清 徐揚
日月合璧五星聯珠圖
卷 紙本 縱48.9 公分 橫1342.6公分
Syzygy of the Sun, Moon, and
the Five Planets
Xu Yang, Qing dynasty
Handscroll, ink and colors on paper
48.9 x 1342.6 cm
乾隆25年（1760）年底，觀象台欽天監預測隔年正月初一午初一刻（1761年2月5日上午11時15分）將出現「日月合璧五星聯珠」的天文異象，預示是年「海宇晏安，年穀順成」。「日月合璧」指日月同時升起，「五星聯珠」指水、金、火、木、土五星排列成近乎直線。徐揚奉命繪圖紀錄此罕見的天文異象。新年元旦文武官員進京朝賀，市井百姓也紛紛出門拜年。畫中詳繪觀象台、胡同合院、牌樓城門；另有冠飾品服、交通工具、商店鋪面等豐富形象，完整呈現北京城市面貌及風俗習尚。
At the end of the Qianlong Emperor’s 25th year on the throne (1761), the Directorate of the Imperial Observatory predicted that the astronomical phenomenon of the Sun and Moon coming together and the Five Planets lining up, an event known as a syzygy, would appear at a particular moment on the first day of the coming lunar year (corresponding to 11:15 on the morning of 5 February 1761). The Sun and Moon coming together meant that they would rise at the same time; the Five Planets lining up meant that Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn would be almost aligned. Officials therefore predicted it would be a year of peace and bountiful harvest throughout the land . The court artist Xu Yang was then commissioned to make a painting to record this rare and auspicious omen. Also, on New Year’s Day, civil and military officials enter the court to congratulate the emperor, and people throughout the capital go out to greet the New Year. This handscroll depicts the observatory , various courtyard residences ,and details as well as archways and city gates. There are festive scenes of people in different forms of clothing and transportation, and all sorts of shops and storefronts, fully reflecting the appearance of life in Beijing at the time.
