Heritage Value and Limitations of Traditional Knowledge in Weather Prediction

The traditional knowledge of weather forecasting created by our people is a valuable legacy showing the excellence of our national culture. The heritage value of our people’s traditional knowledge concerning weather forecasting lies, above all, in the fact that it contains rich experience and knowledge created by our ancestors during their working life.

The traditional knowledge on weather forecasting reflects rich experience and knowledge created in various fields of production activities including farming, fishing, stockbreeding and sericulture of our ancestors from long ago.

The empirical knowledge accumulated during long-term farming accounts for the largest proportion in the traditional knowledge of weather forecasting. There are also the methods of weather forecasting accumulated in the course of our people’s fishing activities. Our people have also created a wealth of traditional knowledge concerning weather forecasting in other fields of the working life, including livestock farming, sericulture and beekeeping.

Our people have raised silkworms a great deal since ancient times, and have woven silk cloth from cocoons. During this long repetitive silkworm rearing process, our people realized that temperature, humidity and air conditions were very important in the management of silkworms and paid close attention to predicting weather.

They built the traditional knowledge with those experiences. As seen above, the knowledge of weather forecasting related to working activities is a legacy of national value as it helps us know in detail the diverse working customs of our ancestors. The heritage value of our people's traditional knowledge on weather forecasting lies in the fact that it shows the distinguished wisdom, talent and wisdom of our ancestors in the field of astronomical meteorological observation. Our ancestors had a special ability of predicting a long period’s weather.

They had used diverse signs and features in forecasting weather. The traditional knowledge of the weather forecast of our people has historical and periodical limitations as it has been formed and handed down in the past. In short, there are some limitations, among the traditional knowledge of weather forecasting, which are not well suited to the changed weather conditions of modern times and lack scientific evidence.