| Published: October 22, 2026

Many of the earliest-known human records of eclipses come from ancient China. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy

The earliest solar eclipse for which we have a record appears in the ancient Chinese text Shujing , traditionally said to have been compiled by the philosopher Confucius, which reads: “On the first day of the last month of autumn, the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously in Fang.” What an understated way to describe an eclipse!

Pinning the exact date of this event is somewhat problematic; originally, scholars stated it occurred either in 2136 or 2128 B.C.E. The mention of “Fang,” though, ultimately holds the key: This term refers to a section of the sky mainly in Scorpius. Furthermore, we know the eclipse happened during the reign of Zhong Kang, an emperor of the Xia Dynasty. Based on these details, the only eclipse that could have been seen from the capital city was on Oct.…