How long was an hour in ancient China (time measurement and cultural inheritance)

In ancient China, how long was an hour? This seemingly simple question actually involves the measurement of time and the inheritance of culture. In ancient times, people's understanding and measurement of time was very different from modern times. This difference is not only reflected in the name and length of time units, but also in people's understanding and application of time. This paper will discuss the length of an hour in ancient China from the perspective of history, culture and technology, and the influence of this timing method on China culture.

First, the measurement of ancient time.

In ancient times, people's understanding and measurement of time mainly included days, months, years, hours, minutes and seconds. Among them, one hour refers to dividing a day into 12 periods, and each period is two hours, that is, two hours. The origin of this time unit can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, when there was a time unit, but its length was not uniform, some places were 1 hour, and some places were 2 hours. In the Han Dynasty, the length of one hour was determined as 2 hours, which became one of the most commonly used time units in ancient China.

In addition to time, there were time units such as "moment" and "second" in ancient times. An hour is divided into eight parts, each part is 15 minutes, that is, an hour is 1/8. One second means that a moment is divided into 60 parts, each part is 15 seconds, that is, one second is 1 hour 1/480. This division of time units is very complicated, but it was widely used in ancient times.

Second, the ancient cultural heritage.

The measurement of ancient time is not only a technical means, but also a cultural heritage. In the traditional culture of China, time has been endowed with many meanings and symbols. For example, a day is divided into 12 hours, which just corresponds to the 12 zodiac signs, and every hour has a corresponding zodiac sign. This correspondence is widely used in divination and numerology. In addition, there are some concepts in ancient times, such as "good times and bad times" and "zodiac good luck", which believe that different times and dates will affect people's fate and good luck.

In ancient literature, time is also widely used. For example, Cao Xueqin, the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, shows the character, emotion and fate of the characters through the description of time. In The Journey to the West, time is also used incisively and vividly. For example, the Monkey King was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain for 500 years, and Tang Priest's journey to learn from the scriptures took several years. The description of time in these literary works not only reflects the ancient people's understanding and application of time, but also shows China culture's emphasis on time and unique aesthetic orientation.

Third, ancient scientific and technological progress.

Although the measurement of ancient time was complicated, it was a scientific and technological progress at that time. In ancient times, people mainly used sundial, water clock, clepsydra and other tools to time. Among them, the sundial is the most common tool, which uses the position of the sun to measure time. The water clock measures time by the speed of water flow, and the leaky pot measures time by the gravity and friction of objects. Although these tools are relatively simple, they have been able to meet the needs of people at that time.

By the Tang Dynasty, China had made great progress in science and technology. At that time, Daming Zhong was an advanced time measuring tool, which used the principle of oscillation to measure time accurately. The appearance of Daming Zhong marks the great progress of ancient timing technology in China.