Wang Zhenyi was a scientist and poet whose genius defied the restrictive gender norms of 18th-century China. A self-taught polymath, she excelled in mathematics and astronomy. She is most famous for her experiment to explain a lunar eclipse; she used a round table as the Earth, a lamp as the Sun, and a mirror as the Moon, moving them according to astronomical principles to demonstrate how the Earth blocks the Sun's light. Her work simplified complex mathematical concepts for beginners and she published several influential papers on the movement of the stars and the precession of the equinoxes. She was also a talented poet who wrote about social justice and the importance of education for women.