THE LAST YEAR OF THE CENTURY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 53, 3 March 1900, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE LAST YEAR OF THE CENTURY.

A CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE CASE.

Sir Chihchen Lofengluh writes from the Chinese Legation to the "Morning Post" a mcst lucid and admirable letter on the century question, which is giving trouble to a good many people:—

I submit (he says) that the twentieth century begins on January 1, 1901, and not on January 1,-1900.

Suppose I were desirous of ascertaining how many years ago the Emperor Foo-Hi, the ilrst author of our famous "Book of Changes," ascended the throne of China. I would naturally ascertain in what year B.C. his accession took place and add that to the present year,. Now Fo-Hi came to the throne 2953 B?Ci Adding /to that iSO.9, I find that the total is 2953 plus 1899 equal 4852, which is the number*of years ago that Foo-Hi began to reign, and agrees ■with the Chinese chronology.

Had there been a year 0 in the reckoning Fo-Hi would have begun his reign 4853 years ago, but 0 never did represent a year or any other space of time. It is nothing but a point, and has no parts or magnitude. .

We may see an exact analogy to this if we look at a map of the world. There tho equator is marked 0,. while the degrees of latitude north andsputhof it are numbered 1 to 90 consecutively. But 0 is not fi degree or even a minute, or even a second of arc; it is nothing but a line, i.e., length without breadtlvseparating northern latitude from southern latitude. Similarly in the Reaumur, and; Centigrade thermometers 0 is not a degree of heat or cold; it is only the lifl.e~ marking the poinl and the division between frost and thaw on the plus and minus expressions of temperature. , •

In China we have two ways of calculate ing years, which may be called the Imperial way and the historical way respectively; the former is for the purpose of showing respect" to the Emperor, and by it we reckon every notable event as having1 occurred in such and such a year of such an Emperor's reign. During the present dynasty, which began to reign 255 years ago, there have been nine Emperors. Consequently the question, "'When does tlve first year of the'reign begin?" crops up so..frequently that it has ceased to present any puzzle to us in China. I need hardly remark that each reign begins ■with the year Land never with the year 0. .The second way consists In the employment of cycles of 160 years,'which are denoted by us not by figures as with you, but by 60 different combinations or names. These cycles may be said to furnish a rough parallel to <your centuries. But as there is no such thing as a zero (0) in the ccmtination or names, the confusion that arises, with your, employment thereof could not possibly arise with us. TO put the case even more simply, the 20th century'naturally begins where the 19th century leaves off. This brings us up to the further question, When did the 19th century begin? and finally by working backwards we arrive at;the query: Did the first century A.b. commence immediately on the conclusion of the first century 8.C.? If so, there obvkaisly never was a year 0; and if so the first, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries all,began or begin on the years 1, 1801, and 1901 A.D. respectively.