Sexagenary cycle (ganzhi)
Ciclo sexagenario ganzhi
- Date
- c. 1250 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Anyang (Yinxu), Henan, China
- Credited to
- Diviners of the Shang court
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
A combination of ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches giving a 60-day cycle, already used on oracle bones for dating. It is one of the longest unbroken timekeeping counts in history.
What it led to
- continuous dating of events for more than three millennia
- sexagenary year counting from the Han period
- the ability to precisely date eclipses and ancient events