40. A summary of the solar eclipses recorded in the Ch'un-ch'iu

The Bamboo Annals are Chinese records of doubtful provenance. The text registers a phenomenon around 900 BC that may be an eclipse. However, none of the many attempts to date the event is convincing.

Similarly, the Oracle Bones from the Shang Dynasty (c.1350 to c.1050) record astronomical observations in the form of divinations, but they provide no absolute dates.

All things considered, the solar eclipse of Feb 22, 720 BC of the Ch'un-ch'iu remains the earliest absolute date preserved in Chinese records. The date is curiously reminiscent of the earliest phenomenon cited in Ptolemy's Almagest -- the lunar eclipse of Mar 19/20, 721 BC.