astronomers in the imperial court who inherited the position didn't study their craft well and were unable to improve the almanac. The imperial court had to ask the Jesuits for help to construct a new almanac.</p><p>There were scholars attempting to uncover the mathematical principle behind the ancient almanacs since the 17th century and made a number of discoveries, but the ancient method of computing the superior epoch remained an unsolved problem until about three decades ago when the mathematician Q&#36