According to Huang Yi-nung, "Ancient astronomy was not just a physical science. It was also a social science." In his view, astronomy gave the Chinese people a set of coordinates by which to construct a view of the space and time in which they lived. In astronomy people found a medium for close interaction with nature.
對中國古人，「天文不只是自然科學，也是人文社會科學，」黃一農指出，天文給了中國人一個時空的參考座標與準則，透過天文，人與自然密切感應，每個行事作為皆在時空中達到和諧。