Does anyone what the Forbidden city held?

Here you are. It may. take a while to load as it has very detailed maps and +500 pages. Happy reading 😊

“Increasingly, thoughtful persons graciously accept that the Western process of acquiring knowledge is insufficient and problematic. It has ingrained limitations – as well as some perturbing defects. At the same time, a chronic loss of meaning to life gnaws at the hearts of millions in Europe and America and the nations under their sway. This emptiness, despite the racehorse pace of modern society, has inspired the curious to explore how other cultures attempted the puzzle of life. Particularly appealing are ancient civilizations that approached the world holistically – that is, they adhered to a “whole systems” or “living systems” view of the cosmos. We may gingerly allow ourselves a quiet appreciation of these cultures, which envisioned the universe and nature as a unified living system – pregnant with meaning in every aspect.”

The Astrolabe by Wilfred de Graaf

“One of the most widely used astronomical instruments over time is the astrolabe. Astro- labes were mainly used for two purposes: for astronomical observations and calculations, and for astrology. In this treatise we focus on the astronomical purposes of the astrolabe.

The astrolabe is a flat and portable instrument mostly made of brass on which the po- sitions of the sun and some of the major stars are projected relatively to the observers horizon. Its mathematical principles date back to Greek antiquity. The principle of stereographic projection was known to the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea (150 B.C.). Although it remains uncertain, it seems probable that Ptolemy used an instru- ment like the astrolabe. Certain is that he wrote a treatise on stereographic projection. Unfortunately no Greek astrolabes have survived.“