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Bill Mak

Needham Research Institute, Cambridge, Needham Research Institute, Research Fellow

University of Science and Technology of China, Department of History of Science and Technology and Archaeometry, Faculty Member

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Bill Mak is a researcher and writer, currently based in University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China, specialising in history of science in Asia, Chinese and Indian astral science, and Buddhist philology.

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Papers by Bill Mak

The Hindu Temple in Hong Kong and Its Nineteenth-Century Cemetery

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, 2023

The Hong Kong Hindu Temple, inaugurated in 1953, is the oldest known structure solely dedicated t... more The Hong Kong Hindu Temple, inaugurated in 1953, is the oldest known structure solely dedicated to Hindu worship in Hong Kong. The land on which the temple was built was originally granted to the Hindu community by the Hong Kong Government in 1928 as the Hindu Cemetery, with graves dating to the late nineteenth century. The Tamil and English inscriptions on the memorial pillar and the tombstones provide us a glimpse of the life of the early Indian migrants in the British colony, together with the oldest local inscription of the Tamil word for Hong Kong: aṅkām. This article examines the history of the temple, the early Hindu community in Hong Kong and the circumstances under which these Hindu graves were consecrated when normally cremation instead was expected.

From Zero to Infinity – China's Encounter with Indian Mathematics

Inner Asia, 2024

Both China and India have an ancient mathematical tradition. From the extant records, the encount... more Both China and India have an ancient mathematical tradition. From the extant records, the encounter of the two traditions took place in Inner Asia, Southeast Asia and in various cosmopolitan centres along the Silk Roads during the first millennium ce. The encounter was documented almost exclusively from the Chinese side, along with fragmentary evidence from Central Asia and the Sino-Indian peripheries, and almost none from India. In this paper, my focus will be the Chinese reception of Indian zero and large numbers, and to evaluate critically the impact they had, or did not have, on the Chinese mathematical tradition, and what the factors for exchange are.

Evidences for Early Indian and Buddhist Presence in South China Re-Examined — The Case of Pui To in Tuen Mun

Mapping South China and the Maritime Silk Roads — Research Seminar Occasional Papers, 2024

This working paper examines the textual and archeological evidences that point to the presence an... more This working paper examines the textual and archeological evidences that point to the presence and activities of Indians and Buddhists, foreign and local, in the southern coastal region of China during the first millennium CE. In particular, the various accounts connected to the monk Pui To (Beidu) and the port of Tuen Mun (Tunmen) are closely examined. Instead of treating these accounts as isolated occurrences that took place at the peripheries of Imperial China, I attempt to situate them within a broader framework of cultural and commercial exchange between China and South and Southeast Asia connected through the maritime network.

Persian Astronomy in China

The Medieval History Journal, 2024

During the Tang period (618-907 CE), a considerable number of Persian nobles sought refuge in Chi... more During the Tang period (618-907 CE), a considerable number of Persian nobles sought refuge in China after the collapse of the Sasanian empire in 651, and their distinctive cultural identity was held in high esteem by some Chinese elites. In contrast to Indians who also came into China during and before this time and whose influences were largely mediated through the Buddhist religion, Persians tended to be prominent in the secular fields of astronomy, medicine, and commerce. This paper examines the history of Persian astronomers in China from the Tang period by contextualising their presence within the broader picture of knowledge transfer in Eurasia, focusing on these Persian astronomers’ lives, works, and interaction with the Chinese. Although their impact on Chinese astronomy and culture appear to be small, their tradition was later seen by the Perso-Islamic astronomers in China from the Yuan period (1271-1368 CE) onward as the antecedent to their astral science, exemplified by works such as the Ming Translation of An Astral Treatise (Mingyi tianwenshu 明譯天文書) and the Huihui Canon (Huihui li 回回曆).

"Yavanajataka" in: The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa, 2024

The Yavanajātaka, attributed to the Greco- Indian Sphujidhvaja, is one of best-preserved specimen... more The Yavanajātaka, attributed to the Greco- Indian Sphujidhvaja, is one of best-preserved specimens of Greco-Indian astral treatises composed around the middle of the first millennium CE. It belongs to a subset of Jyotiṣa literature known as horaā (horoscopy) with notable foreign influences associated with the Yavanas (Greeks). The extant recension of the text contains about 2270 verses. It deals with various topics in horoscopy and other indigenous forms of astral divination, with content that provides a reflection of the Indian society at the time of its composition. Although the Yavanajātaka was known to Indian astronomers from at least the seventh century, the Yavanajātaka does not appear to have been widely circulated. Interest in this text was generated among Indian and western scholars since the late nineteenth century, and in particular through the meticulous studies by David Pingree during the second half of the twentieth century.

Aquilaria and the Origin of Hong Kong

Aquilaria, 2024

The paper examines the history of Aquilaria from different cultural sources of different periods,... more The paper examines the history of Aquilaria from different cultural sources of different periods, and how they shaped the narratives of Hong Kong, one of the most iconic cities in Asia. From the British colonial description of Hong Kong as a ‘barren rock’ to the more recent rediscovery of the Chinese accounts of pre-colonial Hong Kong as a thriving trading hub of aromatics, our understanding of Hong Kong and its role in the region depended heavily on researchers’ understanding and interpretation of historical sources. The aromatic tree was widely transplanted and cultivated in South China, to the extent that for nearly a millennium it was considered an indigenous produce, albeit exotic in origin. Looking further beyond China, Indian records reveal a vast, ancient global network of trade of exotic goods and aromatics. More enigmatic is the evidence that suggests Southeast Asia might be the true origin of Aquilaria, with an enduring connection with the southern coast of China.

The First Two Chapters of the Paitāmahasiddhānta

SCIAMVS, 2021

The role of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in early Indian astronomy has been a subject of ongoing debate... more The role of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in early Indian astronomy has been a subject of ongoing debate. According to Pingree, the Paitāmahasiddhānta in nine chapters found in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa is the “basic text” of the school of Brāhmapakṣa, which belongs to the earliest stage of the “Greek Period” in Indian astronomy ca. 400 CE; this work was known to Āryabhaṭa, and was furthermore the source of Brahmagupta’s Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta. Against these claims were van der Waerden and others, who consider the text to postdate the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta and thus play no such role in the history of Indian astronomy. Central to the problem, however, is the critical text of the Paitāmahasiddhānta itself, which has not been edited and examined in its entirety. This paper provides a preliminary investigation into the questions of chronology and intertextuality surrounding this text by providing a critical edition and translation of the first two hitherto unedited chapters of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, which were overlooked by Pingree on account of their “corrupt,” non-astronomical content.

Full Paper:
https://www.sciamvs.org/2021.html

The Transmission of Greek Astral Science into India Reconsidered - Critical Remarks on the Contents and the Newly Discovered Manuscript of the Yavanajātaka

History of Science in South Asia, 2013

Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself... more Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself as one of the most important historical documents in various fields of Indology, from the history of mathematics and astral science, to Indian chronology and historical contacts among ancient cultures. A number of Pingree's discoveries concerning the text were widely quoted by scholars in the past decades. These discoveries may be summarised as follows: The Yavanajātaka was an astrological/astronomical work composed in 269/270 CE. by Sphujidhvaja, an Indianised Greek who lived in the realm of the Western Kṣatrapas. The work was a versification of a prose original in Greek composed by Yavaneśvara in Alexandria in 149/150 CE. The work, though highly corrupted and clumsily expressed, contains algorithms of "ultimately Babylonian origin"; and the earliest reference to the decimal place-value with a symbol for zero (bindu).

Scientific Exchange and Cultural Contact through the First Millennium CE NRI-AIIT-FAMES Cambridge 2021 workshop programme (Final update)

China, India, and Iran – Scientific Exchange and Cultural Contact through the First Millennium CE... more China, India, and Iran – Scientific Exchange and Cultural Contact through the First Millennium CE

2021 NRI-AIIT-FAMES Workshop

Cambridge, U.K.
October 8-9, 2021

Beside keynote speech by Prof. Samuel Lieu on the "Names of China," fifteen scholars will present their papers on a wide range of topics, from languages, astronomy, mathematics, metallurgy, materia medica, to material culture, all related to the scientific exchange and cultural contact between China, India, and Iran through the first millennium CE.

Muhūrta in Gārgīyajyotiṣa

Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 2020

Scholars have generally opined that the extant recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (G1) contains mate... more Scholars have generally opined that the extant recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (G1) contains materials dated to as early as the first century C.E., coinciding with the period of Indian astronomy we know very little about. The name Garga and astral works attributed to this author were known to the Chinese before the sixth century C.E. The decipherment of this partially edited text by an international team of scholars has been ongoing since 2017. An unusual feature of G1 overlooked by previous scholars is that the first Aṅga, titled “Karmaguṇa” (“constituents of ritual acts”) has a different character when compared to the subsequent ones in terms of structure, format, and content. While a detailed analysis is possible only when a complete critical edition of G1 is produced, some of the salient differences may be readily discerned based on our preliminary examination of the text.

Bhaṭṭotpala and Scientific Learning in Tenth-Century Kashmir

Journal of Indological Studies, 2018

Vedic Astral Lore and Planetary Science in the Gārgīyajyotiṣa

History of Science in South Asia, 2019

Among the sixty-four aṅgas of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargas... more Among the sixty-four aṅgas of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these materials are widely cited later on in works such as Varāhamihira's Bṛhatsaṃhitā as well as Buddhist works such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing, and are considered some of the oldest sources of early, pre-siddhāntic Indian astral science. In this paper, I shall highlight some of the unique characteristics of the unedited chapters of the work where such materials are found, with focus on the planetary science and the methods of time-reckoning.

The Transmission of the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī and Other Buddhist Planetary Astral Texts

Pacific World, 3rd ser., 2018

Among the Indic Buddhist texts that carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī... more Among the Indic Buddhist texts that carry a conspicuous planetary
theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short ritual text that enjoyed great
popularity in North India, Central Asia, and Tibet throughout the latter
half of the first millennium. Traces of the practice can still be found
among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal to the present day. This paper
first examines the historical transmission of this text, followed by a
comparison with the astral materials found in other Buddhist and non-
Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and what the motivation behind
such astral practice was.

『仏国暦象編』におけるインド天文学について [The Indian Astronomy in the Bukkokurekishōhen]

East-West Encounter in the Science of Heaven and Earth 天と地の科学, 2019

"The Treatise on the Astral Science of the Buddhist Land" by the Japanese scholar-monk Entsū 円通 (... more "The Treatise on the Astral Science of the Buddhist Land" by the Japanese scholar-monk Entsū 円通 (1754-1834) is a work that deals with various topics concerning the astronomical knowledge transmitted from China, and the Islamic and European (Dutch Learning) traditions, and comments on them from the point of view of the “Buddhist Land,” or in other words, the Buddhist texts. While the “Buddhist Land” may be understood as equivalent to India, the Buddhist texts Entsū cited are numerous and their content heterogeneous, containing different and at times incompatible theories. How then did Entsū synthesize the Indian astral science in his Treatise based on the Buddhist texts and the astronomical references found in other historical works? To what extent did Entsū succeed in representing Indian astral science as it was? This paper focuses on these two questions in an attempt to understand the “Indian astral science” in Entsū’s astral masterpiece against the broader background of reception/rejection of European cosmology and astronomy in nineteenth century Japan.

Greco-Babylonian Astral Science in Asia: Patterns of Dissemination and Transformation

East-West Encounter in the Science of Heaven and Earth天と地の科学—東と西の出会い, 2019

Greco-Babylonian astral science had a wide dissemination throughout Eurasia during the first mill... more Greco-Babylonian astral science had a wide dissemination throughout Eurasia during the first millennium CE. The traditional model proposed by Neugebauer, Pingree and Yano revealed how certain unique astronomical and astrological ideas spread unilaterally to India and China under different guises. This paper proposes an supplementary model where scientific notions exemplified in culturally hybrid astral texts such as the Yavanajātaka, Gārgīyajyotiṣa, Xiuyao jing 宿曜經, and Qiyao rangzai jue 七曜攘災決, are treated as conglomerates of smaller packages of knowledge rather than texts representing unique monolithic traditions. These bodies of foreign knowledge invariably interacted with the indigenous systems, in India and China where an astronomical tradition was already firmly established and a process of negotiation thus ensued. Different strategies were developed to absorb certain aspects of the foreign knowledge into the indigenous ones.

Tithikarmaguṇa in Gārgīyajyotiṣa – Tithi worship according to a number of early sources

Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 2018

Garga and Early Astral Science in India

History of Science in South Asia, 2017

Latest research on one of the oldest Indian treatises on the Astral Science

2014 Yusi Jing - A treatise of “Western” Astral Science in Chinese and its versified version Xitian yusi jing

Yusi jing聿斯經 is a title attributed to a handful of foreign astral treatises widely mentioned in C... more Yusi jing聿斯經 is a title attributed to a handful of foreign astral treatises widely mentioned in Chinese historiographical works since the late first millennium. Its historical presence and scope of influence are attested by the references and citations found in documents from Dunhuang, China and Japan. Based on the extant materials, scholars have suggested the classical Greek genethliacal astrology exemplified by Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos to be its source and that the Christians of the East-Syrian Church were responsible for its transmission. Unfortunately, only fragments of the text survived and there have been no attempts to examine the content of the text itself. In this paper, I will examine a text titled Xitian yusi jing西天聿斯經found in the Xingxue dacheng星學大成 (“Grand Compendium of Astral Studies”), a Ming anthology of astral treatises. The content, authorship and putative sources of this text, as well as its relation with the Yusi jing will be discussed. In addition, an edition and English translation of the text, together with a comparison with Dorotheus’ Carmen Astrologicum and other works are provided.

2013 The Last Chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka critically edited with notes

Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja'... more Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka has been known as one of the earliest extant specimens of Indian astronomical works composed in Sanskrit. Subsequently, thanks to David Pingree's 1978 edition of the text, this chapter became widely recognized as one of the earliest Greek astronomical texts translated into Sanskrit, revealing the remarkable connection between the Greco-Babylonian astral science and the Indian one. However, some of Pingree's claims had been disputed by scholars and Pingree's reading and interpretation of the primary materials have been challenged by scholars such as Shukla (1989) and Falk (2001). In the light of the discovery of a new Nepalese paper manuscript and some other additional materials, some of the lacunae may now be filled and the additional variant readings have given us further clues to an improved interpretation of the text. The present study provides a summary of all the new findings concerning the last chapter of the Yavanajātaka, together with a revised, annotated critical edition.

2016 Astral Science of the East Syriac Christians in China during the late first millennium AD

This paper examines the astral knowledge of the East Syriac Christians in China (formerly known a... more This paper examines the astral knowledge of the East Syriac Christians in China (formerly known as Nestorians) and its development from the Tang Dynasty onward. In particular, I will focus on the process of transmission of Hellenistic astral science from the Near East via the Silk Road and Central Asia to East Asia, as well as the role of the Christians of the Church of the East, including most notably the Sino-Persian Li family, in disseminating foreign astronomical knowledge throughout China during the late first millennium AD. Among the most important sources is a text titled Yusi jing, translated from an unknown language into Chinese some time after the seventh century AD. An examination of its content reveals a striking resemblance to Dorotheus' Carmen Astrologicum (first century AD). Subsequently, the text went through a long course of transformation and sinicisation, and had wide influence to the evolution of Chinese astrological and mantic science (fate calculation) through the second millennium AD. As it will be demonstrated, the eastward transmission of Greco-Persian astral science was a part of the greater picture of the circulation of knowledge in Eurasia during the first millennium AD.

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