2020/06/08 by Emil Khalisi · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.EP #physics.hist-ph #physics.pop-ph
published as Habilitation at University of Heidelberg, Germany, February 2020 · 13 pages, 3 figs, 3 tabs
arxiv published 2020/06/08 · arxiv created 2020/06/28 · arxiv updated 2020/06/30
We present a review on the renowned solar eclipse in the Chinese book "Shujing" describing the oldest account of this kind. After balancing the arguments on the time, place, and the celestial stage, we offer a new scenario. The path of totality on 15 September 1903 BCE traversed Anyi, the assumed capital of the Xia dynasty. The date matches remarkably well the chronological order of two other incidents of mythological rank: the closest-ever agglomeration of the naked-eye planets and the Great Flood under Emperor Yu. Still, this eclipse does not remove all questions about the historical circumstances given in the account.