摘要

宋元以來，伊斯蘭世界與中國之間，藉由成熟的海洋技術而有著頻繁貿易的往來，不同文化之間的交流亦隨之興起。在中國航海史上著名的航海家鄭和（1371-1433），曾在十五世紀初期帶領著船隊七次下西洋，航程遠至非洲東岸。歷史材料提及鄭和船隊可能利用一種名為「牽星術」的導航技術，並使用一種名為「牽星板」的導航儀器。藉由這樣的儀器，導航員可在夜晚中測量星體和地平線的仰角，並以「指」為測量單位，了解船隻的位置，以成功達到越洋航行的目的。本論文主旨即在探討這種導航技術與儀器背後的多文化語言與天文知識的基礎。
我發現在遠洋航行中，水手必須熟練於時間的掌握及方位的辨識，他們藉由觀察星體的運行來解決這兩個問題。而在印度洋及阿拉伯海之中，使用泰米爾及馬拉姆語的水手們，便相當善於運用這樣的導航技術。這樣的技術藉由星體仰角的高度來判斷時間，並以zām 為單位。zām　是一種古代印度計算時間的方式，主要使用特定亮星及月亮做為觀測的依據，測量出 「指」，阿拉伯語為isba (إصبع)，同樣為手指的意思。配合zām的計時方式，得以在汪洋大海中了解航行所花費的時間。水手們更利用在黃昏或清晨時分，藉由亮星於海平面的位置，來判斷方位。除此之外，在儀器的使用上，類似「牽星板」的航海儀器有著多種形式的存在。例如，水手在測量的時候，可以使用相同的板子但運用不同的結點，或者使用不同大小的板子，但繩長不變，亦或是板子大小不同且同時隨結點改變。在中國史料中，明代李詡《戒庵老人漫筆》等材料顯示，牽星板是一組由十二塊大小不同的木板組成，顯示華人地區所使用之「牽星板」為板子多塊的類型。而在中國的歷史材料《武備志》中，除了記載此項航海技術的遺跡，也標示著稱為「針路」的中國傳統航海方式。此種特殊的繪圖方式，即說明多種文化的導航知識存在於這條航線上。另一方面，我們亦可從使用方式和儀器的名稱上窺見知識的流動，例如「牽星」一詞在阿拉伯語中為al-qaid (تكبيل)，同為牽引的意思，為一種記憶天體相對位置的特定記憶方法。令人驚喜的是，更多語言關連如同「牽星」和「指」的例子，隨著航海技術的達發而存在於此條航線中。綜合以上而言，不論從史料或是語言翻譯上，都可以看出跨文化知識傳遞的軌跡。
最後，我根據《前聞記》的航程記載，逐步說明鄭和越洋航行之時所使用的導航知識。發現船隊利用季風做為動力，於冬季利用東北季風出發，並順著夏季的西南季風回程。此外，從《武備志》裡「過洋牽星圖」的記載中，了解船隊主要仰賴現今北極星、昴宿星團、北河三、南河三、老人星和南十字星，以確認船隻在固定緯度的航線之上。與此同時，導航員利用「牽星板」等相似儀器，除了確認船隻所處緯度，更測量星體在天空仰角的變化，搭配zām這種計時方式而得知航行時間。
因此，本論文認為，此類航海技術的發展非一蹴可及，鄭和並非第一位於此條航線上航行之人，鄭和下西洋所使用的導航技術，乃是一個多文化交流之下的成果，包含著伊斯蘭、印度、與中國等不同文化的導航技術。因此，鄭和的壯舉，其實是多文化交流之下的結果。

Abstract
Beginning from the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Muslim and Chinese ships frequently sailed the south China coast, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and the Persian Gulf, trading goods and cultures. The Chinese naval commander Zheng He鄭和 (Cheng Ho, 1371-1433) lead seven expeditions along these sea routes, sailing as far as the east coast of Africa in the early 15th century. Historical sources mention that Zheng He used a navigation method called qianxing shu 牽星術, which employed a particular instrument named qianxing ban 牽星板. Navigators could use this instrument to measure the angle between stars and horizon to find units of zhi指. They used this technique to understand the location of their ships while sailing in the open-sea. This thesis discusses the linguistic connections between different cultures and the astronomical knowledge behind that technology.
Time and direction were essential to this maritime technology, and this technology united these two issues by observing stars. This technique relied on the altitudes of stars and horizon to define time. Moreover, it used zām, which was a special time-measurement system in ancient India, as a unit of time and measured the specific bright stars and the moon in terms of zhi指in Chinese and isba (إصبع) in Arabic. Both words mean “finger.” Also, navigators observed the bright stars on horizon in dawn and dusk to understand directions. This technique employed the instrument qianxing ban, which can be classified in different types: those with knotted strings and a single board, those with unknotted strings and boards of different sizes, and those with both knotted strings and different sizes of boards.
By the seventeenth century, a treatise on armament technology reported that Chinese sailors carried magnetic-needle routes marked with gen 更. These maps were typical of traditional Chinese maritime technology, but also contained information about the stars in terms of the unit zhi which was familiar to most sailors in the Indian and Arabic Oceans. Thus, these sea-charts prove the cultural interactions on this sea-route.
Finally, Zheng He’s voyage is reconstructed. Zheng He’s fleet exploited the power of the monsoon. They relied on the northeast wind to depart in winter, then followed the southwest wind to return to China in summer. Moreover, Zheng He’s navigators relied on the altitudes of Pole Star, Pleiades, Pollux, Procyon, Canopus and Southern Cross for directions. In this way, sailors could keep on the right route. Meanwhile, they used qianxing ban to measure the angle of stars. They also used the zām time-measurement system to measure time. In conclusion, the qianxing shu and qianxing ban were the result of centuries of cultural communications between China, India, and the Islamic world.

Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………1
Navigational Skill and Lunar Mansions………………7
Introduction…………………………………………………………………7
History of Navigation…………………………………………………….8
Chinese Navigation……………………………………………………….9
Arabic Navigation……………………………………………………….14
Isba and Zām…………………………………………………………..….17
Navigation methods…………………………………………………...23
Qiyas………………………………………………………………………………….….23
Fettering…………………………………………………………………………….….25
Abdāl…………………………………………………………………………..…………26
Navigational Miscellany………………………………………………..……….27
Monsoon……………………………………………………………………28
Monsoons of the Arabian Sea………………………………………………..28
Monsoons of the Indian Ocean………………………………………………28
Lunar Mansions………………………………………………………….32
Definition of Lunar Mansions……………………………………..32
Simple Astronomy………………………………………………………………….33
Development of Astronomy……………………………………………..…...35
Lunar Mansions in different cultures………………………….45
Astronomy: Mansions mark day of month……………………………..51
Connection of Lunar Mansions to Navigational Astronomy……53
Use of Lunar Mansions in Time-Keeping…………………………….….54
Conclusions…………………………………………………………….….55
How to Use Lunar Mansions………………………………………………….55
Relationship with Navigation……………………………………………..….56
Instruments………………………………………………..…..60
Introduction………………………………………………………….……60
Compass Rose and Magnetic Compass…………………….…62
A. Magnetic Needle Compass (Chinese)…………………………….…..64
B. Zām compass (India, Arabic)………………………………………….…..68
Astrolabe……………………………………………………………….…..75
History, Greek to Arabic…………………………………………………….…..75
Parts of the Astrolabe…………………………………………………………...76
Uses of Astrolabe…………………………………………………………….…….83
Results, latitude, and time…………………………………………………..…88
About Qianxin ban and Liangtian chi …………………….…..89
The Liangtian chi……………………………………………………..…90
What is the Qianxin ban……………………………………………..94
A. Knots………………………………………………………………………………...95
B. Different sizes………………………………………………………….……..101
C. Different Sized Boards with Knots……………………………..…….101
Conclusion……………………………………………………….……..102
Zheng He……………………………………………………….105
Introduction……………………………………………………….….…105
Background………………………………………………………….…..106
How Did Zheng He Succeed in His Voyage?.................112
Linguistic Connections………………………………………………125
Development of Instruments……………………………………127
Conclusion……………………………………………………………….131
Conclusion…………………………………………………….135
Reference………………………………………………………141

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