EPOCH. 



the total, in common years, and 366 in leap years. 

 The intercalation is inaile when and where it is re- 

 quired, uot according to any arbitrary rule, but by 

 continuing the length of each month until the sun has 

 completely passed each sign. This will bring about 

 26 leap years in every century. It would require 

 long and complicated calculations to find exactly the 

 commencement and duration of each month, but we 

 sliall not err more than a day or two by considering 

 them to be of 30 and 31 days alternately. 



The Bengalee year appears to liave been once iden- 

 tical with the Hegira ; but the solar computation 

 luiving subsequently been adopted, ofVhich the years 

 exceed those of the Hegira by 11 days, it has lost 

 nearly 1 1 days every year, and is now about 9 years 

 later, the year 1245 of the Hegira beginning hi July, 

 1829, and the Bengalee year 1236 beginning 13th ol 

 April of the same year. The number 593 must be 

 added to bring this to the Christian era. 



The Chinese, like all the nations of the north-east 

 of Asia, reckon their time by cycles of 60 years. 

 Instead of numbering them as we do, they give a dif- 

 ferent name to every year hi the cycle. As all those 

 nations follow the same system, we sliall detail it here 

 more particularly. They have two series of words, 

 one of ten, and the other of twelve words ; a com- 

 bination of the first words in both orders is the 

 name of the first year ; the next in each series are 

 taken for the second year ; and so to the tenth : in 

 the eleventh year, the series of ten being exhausted, 

 they begin again with the first, combining it with the 

 eleventh of the second series ; in the twelfth year, the 

 second word of the first series is combined with the 

 twelfth of the second ; for the thirteenth year, the 

 combination of the third word of the first list with 

 Jie first of the second list, is taken, that list also being 

 now exhausted. To make this clearer, we shall de- 

 signate the series of ten by the Roman letters, that 

 of twelve by the italics, and the whole cycle of 60 

 will stand thus : 



The series of 10 is designated hi China by the name 

 of teen kan, or celestial signs. The Chinese months 

 are lunar, of 29 and 30 days each. Their years have 

 ordinarily 12 months, but a 13th is added whenever 

 there are two new moons while the sun is in one sign 

 of the zodiac. This will occur seven times in nine- 

 teen years. The boasted knowledge of the Chinese 

 in astronomy has not been sufficient to enable them to 

 compute their time correctly. In 1290 A. D., the 

 Arab Jemaleddin composed a calendar for them, 

 which remained in use until the time of the Jesuit 

 Adam Schaal, who was the director of their calendar 

 until 1664. It then remained for five years in the 

 hands of the natives, who so deranged it, that, when 

 it was again submitted to the direction of the Cliris- 

 tians, it was found necessary to expunge a month to 

 bring the commencement of the year to the proper 

 season. It has since that tune been almost constantly 

 mder the care of Christians. The first cycle, accord- 

 ing to the Romish missionaries, began February 2397 



B.C.* To find out the Chinese time, multiply the 

 elapsed cycle by 60, and add the odd years ; then, if 

 the time be before Christ, subtract the sum from 2398; 

 but if after Christ, subtract 2397 from it ; the remain- 

 der will be the year required. The Chinese frequently 

 date from the year of the reigning sovereign ; and in 

 that case, there is noway of having the correspond- 

 ing date, but by a list of emperors. We subjoin a 

 list of those who have reigned for the last two c< n- 

 turies : 



TARTAR DYNASTY. 

 Hi-tsong began foreign A. D. 1CW 



Hoai-tsong iu-,7 



Slum chi ....... 1044 



Kang.hi 1662 



Youg-ching 1723 



Kirn-lung I73(j 



Kia-ting 1790 



Tara-kwang 1820 



now emperor. 



The Japanese have a cycle of 60 years, like that 

 of the Chinese, formed by a combination of words of 

 two series. The series of ten is formed of the names 

 of the elements, of which the Japanese reckon five, 

 doubled by the addition of the masculine and feminine 

 endings j'e and to. The cycles coincide with those of 

 the Chinese ; but a name is given to them instead of 

 numbering them. Their years begin in February, 

 and are luni-solar, of 12 and 13 months, with the 

 intercalations as before mentioned under the head of 

 China. The first cycle is said to begin 660 B.C.; 

 but this cannot be correct, unless some alteration has 

 taken place, as the Chinese cycle then began 657 

 B. C. We know, however, too little of Japan to 

 pronounce positively respecting it ; but thus far it is 

 certain, that the cycle now coincides with that of the 

 Chinese. 



To an article of this nature it may not be thought 

 superfluous to append a slight notice of the manner 

 in which some of the aboriginal tribes of America 

 reckoned their time before its discovery by the natives 

 of Europe. The science of astronomy seems to have 

 advanced there to a much greater extent than is 

 commonly imagined. The extraordinary accuracy of 

 the Mexicans in their computations, surpassing that 

 of the Europeans of their time, cannot be accounted 

 for otherwise than by the supposition that they had 

 derived it from some people more civilized than them- 

 selves ; and would appear incredible, if not well 

 attested by Spanish authors of the fifteenth century, 

 as well as by many hieroglyphic almanacs yet re- 

 maining, of undoubted antiquity. The Peruvians 

 and Muyscas had lunar years of great accuracy also ; 

 but this is less surprising, as the pliases of the moon 

 are sufficiently visible to the eye, and their returns 

 frequent. We shall detail that of the Mexicans 

 only. 



The year of the Mexicans consisted of 365 days , 

 it was composed of eighteen months of twenty days 

 each, and five additional, called nemontemi, or void. 

 At the end of a cycle of 52 years, 13 days were 

 added, and at the end of another cycle 12 days, and 

 so on, alternately, making an addition of 25 days in 

 104 years. This made the mean year to consist of 

 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, 9 T 3 S seconds, being 

 only 2' 39|' shorter than the truth. As the wanton 

 destruction of the Mexican monuments and hierogly- 

 phic records, by their cruel and barbarous conquerors, 

 has left little to study, and the extermination of the 

 Mexicans of superior order has done away with their 

 system, we shall not detail the names of their months 



* Dr Morrison carries it back, to the sixty-first year of 

 H wang'te, 2596 B.C., making the present year to fall in the 

 seventy-fourth cycle ; but, according to the celebrated his- 

 torian Choofootze, Hwang-te reigned about 2700 B.C., mak- 

 ing 75| cycles from that period, which is, probably, more 

 correct than either of the above statements. 



