Compass, known as Geomancer's compass

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This Chinese geomancer's compass dates from the early 19th century. This complex instrument has developed over the centuries to enable the practitioner to make precise calculations in the subtle art of Feng Shui. Owing to the continuous alterations in the Earth's magnetic variation, three systems dating from the 8th, 9th and 12th centuries have become enshrined around the compass used by today's practitioners.

Made of a circular piece of lacquered wood, the geomancer's compass is covered in a series of concentric rings of Chinese characters. This one has 16 rings, which enable the practitioner to co-ordinate movements between the Earth and the heavens for auspicious moments. The outermost ring shows the 28 unequal divisions for the Chinese zodiac, which still make up 365 and a quarter degrees of the circle, equating to a degree for each day of the year.

In ancient China, the magnetic compass was an essential tool used in geomancy, which predated its use in navigation by centuries. Geomancers used the compass to determine the orientation of tombs, temples and secular buildings, and the alignment of city walls and streets, in order to be in harmony along lines of the magnetic field of the local landscape.

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• Online ID: 000-180-001-162-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1861.716.131
• Date: 19th century AD
  Early 19th century
  
• Material: Compass, geomantic, mariner's
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Compass, geomantic, mariner's
  
• Subject: 9. NAVIGATION (Departmental Classification)
  
• Who:
• Where: China
  
• Event:
• Description: Mariner's geomantic compass, from China, 19th century AD
  
• References:
  • For a similar instrument, see K. Lippincott et al., The Story of Time, London, 1999, p 273, item 283 
  • For geomancy, and a description of the Chinese geomancer's compass, see Nigel Pennick, The Ancient Science of Geomancy: Man in Harmony with the Earth, London, 1979, esp. pp.110-112. 
  • Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Cambridge 1962, Vol IV Part 1, pp.293-297. 
• Translations:
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