What did ancient people rely on to predict the weather?

Yin-yang, Five Elements and Divination

According to the principle of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the ancients divided everything in the world into two states of Yin-Yang and five forms of Jin Mu's fire, water and soil, and predicted the weather according to the transformation law of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, which reflected our ancestors' initial desire for insight into heaven and earth and understanding things. There have been weather phenomena such as wind, rain, snow, clouds, rainbow and thunder in Oracle Bone Inscriptions unearthed in China, and divination has also been used to predict weather information, indicating that people realized the influence of weather on agricultural production and daily life as early as the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

24 solar terms and agricultural proverbs

Twenty-four solar terms are calendars formulated by ancient sages in China to guide farming, which were basically formed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. According to the position of the sun on the ecliptic. Twenty-four solar terms with the same modern names appeared in Tian Zi Xun of Huainan in Han Dynasty. Twenty-four solar terms can reflect the changes of seasons, guide agricultural activities, and affect the food, clothing, housing and transportation of thousands of families. Later generations summed up the familiar 24 solar terms. According to the 24 solar terms and production practice, later generations summed up more agricultural proverbs, such as "Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, we planted melons and beans", "It's windy and hot in summer, and it's sunny and rainy in Chongyang in winter", "The autumn equinox is early, the first frost is late, and it's just the right time to plant wheat in cold dew" and so on.

Observe clouds and winds to tell the weather.

Lv Buwei's Lv Chunqiu divides clouds into four types: mountain clouds, water clouds, drought clouds and rain clouds, and makes a simple classification of clouds representing different weather. The ancients also summarized a series of weather and meteorological proverbs according to the thickness and color of clouds, such as "There are clouds in the sky and thunderstorms on the ground". They can also predict the weather according to the wind direction, "the east wind sends wet west wind and the south wind warms the north wind." Explain that different winds will bring different weather, cold, warm, dry and wet.

Forecast the weather according to animals

The sensory system of animals is quite acute, and the ancients have learned to predict the weather according to the behavior of animals. In the morning, there are water drops on the spider's web, which means the weather is fine. This is because the temperature is low in the sunny morning, which makes the water vapor in the air condense into small drops and hang on the spider web. Swallows flying low, frogs chirping, ants moving, and earthworms coming out of holes are all precursors to rain.

Ancient Meteorological Bureau: Qin

Qin Tianjian was a government department established in Qin and Han Dynasties. It has the functions of observing astronomical phenomena, calculating solar terms and making calendars, similar to today's meteorological bureau. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, western missionaries began to preach in Qin.

Professional instrument for weather forecast

Zhang Heng, an astronomer in the Eastern Han Dynasty, invented the world's earliest anemometer, that is, a five-foot-high pole was erected on the open ground, and a flexible rotating copper bird was installed on the pole. According to the rotating direction of the copper bird, the wind direction can be determined. Jin people changed Zhang Heng's bronze bird into a wooden bird, which was lighter than bronze bird and could predict the slightest wind. Most of them are located on city walls and departments of astronomy and transportation.