1 Origin

Champa, also known as Champa, is an important ancient historical country located on the eastern coast of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The Book of Later Han records the origin of Champa, and Qu Lian proclaimed himself king, leading to the establishment of Lin Yi. The southern border of Champa is connected to Funan Province, and the Wujing Stele records the past of the Shilimoluo family. Shilimoluo may be the "Fan Man" in Chinese historical books. Chinese classics often use the surname "Fan" to refer to the ruler of Champa Funan, which is actually the counterpart of the Sanskrit word varman. Qu Lian may be related to "Kunlun", referring to a tribe name outside the South China Sea. The inscriptions of Champa are scattered throughout a vast area, recording Champa's conquests and sacrifices. The earliest Champa inscriptions were highly Indianized and written in Sanskrit. The problem to be solved in this article is how ancient people measured time, the characteristics and connotations of time expression, and the cosmology of observing the heavens and timing.

The Time Measurement in the Inscription of Champa 2

The Champa inscriptions are important materials for studying the ancient history of Champa, which can be divided into three categories: Champa Sanskrit inscriptions, Champa ancient Champa inscriptions, and Champa ancient Champa Sanskrit mixed inscriptions. The earliest Champa inscriptions were written in Sanskrit, indicating the use of Sanskrit by the Champa people. The Champa people worship the moon, and the full moon night is a time for important sacrificial activities. The inscription mentions the worship of members of the Shilimoluo royal family on a moonlit night, as well as the fact that the Champa king was born into the "family of flawless autumn moon". The Champa people used celestial bodies as time reference objects to record important times, as detailed in the inscription on the Meishan Monument (C.87), where the Champa people used celestial bodies as time reference objects. The astronomical knowledge mastered by the Champa people partially originated from India. The ancient Indians divided the orbit of the moon into twenty-eight segments, known as the "moon station/star constellation" (nak ṣ atra), which is in line with the nine solstices. The Champa Inscription uses Sanskrit to express the nine suns, such as the sun (arkka/arka/s ā ditya/ravi), moon (candramas/chandratmaj ā s/udupa), Mercury (budha/somasuta), Venus (ś ukra/bh ṛ gur), Mars (bhauma/dhar ā suta), Jupiter (a ṅ giras/[sura] gur ū), Saturn (saura/aga), Kidu (ketu), and Rahu (r ā hu). The Champa people use the ninth day to measure the seasons, and the seventh day is also used to express the number of weeks. Champa, Khmer, and Javanese countries all learned the way of counting the seven days from India, but there are differences in their expressions. In the inscription on the Champa monument, the seventh day of the lunar calendar does not appear very neat, with v ā ra and diva being used interchangeably. By the 10th century, the Champa Stele continued to express time through celestial bodies. The inscription first used the Sakya calendar to determine the year, and then mentioned the month. The expression of the month was mainly expressed through the constellations.

3 Ancient Zhan Man's cosmology

Explored the formation of ancient Chinese cosmology and its relationship with time measurement. The ancient Zhan people adopted the astronomical and Sakya chronologies, which, although originating from India, incorporated their own cosmic logic. The exchange between central Vietnam and southern India began in the 3rd century BC, as evidenced by the Indian agate bead chains found in architectural sites such as the Shahuang site. In ancient India, Mount Sumeru was regarded as the center, and the ancient people also regarded high mountains as the center of the world and power, such as Mount Mer and Mount Temple. The ancient people imitated Mount Sumeru to build a sacrificial tower, reflecting their cosmology. They have a special affection for the moon, worship it, possibly influenced by India, and also worship the sun. Champa society is full of binary concepts, where the sun and moon represent the two poles of the universe, yin and yang, but not absolute exclusion. King Champa believed that he had a unified attribute with the gods, so he crowned his name with the god's name and carved his portrait on the linga. The stars became the courtiers of the "king", and time was the norm and scale of sacrifice. The complex expression of time shaped the king's authoritarian rule. It is unknown how ancient people measured time in their daily lives, but Master Yijing's travelogue mentions the method of "turning right to observe time". The Southeast Asian region experiences significant changes in the shadow of the sun, making it difficult to divide seasons. The knowledge of Indian astronomy and astrology has provided a new perspective for the ancient people. The stars, mountains, rivers, seas, and objects together constitute the ancient people's understanding of time, and ceremonies, sacrifices, and festivals are based on the calendar. After the 13th century, the Islamic faith emerged, and in 1832, the ancient kingdom of Champa became history. The Champa society was divided into two branches: Champa and Champani. Under new rule, religion, and trends, cosmology and time perception gradually faded away and were replaced by industrial spatiotemporal perception.

4 Additional Discussions

Emphasis was placed on the characteristics of time measurement in the Champa Inscription, including two parts: chronology and timekeeping. The chronology adopts the ancient Indian Sakya calendar, which has a special noun counting method that reflects the ancient people's understanding of the world. Jishi displays a picture of the universe, recording moments using constellations such as Jiuyao and stars. The expression of time usually appears in the prose style of inscriptions or the rhyming style of poetry. The ancient people unified the celestial bodies, stars, and all things in nature, from the universe to the king, expressing the unity of the king with nature and divinity through time. The elements of Jiuyao, Xingxiu, Tiangong, and Sakya chronology, along with inscriptions, became a means to demonstrate the legitimacy of the rule of the Champa King.