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Chinese Astronomical Observations

From at least the time of the eighth century BC the rulers in China
employed official astronomers to keep watch for the occurrence of
celestial phenomena. Yet almost all of the original records have been
lost, and practically all that is available amounts to summaries of what
may or may not have been detailed records. Much of the current data of
astronomical observations from China is taken from dynastic histories
and related records that are alleged to be copies of previously existing
documents.

The first Chinese dynasty for which some original inscriptions have been
found is that of Shang, although the dates assigned to its various
rulers remains uncertain. The Chou dynasty comprised the next great
period of rulers. Exactly when it began is uncertain. Sometime circa
1050 BCE is considered a best guess. And neither is it certain when the
Chou dynasty ended. Circa 480 BCE is thought to be somewhat correct.

The few allusions to eclipses that exist from the Shang period are found
on a variety of animal bones. The great majority of texts from the Shang
period reveal that divination was practiced extensively. Animal bones
were prepared for the king by making cracks in their surfaces with hot
instruments. The king would then examine the cracks and make predictions
based on what he interpreted from his analysis of the cracks.

One typical text provided by Xu (1989) reads:

"The divination of day /chi-mao/ was performed by Kuo. The King, after
examining the crack forms, commented that it would rain on day/ jen/
(-wu). On day /jen-wu/ indeed it did rain."

Moreover, the vast majority of the texts from this period do not contain
historical events, and astronomical observations are rare. The texts are
mainly concerned with the various details of divination. Many of these
ancient bones contain the names of kings, which are found in later
king's lists. Although the names of a few kings mentioned on the lists
have yet to be found in the earlier bone records. Eclipses are
recognizable because the Shang people used the term /shih/ (to eat).
They, like other ancient civilizations, believed that the sun or moon
was eaten at the time of an eclipse.

Of all the references to the eclipses that are found on the Shang bones
none contain the year of the eclipse. The records are usually
incomplete, and much of the terminology on the Shang inscriptions is not
understood. The dates, which reference the day of the event, are only
partially preserved. And only one reference has been found with a lunar
month specified. Only one Shang text has ever been given serious
consideration for possibly mentioning a total eclipse of the sun. Liu
Chao-yang and K. Pang translated it as follows:

"Diviner Ko: . . . day /i-mao/ [cyclic day 52] to [next] dawn, fog.
Three flames ate the Sun. Big stars [seen]."

When Professor David N. Keightley, University of California, Berkeley,
who studies Shang inscriptions, translated the same text, he proposed
the following:

"On the next day /i-mao/ it may not be sunny. The King read the cracks
and said, 'There will be disaster but it will not rain.' On the day
/i-mao/ at dawn it was foggy; when it came to the time of the . . .
meal, the day greatly cleared."

It is obvious how little scholars agree on just what is written on the
Shang bones. Furthermore, no total solar eclipse was found on any
cyclical day 52. But one was found on a cyclical day whose number was
53, this eclipse, 1302 BCE Jun 5, was then selected as the only possible
candidate. Actually, references to the sun's corona are extremely rare
in all ancient and medieval records. Consequently, this "eclipse" may be
nothing more than just a weather prediction as Professor Keightley
proposed in his translation.

Furthermore, direct references to solar eclipses are alleged to have
existed as early as the eighth century BCE, during the Chou dynasty.
References to solar eclipses are inscribed on the /Ch'un-ch'iu/
chronicle, a document reputed to have been edited by Confucius, which
covers the time period from 722 to 481 BCE. The /Ch'un-ch'iu/ lacks any
reference to lunar eclipses. Three of the eclipses cited are said to
have been total, but details, such as "darkness" or "stars seen," are
wanting. The descriptions of the remaining eclipses lack any details to
support the claim that references were taken from detailed astronomical
records. The /Ch'un-ch'iu/ is thought to be the only state chronicle
that survived the "Burning of the Books" by Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang-ti
in 213 BCE.

Consequently, for periods predating 480 BCE, there is nothing
contemporary from Chinese records that could possibly establish an
absolute chronology.

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