Jing Fang (京房) (78–37 BC),[a] born Li Fang (李房), courtesy name Junming (君明), was a Chinese music theorist,[1] mathematician and astronomer born in present-day Puyang, Henan[b][citation needed] during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).
Although better known for his work in musical measurements, he also accurately described the basic mechanics of lunar and solar eclipses.
The historian Ban Gu (32–92 AD) wrote that Jing Fang was an expert at making predictions from the hexagrams of the ancient Yijing.
[2] A book on Yijing divination attributed to him describes the najia method of hexagram interpretation, which correlates their separate lines with elements of the Chinese calendar.
[3] Not only was he instrumental in the development of Yijing correlative cosmology, but he has also shed a new light on China's history, in particular Qin and Han.
[4] According to the 3rd-century historian Sima Biao, Jing Fang received an appointment as an official in the Music Bureau under Emperor Yuan of Han (r. 48–33 BC).
[10]It is recorded that he was executed by beheading in the marketplace in 37 BC under the Emperor's orders after he allegedly slung false accusations at a high official for infringing upon the law.