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Astronomical Dating and Statistical Analysis of Ancient Chinese Eclipse Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Kevin D. Pang ,
Kevin K. Yau  and
Hung-Hsiang Chou
Kevin D. Pang
Affiliation:
Fax: USA code + 818 952 1371, E-mail: [email protected]
Kevin K. Yau
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory M/S 230-101, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, California, 91109, USA
Hung-Hsiang Chou
Affiliation:
Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Univ. California, Los Angeles 90024, USA

Extract

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All 13 Shang dynasty oracle bone eclipse records have been uniquely matched to 6 solar and 7 lunar eclipses in the 14-12th centuries B.C. The King Zhong Kang 5th year autumnal (Oct. 16, 1876 B.C.) and King Yu 3rd year “double sunset” (Sept. 24, 1912 B.C.) eclipses confirm the accuracy of the revised Bamboo Annals Xia dynasty chronology (Nivision and Pang, Early China 15, 1990, 87). The eclipse dates are plotted against the number of generations before 841 B.C. (earliest accurate date), the respective kings ruled. The curve of benefit has both the strengths of verified royal genealogy – continuity – and eclipse dating – accuracy. It is 99% accurate, and can be confidently used as a foundation for building a detailed absolute chronology for the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, an important project in China’s new 5-Year Plan (Song, Sci. Tech. Daily, May 17, 1996; Newsweek, July 7, 1997).

Type
II. Joint Discussions
Information
Highlights of Astronomy , Volume 11 , Issue 2: Highlights of Astronomy. As presented at the XXIIIrd General Assembly of the IAU (Part B), 1997 , 1998 , pp. 724 - 728
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1998

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