Astronomical Dating and Statistical Analysis of Ancient Eclipse Data

TLDR: Jiang et al. as discussed by the authors matched 13 Shang dynasty oracle bone eclipse records to six solar and seven lunar eclipses in the 14th to 12th centuries B.C. The alignment of these dates with the revised Bamboo annals Xia dynasty chronology was shown to be 99% accurate.

Abstract: All 13 Shang dynasty oracle bone eclipse records have been uniquely matched to six solar and seven lunar eclipses in the 14th to 12th centuries B.C. The King Zhong Kang fifth year autumnal (October 16, 1876 B.C.) and King Yu third year “double sunset” (September 24, 1912 B.C.) eclipses confirm the accuracy of the revised Bamboo Annals Xia dynasty chronology (Nivison and Pang, Early China 15, 1990, 87-95). The eclipse dates are plotted against the number of generations before 841 B.C. (the earliest accurate historical date), the respective kings ruled. The curve of bestfit 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 current Five-Year Plan (Song Jian, Sci. Tech. Daily, May 17, 1996; Wehrfritz, Newsweek, July 7, 1997).