Hong Dae-yong on the Earth's rotation and an infinite universe
Rotación de la Tierra y universo infinito de Hong Dae-yong
- Date
- c. 1766-1783 · confidence medium
- Place
- Cheonan, South Chungcheong, South Korea
- Credited to
- Hong Dae-yong
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
The Silhak scholar argued in his 'Dialogue on Mount Uisan' (Uisan mundap) that the Earth turns daily on its axis and that the universe is infinite, without a centre, with countless inhabited worlds. He also built a private observatory (Nongsuru) with an armillary sphere.
Hong learned European astronomy from Jesuits in Beijing (1765-66) and from Chinese books; Kim Seok-mun (1658-1735) had already proposed a rotating Earth. The date of the work is approximate, and how much it owes to Jesuit or Chinese sources is debated.
What it led to
- a critique of the Sinocentric view of the cosmos in Joseon
- reflection on other inhabited worlds in Korean thought
- Silhak school astronomy