During the reign of Kangxi, Luo Qinghui met a heavenly teacher who was a teacher in Qin Tian, Xinyang, Henan. He has great attainments and profound knowledge in the study of history. During the conversation, the master saw that Luo was young, smart, modest and gentle, knew a lot of astronomical knowledge, and was very interested in studying calendaring. I liked him very much, so I took him as an apprentice and took him to Beijing. Luo Qinghui studied with his master for three years and was highly valued by him. The master taught him astronomy, astrology, astrology, six meridians, and prediction of good and bad luck, and recommended him to enter the Qin calendar. At this time, his knowledge of astronomical almanac was quite complete, but he continued to study the almanac-related works, such as Seven Political Calculations, Xie Ji Shu Xin and Li Xiang Kao Cheng. At the same time, he also studied the western calendar seriously, absorbed the essence of the western calendar and solved some problems that could not be solved in the previous calendar calculation, which was praised by Qin officials.
In the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi (1699), Luo Qinghui returned to Xingning after his illness. After that, he continued to study and calculate the calendar while recovering from illness, and passed on what he had learned all his life to his son. In the second year of Yongzheng (1724), Luo Qinghui began to compile general books. He consulted a large number of materials, such as the calligraphy rules of Neijixian, Xie Ji's Argument Book, Book Creation Strategy, Sun and Moon Table of Seven Houses and Four Odd Days, and Updated Sentence Table. He calculated the year, month, day, hour, solar terms, solar eclipse, etc. by using the "elevation table" (i.e. elevation timetable, average timetable, sun from the center of the earth table, Qinghai-Mongolia gas range table, etc.). ). The tool of calculation is a multi-pole abacus. The largest abacus has 108 rods. There are only thirty-nine rods left in the abacus, which is kept in Shutong Wuluo in Huangji Village, fuxing town, Xingning County. In the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727), after four years of painstaking research and calculation, Luo Qinghui officially compiled and published the "Tongzhi", which was named "Tongzhi of Luojia Calculation in Xingning County, Guangdong Province" (namely "Tongzhi of Luojia"). At first, Luo Shu was only popular among Xingning people. Because of the accurate calculation of solar terms and time, the book's prediction of the impact of agricultural planting and the detailed explanation of agricultural arrangements are quite popular with the masses and its spread is getting wider and wider. So it caught the attention of the government, was falsely labeled as a "bad book" and was not allowed to be published. Luo Qinghui refused to accept it and appealed to the county magistrate, arguing that Luo Tongjia's book was the result of his years of research and was by no means an "evil book". County officials don't believe it, even if they compare this book with the Imperial Calendar, the result is similar. Because the traffic was backward and the mountain village was closed at that time, it would take several months for Kyoto Imperial Calendar to be transported to Lingnan and eastern Guangdong mountainous areas, which lagged behind the needs of agricultural production and people's life. However, Luo's book greatly facilitated the local people, so it was banned. At the beginning of the sixth year of Yongzheng, the county magistrate had to submit Luo Shu to the capital for future reference. On July 12 of that year, Qin played the title of Emperor, and recommended that this book can be used among the people in Lingnan. After reading Luo's book, Yong Zhengdi didn't believe that there would be such an artist in a small mountain county, so he sent Luo Qinghui to Beijing. Luo Qinghui was ordered to rush to Beijing to take the exam, but he was fearless and careful on the spot. He calculated the date of "autumnal equinox" exactly the same as the date of "imperial calendar". He is natural and graceful, eloquent and easy to answer. Yong Zhengdi praised him as a "genius". In the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729), with the approval of the emperor, Luo Shu was officially promulgated in Xingning.
Luo's Tong Jia Shu is rich in content, including Vowing Friends, Shanke, Marriage, Moon, Twenty-eight Nights and so on. There are more than 20 animal images, which are concise, easy to understand and vivid. It is more accurate to calculate the size of solar eclipse, moon and 24 solar terms. Climate and airflow direction also have certain expressions. The influence of temperature difference of 24 solar terms on crop growth and agricultural layout is clearly predicted. Based on the calendar, the book is permeated with a lot of contents about choosing good luck and avoiding evil spirits. It is not only the basis for Lingnan people, especially people in Hakka areas in eastern Guangdong, to observe the four seasons clearly, but also their code of action to avoid misfortune. Reflected the scientific level of astronomical calendar at that time. It has certain scientific and practical value, but it is also mixed with many superstitions and false things.
The first edition of Luo Shu is woodcut, and the book is Zongmutang. After the imperial court granted the issue, the sales volume increased day by day, and the income also increased gradually. Soon, Luo Qinghui set up a head office in Jindai Street, Xingcheng, and then set up branches in Xinfeng Street, Xinghua Street, Gaoxing Street and Shuixiang Street, and the circulation continued to expand. 1752, Luo Qinghui died. Luo Qinghui has six sons. He inherited his father's will and continued his career of compiling and publishing Luo Tongjia's Book. They divided the room into different courtiers and published books in the names of "Jifu", "Heaven", "Taoism", "Wanxing" and "Shangsi". Later, nine titles of Guangshan, Nine Planets, Shenhua, Sida, Zonghe, Astronomy, Wanfu, Yi Yan and Yingjun came out one after another and were handed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, the Luo family's calculations are everywhere. Only the Luo family in Xingning has dozens of people editing Tongzhi.
Luo Shu is widely circulated and has far-reaching influence. It is not only distributed in the whole south, but also exported to many countries in the world, such as Southeast Asian countries, Japan, the Philippines, Britain, the United States and so on. Where there are China people, there are Luo Shu. Therefore, the "Shu Tong Wu Luo" in fuxing town, Xingning County, Guangdong Province is famous at home and abroad.