED model. The Friday effect existed with low volatility at the early stage, but it seems to have disappeared since 1997. The positive Tuesday effect began to appear then. There is a small-firm January effect with high volatility. The turn-of-the month effect has also disappeared in the Chinese stock market since 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]