从航海天文角度研究了《郑和航海图》的价值。《郑和航海图》是中国古代航海经验的结晶,它既是郑和等人航海实践的记录,又是宋、元时代牵星航海经验的总结。文章推算出牵星术"一指"相当于天体高度的1.9°。同时考证出以"指"为量度单位起源于战国时期,证明中国的天文导航技术由来已久,且独具特色,自成体系。

This paper studies the value of Zheng He's Charts from the angle of navigation astronomy. Zheng He's Charts were the crystallization of the ancient Chinese navigation. They were both the records of the experiences accumulated by Zheng He and his forerunners in their seafaring activities and the summary of the astronomical navigation during the Song and Yuan dynasties.The calculation shows that the unit of measurement "Zhi" is equivalent to 1.9?. Further inference is drawn from the ancient literature that this measure in navigation astronomy originated as early as the Periods of the Warring States.