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The Qintianjian (simplified Chinese: 钦天监; traditional Chinese: 欽天監; pinyin: Qīntiānjiàn; lit. 'Bureau for Revering Heaven'), commonly translated as the Imperial Astronomical Bureau or Directorate of Astronomy, was the official institution of the Chinese imperial state responsible for astronomical observation, calendar production, timekeeping, and the interpretation of celestial and cosmological phenomena on behalf of the emperor.[1] The bureau and its predecessor institutions served these functions across successive Chinese dynasties from antiquity until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.

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The Qintianjian occupied a distinctive position within the Chinese bureaucratic system, as its responsibilities encompassed both what would today be classified as astronomical science — systematic observation of celestial bodies, prediction of eclipses, and maintenance of the official calendar — and functions more closely associated with divination and astrology, including the selection of auspicious dates for state activities and the interpretation of unusual celestial events as omens. This dual function reflected the traditional Chinese understanding that celestial and terrestrial phenomena were fundamentally connected, a principle central to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven (天命, tiānmìng).

The Qintianjian's archives and observational records constitute one of the most significant bodies of pre-modern astronomical data in the world. Historians of science, including Joseph Needham in his monumental Science and Civilisation in China series, have drawn extensively on these records to document the development of Chinese astronomy and its contributions to global scientific knowledge.

The Beijing Ancient Observatory, which served as the Qintianjian's primary observational facility during the Ming and Qing dynasties, survives as a museum and heritage site in central Beijing. It houses a collection of astronomical instruments from both the pre-Jesuit and Jesuit periods, including the bronze instruments designed by Ferdinand Verbiest in the 1670s.

The bureau's dual role as both a scientific institution and a centre of astrological and geomantic practice has made it a subject of interest for scholars studying the relationship between science, religion, and the state in Chinese history. Ole Bruun has argued that the Qintianjian's management of both astronomical and geomantic knowledge illustrates the broader pattern by which the Chinese imperial court sought to maintain ideological control over cosmological knowledge.