Chronometry: The Measurments of Time, Seasons and Year by the Chinese

 As the current Chinese Zodiac Year of The Rabbit, the year I was born comes to a close exactly 2 weeks from now to give way to the Year of the Dragon on 10 February 2024 here is a brief history of the Chinese Calendar according to some information from Wikipedia with some corrections, deletions, editing and updating.

I shall write a better and more detailed technical version later. Briefly, we shall start with the current symbolic zodiac of the twelve animals. 

The Chinese zodiac of 12 animals, each representing a new lunar year in cycles is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar.  In traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese zodiac is very important and exists as a reflection of Chinese beliefs and their culture. The Chinese belief system held that one’s personality is related to the attributes of their zodiac animal.  Although its origin is from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries where the Chinese have migrated.

Identifying this scheme using the generic term "zodiac" replicates several superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into twelve parts, each mark at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle.

Surprisingly, the 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people’s personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.

For the starting date of a zodiac year, there are two schools of thought in Chinese astrology: Chinese New Year or the Start of Spring.

The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane in astronomy. The Chinese twelve-part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is calculated from the lunar calendar, which is based on astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and the circularity of the moon.

Having briefly said this, the Chinese calendar is far more ancient and historical than the zodiac calendar.

Furthermore, the zodiac calendar does not tell us a single bit how time in days, months and years are measured. It just symbolizes the cycles of animals in each Chinese lunar year. So, we need to be more technical than that to examine how the various types of calendars were constructed. 

The Chronmetry of Chinese Calendars:

As far as I know, there are many types and subtypes of the Chinese calendars used for time measurements which over a millennium plus history has shaped many disparities, currently mainly associated with the 21st century nation state of the People's Republic of China. The topic of the Chinese calendar embraces various traditional types of the Chinese calendar, of which particularly obvious are, identifying years, months, and days according to astronomical phenomena and calculations, with usually an especial effort to correlate the solar and lunar cycles experienced on earth—but which are known to mathematically require some degree of approximation. Typical characteristics of early calendars incorporate the use of the sexagenary cycle-based ganzhi system's replicating cycles of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The logic of the various permutations of the Chinese calendar was based on technical mathematics and astronomy, the philosophical considerations, and the political, and the resulting disparities between different calendars is significant and notable. Numerous similar calendar systems are also known from various regions or ethnic groups of Central Asia, South Asia, and other areas. Indeed, the Chinese calendar has influenced and been influenced by most parts of the world these days. One predominantly popular feature is the Chinese zodiac as already briefly metioned. The Chinese calendar and horology include many multifaceted methods of computing years, eras, months, days, and hours (with modern horology even splitting the seconds).

Epochs are one of the important landscapes of calendar systems. An epoch is a particular point in time at which a calendar system may use as its initial time reference, allowing for the consecutive numbering of years from a chosen starting year, date, or time. In the Chinese calendar system, examples include the inauguration of Huangdi or the birth of Confucius. Likewise, many dynasties had their own dating systems, which could include regnal eras based on the inauguration of a dynasty, the enthronement of a particular monarch, or eras arbitrarily designated due to political or other considerations, such as a desire for a change the luck. Era names are useful for determining dates on artifacts such as ceramics, which were often traditionally dated by an era name during the production process.

Variations of the lunisolar calendar are a predominantly prominent feature of the Chinese calendar system. The topic of the Chinese calendar includes various traditional types of the Chinese calendar, of which particularly prominent are, identifying years, months, and days according to astronomical phenomena and calculations, with generally an especial effort to correlate the solar and lunar cycles experienced on earth—but which are recognized to mathematically require some degree of approximation. One of the major features of some traditional calendrical systems in China (and elsewhere) was the idea of the sexagenary cycle. The Chinese lunisolar calendar has had several significant variations over the course of time and history, and despite the name also deliberates various other astronomical phenomena besides the cycles of the sun and the moon, such as the planets and the constellations (or mansions) of asterisms along the ecliptic. Many Chinese holidays ancient and modern have been determined by a lunisolar calendar or considerations of the lunisolar calendar, now generally combined with more modern calendar considerations.

Solar and agricultural calendars have a long history in China. Purely lunar calendar systems were known in China, however they tended to be of limited utility, and were not widely accepted by farmers who for agricultural purposes needed to focus on predictability of seasons for planting and harvesting purposes and to thereby produce a useful agricultural calendar. For farming purposes and keeping track of the seasons Chinese solar calendars were particularly useful. The publication of multipurpose and agricultural almanacs has been a longstanding tradition in China.

The horology of the Chinese calendar also embraces variations of the modern Chinese calendar, influenced by the Gregorian calendar, which is a calendar system which was initially adopted in parts of Europe in 1582. Variations include methodologies of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.

No reference date is universally accepted. The most popular is the Gregorian calendar (公曆; 公历; gōnglì; 'common calendar').

During the 17th century, the Jesuit missionaries tried to determine the epochal year of the Chinese calendar. In his Sinicae historiae decas prima (published in Munich in 1658), Martino Martini (1614–1661) dated the Yellow Emperor's ascension at 2697 BCE and began the Chinese calendar with the reign of Fuxi (which, according to Martini, began in 2952 BCE). Philippe Couplet's 1686 Chronological table of Chinese monarchs (Tabula chronologica monarchiae sinicae) gave the same date for the Yellow Emperor. The Jesuits' dates provoked interest in Europe, where they were used for comparison with Biblical chronology.  Modern Chinese chronology has generally accepted Martini's dates, except that it usually places the reign of the Yellow Emperor at 2698 BCE and omits his predecessors Fuxi and Shennong as "too legendary to include".

Publications began using the estimated birth date of the Yellow Emperor as the first year of the Han calendar in 1903, with newspapers and magazines proposing different dates. Jiangsu province counted 1905 as the year 4396 (using a year 1 of 2491 BCE, and implying that 2024 CE is 4515), and the newspaper Ming Pao (明報) reckoned 1905 as 4603 (using a year 1 of 2698 BCE and implying that 2024 CE is 4722). Liu Shipei (劉師培, 1884–1919) created the Yellow Emperor Calendar (黃帝紀元, 黃帝曆 or 軒轅紀年), with year 1 as the birth of the emperor (which he determined as 2711 BCE, implying that 2024 CE is 4735). There is no evidence that this calendar was used before the 20th century. Liu calculated that the 1900 international expedition sent by the Eight-Nation Alliance to suppress the Boxer Rebellion entered Beijing in the 4611th year of the Yellow Emperor.

Taoists later adopted Yellow Emperor Calendar and named it Tao Calendar (道曆).

On 2 January 1912, Sun Yat-sen announced changes to the official calendar and era. 1 January was 14 Shíyīyuè 4609 Huángdì year, assuming a year 1 of 2698 BCE, making 2024 CE year 4722. Many overseas Chinese communities like San Francisco's Chinatown adopted the change.

The modern Chinese standard calendar uses the epoch of the Gregorian calendar, which is on January 1 of the year 1 CE.

Lunisolar calendar:

Lunisolar calendars involve correlations of the cycles of the sun (solar) and the moon (lunar).

Solar and agricultural:

A solar calendar keeps track of the seasons as the earth and the sun move in the solar system relatively to each other. A purely solar calendar may be suitable in planning times for agricultural activities such as planting and harvesting. Solar calendars tend to use astronomically observable points of reference such as equinoxes and solstices, events which may be approximately predicted using fundamental methods of observation and basic mathematical analysis.

Modern Chinese calendar and horology:

The topic of the Chinese calendar also embraces variations of the modern Chinese calendar, influenced by the Gregorian calendar. Variations include methodologies of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.

Modern calendars:

In China, the modern calendar is defined by the Chinese national standard GB/T 33661–2017, "Calculation and Promulgation of the Chinese Calendar", issued by the Standardization Administration of China on May 12, 2017.

 Influence of Gregorian calendar:

Although modern-day China uses the Gregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar governs holidays, such as the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, in both China and overseas Chinese communities. It also provides the traditional Chinese nomenclature of dates within a year which people use to select auspicious days for weddings, funerals, moving or starting a business. The evening state-run news program Xinwen Lianbo in the People's Republic of China continues to announce the months and dates in both the Gregorian and the traditional lunisolar calendar.

History:

The Chinese calendar system has a long history, which has traditionally been linked with specific dynastic periods. Various separate calendar types have been developed with different names. In terms of historical development, some of the calendar variations are associated with dynastic changes along a spectrum beginning with a prehistorical / mythological time to and through well attested historical dynastic periods. Many individuals have been associated with the development of the Chinese calendar, including researchers into underlying astronomy; and, furthermore, the development of instruments of observation are historically important. Influences from India, Islam, and Jesuits also became significant.

Phenology:

Early calendar systems often were closely tied to natural phenomena. Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). The plum-rains season (梅雨), the rainy season in late spring and early summer, begins on the first bǐng day after Mangzhong (芒種) and ends on the first wèi day after Xiaoshu (小暑). The Three Fu (三伏; sānfú) are three periods of hot weather, counted from the first gēng day after the summer solstice. The first fu (初伏; chūfú) is 10 days long. The mid-fu (中伏; zhōngfú) is 10 or 20 days long. The last fu (末伏; mòfú) is 10 days from the first gēng day after the beginning of autumn.The Shujiu cold days (數九; shǔjǐu; 'counting to nine') are the 81 days after the winter solstice (divided into nine sets of nine days), and are considered the coldest days of the year. Each nine-day unit is known by its order in the set, followed by "nine" (九). In traditional Chinese culture, "nine" represents the infinity, which is also the number of "Yang". According to one belief nine times accumulation of "Yang" gradually reduces the "Yin", and finally the weather becomes warm.

Names of months

Lunar months were originally named according to natural phenomena. Contemporary naming conventions use numbers as the month names. Every month is also associated with one of the twelve Earthly Branches.

• Gregorian dates are approximate and should be used with caution. Many years have intercalary months.

Chinese astronomy:

 The Chinese calendar has been an enlargement involving much observation and calculation of the apparent movements of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, as observed from Earth.

Chinese astronomers:

Many Chinese astronomers have contributed to the development of the Chinese calendar. Many were of the scholarly or shi class (Chinese: 士; pinyin: shì), including writers of history, such as Sima Qian.

Distinguished Chinese astronomers who have contributed to the development of the calendar include Gan De, Shi Shen, and Zu Chongzhi

Technology:

Early technological developments assisting in calendar development include the development of the gnomon. Later technological developments useful to the calendar system include naming, numbering, and mapping of the sky, the development of analog computational devices such as the armillary sphere and the water clock, and the establishment of observatories.

Ancient six calendars:

From the Warring States period (ending in 221 BCE), six especially significant calendar systems are known to have begun to be developed. Later, during their future course in history, the modern names for the ancient six calendars were also developed, and can be translated into English as Huangdi, Yin, Zhou, Xia, Zhuanxu, and Lu.

Calendar variations:

There are various Chinese terms for calendar variations including:

• Nongli Calendar (traditional Chinese: 農曆; simplified Chinese: 农历; pinyin: nónglì; lit. 'agricultural calendar')
• Jiuli Calendar (traditional Chinese: 舊曆; simplified Chinese: 旧历; pinyin: jiùlì; Jyutping: Gau6 Lik6; lit.'former calendar')
• Laoli Calendar (traditional Chinese: 老曆; simplified Chinese: 老历; pinyin: lǎolì; lit. 'old calendar')
• Zhongli Calendar (traditional Chinese: 中曆; simplified Chinese: 中历; pinyin: zhōnglì; Jyutping: zung1 lik6; lit. 'Chinese calendar')
• Huali Calendar (traditional Chinese: 華曆; simplified Chinese: 华历; pinyin: huálì; Jyutping: waa4 lik6; lit. 'Chinese calendar')2017 Chinese calendar

Solar calendars:

Five-phase and four-quarter calendars

The traditional Chinese calendar was developed between 771 and 476 BCE, during the Spring and Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Solar calendars were used before the Zhou dynasty period, along with the basic sexagenary system.

Five-elements calendar:

One version of the solar calendar is the five-elements calendar (五行曆; 五行历), which derives from the Wu Xing. A 365-day year was divided into five phases of 73 days, with each phase corresponding to a Day 1 Wu Xing element. A phase began with a governing-element day (行御), followed by six 12-day weeks. Each phase consisted of two three-week months, making each year ten months long. Years began on a jiǎzǐ (甲子) day (and a 72-day wood phase), followed by a bǐngzǐ day (丙子) and a 72-day fire phase; a wùzǐ (戊子) day and a 72-day earth phase; a gēngzǐ (庚子) day and a 72-day metal phase, and a rénzǐ day (壬子) followed by a water phase. Other days were tracked using the Yellow River Map (He Tu).

Four-quarters calendar:

Another version is a four-quarters calendar (四時八節曆; 四时八节历; 'four sections', 'eight seasons calendar', or 四分曆; 四分历). The weeks were ten days long, with one month consisting of three weeks. A year had 12 months, with a ten-day week intercalated in summer as needed to keep up with the tropical year. The 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches were used to mark days.

Well-adjusted calendar:

A third version is the balanced calendar (調曆; 调历). A year was 365.25 days, and a month was 29.5 days. After every 16th month, a half-month was intercalated. According to oracle bone records, the Shang dynasty calendar (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BCE) was a balanced calendar with 12 to 14 months in a year; the month after the winter solstice was Zhēngyuè.

Lunisolar calendars by dynasty: Six ancient calendars:

Modern historical knowledge and records are limited for the earlier calendars. These calendars are known as the six ancient calendars (古六曆; 古六历), or quarter-remainder calendars, (四分曆; 四分历; sìfēnlì), since all calculate a year as 365+¹⁄₄ days long. Months begin on the day of the new moon, and a year has 12 or 13 months. Intercalary months (a 13th month) are added to the end of the year. The Qiang and Dai calendars are modern versions of the Zhuanxu calendar, used by mountain peoples.

Zhou dynasty:

The first lunisolar calendar was the Zhou calendar (周曆; 周历), introduced under the Zhou dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BCE). This calendar sets the beginning of the year at the day of the new moon before the winter solstice.

Competing Warring states calendars:

Several competing lunisolar calendars were also introduced as Zhou devolved into the Warring States, especially by states fighting Zhou control during the Warring States period (perhaps 475-221 BCE). The state of Lu issued its own Lu calendar (魯曆; ). Jin issued the Xia calendar (夏曆; 夏历) with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest the March equinox. Qin issued the Zhuanxu calendar (顓頊曆; 颛顼历), with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest the winter solstice. Song's Yin calendar (殷曆; 殷历) began its year on the day of the new moon after the winter solstice.

Qin and early Han dynasties:

After Qin Shi Huang unified China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the Qin calendar (秦曆; 秦历) was introduced. It followed most of the rules governing the Zhuanxu calendar, but the month order was that of the Xia calendar; the year began with month 10 and ended with month 9, analogous to a Gregorian calendar beginning in October and ending in September. The intercalary month, known as the second Jiǔyuè (後九月; 后九月; 'later Jiǔyuè'), was placed at the end of the year. The Qin calendar was used going into the Han dynasty.

Han dynasty Tàichū calendar:

Emperor Wu of Han r. 141 – 87 BCE introduced reforms in the seventh of the eleven named eras of his reign, Tàichū (Chinese: 太初; pinyin: Tàichū; lit. 'Grand Beginning'), 104 BC – 101 BCE. His Tàichū Calendar (太初曆; 太初历; 'grand beginning calendar') defined a solar year as 365+³⁸⁵⁄₁₅₃₉ days (365; 06:00:14.035), and the lunar month had 29+⁴³⁄₈₁ days (29;12:44:44.444). Since the 19 years cycle used for the 7 additional months was taken as an exact one, and not as an approximation.

This calendar introduced the 24 solar terms, dividing the year into 24 equal parts of 15° each. Solar terms were paired, with the 12 combined periods known as climate terms. The first solar term of the period was known as a pre-climate (节气), and the second was a mid-climate (中气). Months were named for the mid-climate to which they were closest, and a month without a mid-climate was an intercalary month.

The Taichu calendar established a framework for traditional calendars, with later calendars adding to the basic formula.

Northern and Southern Dynasties Dàmíng calendar:

The Dàmíng Calendar (大明曆; 大明历; 'brightest calendar'), created in the Northern and Southern Dynasties by Zu Chongzhi (429–500 AD), introduced the equinoxes.

Tang dynasty Wùyín Yuán calendar:

The use of syzygy in astronomy to determine the lunar month was first described in the Tang dynasty Wùyín Yuán Calendar (戊寅元曆; 戊寅元历; 'earth tiger epoch calendar').

Yuan dynasty Shòushí calendar:

The Yuan dynasty Shòushí calendar (授時曆; 授时历; 'season granting calendar') used spherical trigonometry to find the length of the tropical year. The calendar had a 365.2425-day year, identical to the Gregorian calendar.

Although the Chinese calendar lost its place as the country's official calendar at the beginning of the 20th century, its use has continued. The Republic of China Calendar published by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China still listed the dates of the Chinese calendar in addition to the Gregorian calendar. In 1929, the Nationalist government tried to ban the traditional Chinese calendar. The Kuómín Calendar published by the government no longer listed the dates of the Chinese calendar. However, Chinese people were used to the traditional calendar and many traditional customs were based on the Chinese calendar. The ban failed and was lifted in 1934. The latest Chinese calendar was "New Edition of Wànniánlì, revised edition", edited by Beijing Purple Mountain Observatory, People's Republic of China.

Shíxiàn calendar:

From 1645 to 1913 the Shíxiàn or Chongzhen was developed. During the late Ming dynasty, the Chinese Emperor appointed Xu Guangqi in 1629 to be the leader of the ShiXian calendar reform. Supported by Jesuits, he translated Western astronomical works and introduced new concepts, such as those of Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Tycho Brahe; however, the new calendar was not released before the end of the dynasty. In the early Qing dynasty, Johann Adam Schall von Bell submitted the calendar which was edited by the lead of Xu Guangqi to the Shunzhi Emperor. The Qing government issued it as the Shíxiàn (seasonal) calendar. In this calendar, the solar terms are 15° each along the ecliptic and it can be used as a solar calendar. Nevertheless, the length of the climate term near the perihelion is less than 30 days and there may be two mid-climate terms. The Shíxiàn calendar changed the mid-climate-term rule to "decide the month in sequence, except the intercalary month." The present traditional calendar follows the Shíxiàn calendar, except:

1. The baseline is Chinese Standard Time, rather than Beijing local time.
2. (Modern) astronomical data, rather than mathematical calculations, is used.

Plans:

To optimize the Chinese calendar, astronomers have suggested several changes. Gao Pingzi (高平子; 1888–1970), a Chinese astronomer who co-founded the Purple Mountain Observatory, proposed that month numbers be calculated before the new moon and solar terms to be rounded to the day. Since the intercalary month is determined by the first month without a mid-climate and the mid-climate time varies by time zone, countries that adopted the calendar but calculate with their own time could vary from the time in China.

Chinese astronomy and Chinese astrology:

Horology, or chronometry, refers to the measurement of time. In the context of the Chinese calendar, horology involves the definition and mathematical measurement of terms or elements such observable astronomical movements or events such as are associated with days, months, years, hours, and so on. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, like the Hindu, Hebrew, and ancient Babylonian calendars.

Basic horologic definitions include that days begin and end at midnight, and months begin on the day of the new moon. Years start on the second (or third) new moon after the winter solstice. Solar terms govern the beginning, middle, and end of each month. A sexagenary cycle, comprising the heavenly stems (Chinese: 干; pinyin: gān) and the earthly branches (Chinese: 支; pinyin: zhī), is used as identification alongside each year and month, including intercalary months or leap months. Months are also annotated as either long (Chinese: 大; lit. 'big' for months with 30 days) or short (Chinese: 小; lit. 'small' for months with 29 days). There are also other elements of the traditional Chinese calendar.

Day:

Days are Sun oriented. Day (日; rì), from one midnight to the next

Month:

Months are Moon oriented. Month (月; yuè), the time from one new moon to the next. These synodic months are about 29+¹⁷⁄₃₂ days long. This includes the Date (日期; rìqī), when a day occurs in the month. Days are numbered in sequence from 1 to 29 (or 30). And a Calendar month (日曆月; rìlì yuè), is when a month occurs within a year. Some months may be repeated.

Year:

Year (年; nián), time of one revolution of Earth around the Sun. It is measured from the first day of spring (lunisolar year) or the winter solstice (solar year). A year is about 365+³¹⁄₁₂₈ days. This includes the Calendar year (日曆月年; rìlì nián) when it is agreed that one-year ends and another begins. The year usually begins on the new moon closest to Lichun, the first day of spring. This is typically the second and sometimes third new moon after the winter solstice. A calendar year is 353–355 or 383–385 days long. Also includes Zodiac, ¹⁄₁₂ year, or 30° on the ecliptic. A zodiacal year is about 30+⁷⁄₁₆ days.

Solar terms:

Solar term (節氣; jiéqì), ¹⁄₂₄ year, or 15° on the ecliptic. A solar term is about 15+⁷⁄₃₂ days.

Planets:

The movements of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (sometimes known as the seven luminaries) are the references for calendar calculations.

• The distance between Mercury and the sun is less than 30° (the sun's height at chénshí: 辰時, 8:00 to 10:00 am), so Mercury was sometimes called the "chen star" (辰星); it is more commonly known as the "water star" (水星).
• Venus appears at dawn and dusk and is known as the "bright star" (啟明星; 启明星) or "long star" (長庚星; 长庚星).
• Mars looks like fire and occurs irregularly and is known as the "fire star" (熒惑星; 荧惑星 or 火星). Mars is the punisher in Chinese mythology. When Mars is near Antares (心宿二), it is a bad omen and can forecast an emperor's death or a chancellor's removal (荧惑守心).
• Jupiter's revolution period is 11.86 years, so Jupiter is called the "age star" (歲星; 岁星); 30° of Jupiter's revolution is about a year on earth.
• Saturn's revolution period is about 28 years. Known as the "guard star" (鎮星), Saturn guards one of the 28 Mansions every year.

The Constellations:

The Big Dipper is the celestial compass, and its handle's direction indicates, or some said determines the season and month.

Chinese constellations: Twenty-Eight Mansions and Lunar station

The stars are divided into Three Enclosures and 28 Mansions according to their location in the sky relative to Ursa Minor, at the centre. Each mansion is named with a character describing the shape of its principal asterism. The Three Enclosures are Purple Forbidden, (紫微), Supreme Palace (太微), and Heavenly Market. (天市) The eastern mansions are 角, 亢, 氐, 房, 心, 尾, 箕. Southern mansions are 井, 鬼, 柳, 星, 張, 翼, 轸. Western mansions are 奎, 婁, 胃, 昴, 畢, 參, 觜. Northern mansions are 斗, 牛, 女, 虛, 危, 室, 壁. The moon moves through about one lunar mansion per day, so the 28 mansions were also used to count days. In the Tang dynasty, Yuan Tiangang (袁天罡) matched the 28 mansions, seven luminaries and yearly animal signs to yield combinations such as "horn-wood-flood dragon" (角木蛟).

(Adapted and edited by jb lim from information in Wikipedia)

A Question: Is Honey and or Corn Syrup Health-Protective or Detrimental?

 

 

A question was received from Dr Jasmine Keys here:

Dr Lim

I read with great interest your article expertly written highlighting the reasons why sugar is sweet, but deadly.

The Reason Why White Table Sugar and Fructose in Fruits are Bad for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health?

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-reason-why-white-table-sugar-and.html

I have always advised my patients in the UK to avoid sugars. In turn they asked me what about honey and corn syrup other than artificial sweeteners. I have never been able to answer their question as I am only a doctor not as qualified as yourselves doubled-up as a food scientist and a nutritionist.

May I suggest you enlighten me, or rather all of us, how these different sugars impact our health.

Thanking you in anticipation

Jasmine Keys

----------------------------------------------

Thank you for your question, Dr Jasmine Keys.

Here are some possible answers:  

Honey:

The carbohydrate components of honey contain various types of mono and disaccharides. The average concentration of sugars in honey is fructose (38.38%), sucrose (30.31), and other reducing sugars (1.31, and 76.65).  

Various types of honey have different types of honey sugars, but the ratio of fructose and glucose remains the same at 1.23 according to White et al., 1996.

As far as I know, there are more than 22 other sugars found in honey in which dextrose and laevulose are major ones. Ten disaccharides have been identified in honey by food chemical analysts.

They include maltose, sucrose, maltulose, turanose, isomaltose, laminaribiose, nigerose, kojibiose, gentiobiose and B-trehalose.

Besides, some trisaccharides are also found in honey such as maltotriose, erlose, melezitose, centose 3-α5 Isomaltosylglucose, l-kestose, isomaltotriose, panose, psopanose and theanderose. However, these sugars are present in very small quantities.

I am aware that many, including health-oriented clinicians, have asserted that honey is natural sugar made by bees from the nectar of flowers and is good for health as it has been consumed by all civilizations. Nonetheless, it's important to suggest that the health benefits of honey can vary based on factors such as its source, processing, and individual health conditions.  

Here are some health claims:

Honey has been consumed for its potential health benefits for centuries as it contains various compounds that may contribute to its positive effects. Some technical reasons and studies on the potential health benefits of honey include:

Antioxidant Properties:

• Honey contains antioxidants such as flavonoids and polyphenols. These compounds can help neutralize free radicals in the body, reducing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is linked to various chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
•  "Antioxidant and Radical Scavenging Activities of Honey Samples from Different Floral Sources" have been shown that honey possesses significant antioxidant activity (Journal of Medicinal Food, 2009).

Anti-Inflammatory Effects:

• Honey has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory properties. This may help to counteract inflammatory responses in the body.
• "Anti-inflammatory effects of natural honey on bovine thrombin-induced oxidative burst in phagocytes” demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of honey (Pharmacognosy Magazine 2011)

Wound Healing:

• Honey has been used topically for wound healing since ancient times till today due to its antimicrobial properties and ability to create a favourable environment for tissue regeneration.  "Honey: a potent agent for wound healing?" discussed the potential of honey in wound healing." (Journal of Wound Care, 2002)

Cough and Sore Throat Relief:

• Honey has been shown to be effective in relieving cough and soothing sore throats, making it a common home remedy.
•  "Honey for acute cough in children" suggested that honey may be a preferable treatment for cough symptoms (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014)
• However, honey has its potential health drawbacks here:

High Sugar Content:

• Honey is high in natural sugars, primarily fructose and glucose. Excessive consumption of honey can contribute to calorie intake and may impact blood sugar levels besides what I have already written earlier.
• Individuals with diabetes should be cautious and monitor their honey intake.

Infant Botulism:

• It may not be advisable to give honey to infants under one year of age due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious condition caused by bacterial spores commonly found in honey.

Allergies:

• Some individuals may be allergy sensitive to honey, leading to allergic reactions. It's necessary to be cautious if an individual has known allergies to bee products.

In short, honey may offer potential health benefits, but should be consumed in moderation, and individuals with specific health conditions.

Moreover, the source and quality of honey can influence its nutritional profile and potential benefits.

Top of Form

Corn Syrup:

As far as corn syrup is concerned, just like honey and many other types of sugars other than glucose, fructose and sucrose that are also present. Some uses of corn syrup include:

Its use by the food industry that produces it from the starch of corn or maize. This syrup contains varying amounts of sugars, mainly glucose, maltose, and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade.

Here are some properties about corn syrup:

Food manufacturers use corn syrup in foods to soften their texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavour.

There are different types of corn syrup, including light corn syrup and dark corn syrup. Light corn syrup is clear and sweet, while dark corn syrup has a darker colour and a stronger flavour due to the addition of molasses.

Corn syrup is commonly used in the food industry as a sweetener and thickening agent. It is used in a variety of products, including candies, baked goods, beverages, and processed foods.

Technically, corn syrup is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is manufactured from corn syrup by converting a large proportion of its glucose into fructose using the enzyme D-xylose isomerase, thus producing a sweeter substance.

In more general term, glucose syrup is often used synonymously with corn syrup mostly made from corn starch, but as far as I know, it can also be made from wheat, tapioca and potatoes and other sources because from the chemical point of view, glucose syrup is any liquid starch hydrolysate of mono-, di-, and higher-saccharides irrespective of the original source it was derived. 

Corn syrup is a sweet syrup made from the starch of corn. It goes through a process called hydrolysis, where enzymes are used to break down the starch into simpler sugars. The primary component of corn syrup is glucose, but it may also contain other sugars like maltose and higher sugars.

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): This is a type of corn syrup that has undergone further processing to convert some of the glucose into fructose. HFCS is widely used in the food and beverage industry as a sweetener.
2. Sweetening Power: Corn syrup is not as sweet as sucrose (table sugar), but it still offers sweetness to food products. It is often used to prevent the crystallization of sugar in certain recipes.
3. Texture and Moisture: In addition to sweetness, corn syrup is prized for its ability to add moisture and maintain a smooth texture in various food products, such as candies and frostings.

 Even though corn syrup is a common ingredient in processed foods, there has been some controversy and discussion regarding the effects of high fructose in corn syrup as with any sweetening agents and its potential association with various health issues. A moderate intake of corn syrup may be safe, and we need to be mindful of overall sugar intake in one's diet.

Having said some of these from the food chemists’ point of view, we need to pass this on to the expertise of nutritionists to showcase studies on how these other sugars impact health.

I shall leave this to my expert colleagues and counterparts as I have limited knowledge on other sugars besides what I have written. I have also limited knowledge on millions of other unknown phytochemicals present in foods, especially from plant-based foods. See article on:

Reasons Why Health and Nutrition Supplementations Are Harmful for Health:

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2023/12/reasons-why-health-and-nutrition.html

Incidentally, I have a better understanding in pharmacology detailing the specific actions of drugs and how they work on the body and how they counteract the chemical pathology than on nutrition – foods that nourishes the body to maintain health and vitality despite being more a nutritionist at postgraduate level than a pharmacologist with some understanding on pharmacology and medicine at undergraduate level.

This is also partly because nutrition is such a complex subject unlike medicine or pharmacology where we design drugs out of our existing knowledge on the chemical pathology of disease.

There are hundreds of drugs already approved for various uses, and new drugs are being developed and introduced regularly even though the total number of known drugs can change as new medications are discovered, approved, or withdrawn from the market. Many of these drugs we are still unsure how they act on the body and their side effects where we still need to report their adverse reactions in post market pharmacovigilance.

Despite the substantial amounts of drugs in use, their mode of action, namely, their effects on the body and on the body’s chemical pathology, their absorption, retention time, metabolism, and excretion (pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetics) being well studied before approval and marketing, drugs like food may be adversely indicated.

The number of drugs in use presently can be obtained from databases such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) database, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) database, or other authoritative sources in the pharmaceutical and medical fields.

Unfortunately, we do not have a similar database for sugars as far as I know, nor do we have a database on all other natural compounds present in foods. This greatly limits our ability to understand these natural food components.

This said, many sugars, like phytochemicals and naturally occurring medicines in their millions if not in tens of millions occurring naturally in most plant-based foods, and their impact on health and disease offer us tremendous potential for further studies.

Unfortunately, drug manufacturers have no interest in sugars or most naturally occurring medicines because they cannot be patented for monetary gains unless they synthesize them in isolation from the rest of the other biosimilar components also present.  

Sugars and food components challenge the best minds of nutritionists and food scientists even to understand a small proportion of them, and their impact on health and disease outcome.

Summary: 

In summary, to answer Dr Jasmine Keys' question, I have little access to literature where other rarer sugars present in honey or in corn syrup have been studied to further support beliefs that honey or corn syrup is health benificial. 

 On the contrary, we know honey consists of fructose (38.38%) and sucrose (30.31 %), both sugars are detrimental to health like cane sugar (sucrose) a disaccharide when hydrolysed, yields the needed glucose, and unsafe fructose, both are reducing sugars.

We have little or no evidence if other reducing sugars in honey or in corn syrup such as maltose is detrimental or health-protective, although we know that maltose is a disaccharide sugar composed of two glucose molecules linked together. When maltose undergoes hydrolysis, it is broken down into its constituent glucose molecules just like in starches.

Even lactose, a reducing sugar found in milk much needed in babies may show injurious effects in adults who are milk intolerant.  

Lactose intolerance in adults arises when the body has difficulty digesting lactose present in milk and dairy products due to a deficiency of an enzyme called lactase that breaks down lactose into simpler sugars (glucose and galactose) that can be easily absorbed by the body.

Lactase is produced in the small intestine, and its production tends to decrease with age in many individuals probably due to lack of use in adults who stopped drinking milk unlike infants who produce sufficient lactase to digest breast milk.  This decline can lead to lactose intolerance in adulthood.

When an adult with lactose intolerance consumes milk or dairy products, the undigested lactose reaches the colon, where it can be fermented by bacteria. This fermentation process produces gas and can lead to symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhoea, and abdominal discomfort.

While honey may have health-giving benefits if taken in small quantities, it may also adversely affect health in large quantities due to the presence of fructose or fruit sugar and also sucrose almost in equal amounts, between 30 - 38 %.

Fructose found in honey is metabolized differently from other sugars like glucose. While glucose is directly taken up by most cells in the body and used for energy, fructose is primarily metabolized in the liver.

In the liver, fructose is converted into glucose, stored as glycogen, or used to produce triglycerides.

Excessive consumption of fructose from sucrose in cane sugar or in honey (sucrose = glucose + fructose) or in the form of added sugars such as in high-fructose corn syrup, has been associated with various health issues, including insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome.

Moderate consumption of naturally occurring fructose in whole fruits is generally considered part of a healthy diet because it comes with fibre, vitamins, and other beneficial compounds. However, added sugars in processed foods and beverages, as excessive intake can have negative health effects.

Complex carbohydrates, such as starches, also ultimately yield glucose upon digestion. Starches are polysaccharides composed of many glucose units linked together. Digestive enzymes break down starches into individual glucose molecules during the digestive process, and these complex carbohydrates are not found in honey or corn syrup but are found in whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables. 

Thank you for your question, Dr Jasmine Keys. I hope I have answered.

Kind regards

Lim ju boo 

Reasons Why I Left England to Come Home to Malaysia

 

A question was asked of me in a group WhatsApp Chat by Dr Jasmin Keys here:

Dr Lim

Even before 1969 you were with me in London, and they already offered you a senior job in England. Why then did you not want it, but went to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States instead? Was it for better salary or better prestige? Malaysia loses a lot of talents to other countries especially to Singapore where jobs for highly qualified graduates are in great demand.   

I read here 3 major reasons why most talented Malaysian graduates leave the country, especially to Singapore where they have relatives there. Why must they 'steal' from Malaysia?  

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/02/881981/top-three-reasons-why-malaysians-are-leaving

 I think Malaysia must do something about her brain drain.  

Dr Jasmine Keys 

---------------------------------------

Here is my answer to Dr Jasmine Keys

Thank you for your question, Dr Jasmine Keys.

My simple reason why I returned from the UK and even left my research job at MIT is not because of higher salaries here in Malaysia, even though it is more prestigious working in England or at MIT in much higher academic positions in these two countries. The reason was because I was homesick after leaving Malaysia for so many years to study.

I missed Malaysian food and the perpetually warm tropical climate where I need only to wear a T-shirt, shorts and slippers everywhere I go. In England I must wear a coat, a tie, and shoes all the time even if I needed only to cross the road just to post a letter home.

Even to go for a haircut I needed to wear a suit which is very dirty to wear inside a barber shop with other people’s hair all over the place.  Then after the haircut, I needed to bathe, and bathrooms in the UK are entirely different from those in Malaysia, where here we can splash water all over the place, but not in the UK where they use a bathtub to sit inside to bathe, like a buffalo wallowing in the same mud water. In the UK all their bathrooms are carpeted. So, it was almost impossible to bathe there like a Malaysian without wetting the bathroom floor.

When I was doing my postgraduate at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, I was staying in a British Council Hostel in Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge just beside the famous Harrods. In that hostel there were far more African students staying there than students from Malaysia, Singapore, or Hong Kong. Initially, I felt very uncomfortable among African students.  

It was not that I do not like Africans, since coming from an Asian country I was more used to Asians. The African students staying in the same hostel as I in London were taller and bigger size than me, and I was afraid they may beat me up though they never did.  

On the contrary after I left London to go to the University of Reading to study another area of specialization, I had lots of friends from Middle East and African countries. They were absolutely nice to me. In fact, they were very jovial and often invited me to go to the pub for a drink with them though most the time I declined as I had a lot of  research assignments and projects to work on. They always associated me from someone from China, a country they always praised heap high since I am a Chinese though I am actually a Malaysian. I too were very friendly with all of them.

Furthermore, all the food I got to eat in my London students hostel  were just boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, and boiled Brussels sprouts. The best I could get there was just fish and chips, ham and bacon sausage, black pudding, eggs, beans, mushrooms, or their famous haggis. But I must go to Scotland for their Scot’s haggis.   It was very miserable for me to live like that.

But later I went to the University of Reading on a British scholarship to do my Master's in a different area of specialization. There the food, my single hostel room and bathroom were much better. They even brought supper to my room at night after dinner. I was given the best room there facing a garden with birds and squirrels coming in and out from a forest beside the garden. It was so quiet there, unlike in London. My university college campus then was in forested area in Surrey rather than at Reading. I was much more comfortable there than in London    

Nevertheless I still wanted to return to my country to home sweet home where everything is so warm – socially and climatically down to food.

It is not the pay that attracts everyone, but also the social and friendly atmosphere, more importantly the work environment and the nature of the work too are  very important. For example, just to inform you, when I started working with the Ministry of Health in Malaysia in the 1969’s my starting pay was only RM 1,500 per month which is a servant’s pay today in 2020 – 2024. A medical officer’s pay, or any graduate salary irrespective of the field of study all got only RM 750 per month as long as they have a Bachelor’s degree. 

You can see a RM 1,500 per month salary is hardly impressive by today's cost and standard of living. 

But a RM 750 salary per month for a medical doctor having studied for 5 years in a university was even far worse than the worst servant’s salary today. My salary was twice as much as an ordinary doctor’s pay because of my Master’s degree. But my working environment among my medical and clinical colleagues at the Institute for Medical Research was so warm and cordial where we understand each other.

 Almost immediately I got my MSc degree from the University of Reading in England, my Reader (Associate Professor) approached me to ask me if I would like to work in England as they can give me a job there in a senior position. I immediately declined his offer. He asked me why. I told him I was on a British scholarship with the condition written there that I would return to my own country (Malaysia) to help my country  in development. He told me since it was their scholarship, they can withdraw that condition to enable me to stay in England to work there. But I still declined their kind offer.

Of course, if I return to Malaysia my salary would be much lower than what I would get if I worked in the UK. But the cost of everything then in Malaysia was much cheaper than in the UK. For example, a brand-new single storey linked house in Kuala Lumpur after I returned from England in 1968 was only RM 10,000, which is now RM 450,000, and a corner lot house with a spacious garden was only RM 12,000. My brand-new car I bought in 1969 was only RM 7,000 which would be over RM 100,000 today. So even with a “low salary” everything was so very cheap then with the cost of living so ridiculously low. So, we could all live like a king.

If I were to work in England my salary would of course be very much higher than what I got then in Malaysia, and yet I prefer to come home to my country. In fact, I was given a research job to conduct studies on liver diseases at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about the same time as WHO offered me a job to conduct cancer and clinical research in Lyon, France. But why should I go to France? That is an alien country to me. I don’t speak French and neither have any relatives or friends there. I would be so lonely if I accepted. So, I refused to accept WHO offer, and accepted MIT instead. At least they speak English in the United States to make me more comfortable. 

It was after I left MIT in 1969 did the Ministry of Health Malaysia immediately offered me a job as a medical research officer at the Institute for Medical Rsearch in Kuala Lumpur. I was fortunate to get offers one after another without waiting. 

Less than a year after I started working at the  Institute for Medical Research I had another  offer for another  scholarship from the  University of Cambridge to do my PhD there.  I had to decline as I only then started working and I was still on probation, and I did not want to lose my job should I resign and take up the offer from Cambridge. 

Actually, I was already quite used to Cambridge when I did my postgraduate at London University because both London and Cambridge have a twinning arrangement where expertise in certain areas of medicine and nutrition London did not have. So we students in London used to shuttle to and fro from London to Cambridge between semesters to learn and observe studies done at the Department of Experimental Medicine in Tennis Court Road at Cambridge University, or visiting Professors from Cambridge would come over to our University College in London to give us lectures. This went on throughout the duration of our postgraduate course. 

Furthermore, for the final examination the University of London invited the University of Cambridge to set the examination papers and got 4 external examiners from Cambridge to examine us, with only one Internal Examiner from London University sitting there without interfering in the oral examination by the 4 External Examiners from Cambridge.  So, we had the best education from both universities. This was as good as studying or graduating from Cambridge or even better though registered as a student in London.

It was many years later during working life I went back to London to complete my PhD.     

 Having explained all that based on my experience as a student staying overseas a good part of my life, we go back to your question why I prefer to come back home to work, I think which country to work in or for is all our personal choice, and this has nothing to do with salary, social stauts, or prestige as you believe Dr Jasmine Keys.   

As far as other Malaysians going to Singapore to work  is concerned, it is up to them even  if they are not happy there. Singapore is a very stressful place to work, and I know many Malaysians working there came back to Malaysia even though the salary in Malaysia is 2 -3 times lower. But things here are at least 5 times cheaper than in Singapore besides nowhere else to go in Singapore except the same streets round and round with cars and concrete buildings there everywhere. It is like a concrete jungle everywhere in Singapore like here in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, but at least we have a lot of natural green environments outside Kuala Lumpur.

An example of Malaysians who came back to Malaysia after working in Singapore for many years is my youngest brother. Lim Yew Cheng. He was the only Malaysian Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon then who went to work in Singapore. 

In fact, he was the first and only Malaysian heart surgeon who conducted Singapore’s first heart transplant operation along with other Singapore heart surgeons at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

After my brother Yew Cheng conducted Singapore’s first heart transplant, he rang me up in Kuala Lumpur well past midnight to tell me what he did. I was shocked. Here is the account how Singapore did their first heart transplant with Yew Cheng’s name mentioned there:

  Singapore’s first heart transplant (nlb.gov.sg)

My niece, Clinical Assoc Prof Anne Hsu Ann Ling is also now working at SGH. But Anne is a Singaporean.

https://www.sgh.com.sg/profile/hsu-ann-ling-anne

My brother Yew Cheng left Singapore in 1994 to return to Malaysia to work as a Professor of Surgery at the University Hospital, University of Malaya, the same year I retired from the Institute for Medical Research.  He has left the University of Malaya Teaching Hospital and is now on his own at Gleneagles Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. But his wife from Raub, and his two sons, both medical specialists (one in Australia), and a daughter who is a chemist, are all Malaysians still in Singapore.

He was not alone. There are also many Malaysians working in Singapore or in Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and later came home to Malaysia.

But Malaysia does not appreciate scientific and medical talents losing them all to Singapore and elsewhere. What a pity

In summary, where one likes to go to work is a personal choice and has nothing to do with salaries or positions unless there is a lack of opportunities to work in their own country.

Jb lim