Documentary records of sundials

Humans have used sundials for a long time. The ancient Babylonians began to use it 6,000 years ago, and China in the Zhou Dynasty 3,000 years ago. The sundial can display not only the time of day, but also the solar terms and months. Of course, its shortcomings are also obvious. It is huge and cannot be used when there is no sunshine, such as cloudy days and cloudy nights.

The earliest reliable record in China is the short shadow level (horizontal sundial) invented by Yuan Chong in 594 AD (14th year of Sui Dynasty) mentioned in Tian Wenzhi. The clear record of the equatorial sundial was first seen in the shadow picture described in Volume 2 of Zeng Minxing's "Lonely Wake Magazine" in the Southern Song Dynasty. 1. Japan and Britain

The volume of Zhou pian Ji Jing says: "Therefore, the sundial is three feet and five inches in winter and six inches in summer. The solstice in winter is long and the solstice in summer is short. "

Volume 77 of the Collection of Literature and Art quotes the Jingming Temple Monument written by Xing Shao of the Northern Qi Dynasty: "The sundial stops the flow, the stars stop, the fragrant rain stands by, and the dew hangs."

Tang Fanggan's poem "One Hundred Poems by Hu Shaofu in Shangyu" wrote: "The sundial is 30 minutes motionless and coquettish up to 4,000 words."

Yuan Kedanqiu's "The Story of Chai Jing": "The sundial is getting longer and longer, and people are happy, adding a weak thread."

A?vagho?a Xi Zhong's Biography of the Wolf in Zhongshan: "After a long stalemate, the sundial gradually moves."

2. Time

Wang Song Anshi's "A Hundred Years in this Dynasty" said: "I was humble, and I received the holy question by mistake. I was forced by the sundial and dared not stay long. I didn't know the words, so I resigned."

Lu Qingyi's "Cold Miscellaneous Knowledge of Zhou Wenzhong Gong": "The sundial has risen, so we can't say it all."

3. Ancient instruments for measuring the time of sun shadow.

There are thirty-four volumes of the book of the sundial in Hanshu Yiwenzhi.

Qian Qingyong's "Deer Garden Conghua Yineng Bronze Craftsman": "Those who measure twelve o'clock have a leaky pot in ancient times, and later generations make sundials and moon sundials for daily, noon and night use. But the rain is continuous, so it is not available. "