Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 52

If the sun is bright and clear, our army will achieve a swift victory; otherwise, there will be a great battle leaving the dead stiff upon the field. If the color of the sun is a deep, heavy yellow, appearing sometimes dark and sometimes bright, and black vapors fill the wilderness, blood will flow until it forms ponds. If the sunlight glitters brilliantly, the high general will accept the enemy's surrender. If the sun rises bright and clear, the movement of the army will be a great success.

When there are black spots, black vapors, or black clouds within the sun, appearing in groups of three or five, it signifies that a subject will depose his lord. This may manifest within a single day. Blackness represents Yinoriginal: 陰 (yīn). In traditional Chinese philosophy, Yin represents the passive, the dark, and the subordinate (the subject/minister), while Yang represents the active, the light, and the superior (the ruler).. When a minister fails to cover for the ruler's faults, his commands cause suffering among the common people. If the ruler is wicked, this celestial change will occur.

When the sun produces black anomalies, such as black molesoriginal: 靨 (yè). Literally meaning dimples or spots on the face, used here to describe sunspots as facial blemishes on the "face" of the sun., black seeds, or black halos—or if it transforms into the shape of the character for Kingoriginal: 王 (wáng). The Chinese character for King, consisting of three horizontal lines joined by a vertical center line., or assumes strange shapes, human figures, human heads, birds, or beasts—it indicates that the ruler is muddled and ignorant. In such times, treacherous officials seize power, and there are conspiracies for usurpation and regicideoriginal: 纂弒 (zuǎnshì). Specifically refers to the illegal seizure of the throne and the murder of a sovereign by a subject..

Treatise on Armament Technology, Divination, Solar Anomalies, Sunspots, Usurpation and Regicide, Treacherous Officials