Some early descriptions of aurorae in China

Abstract. Eight accounts from ancient Chinese literature have been found that describe phenomena in contexts and in metaphors that are distinctly auroral. These accounts relate to personages purported to have lived in the third millennium B.C. The historicity of the personages and the actual dates of their lives are still a matter of controversy. Thus the accounts should be considered at a minimum as valuable additions to the inventory of ancient allusions to the aurora. At the other extreme, if taken at face value, they document the occurrence of low-latitude aurorae in the third millennium B.C.