In ancient China, people used the method of "copper kettle dripping" to keep time, and divided the day and night into 12 hours, that is, Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai, corresponding to today's 24 hours. The time from eleven o'clock to one o'clock in the middle of the night is sub-time, from one o'clock to three o'clock is ugly, from three o'clock to five o'clock is Yin, and so on.
The ancients also divided the forty quarters of the night into four sections with a total of five nodes, each node is called a watch. The first watch day is the time of the new day, from 19 o'clock to 21 o'clock; The second watch is the middle of the day, from 21 o'clock to 23 o'clock; When the third watch is the son, from 23 o'clock to 1 o'clock the next day; When the fourth watch is ugly, 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock; The fifth watch is the middle of the day, from 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock. Because the third watch is in the middle of the night, it is also called "the third watch in the middle of the night".
1. What tools or methods did the ancients use to keep time?
The tools or methods of the ancients are mainly as follows:
Chicken chirping timekeeping: Rooster chirping is the oldest way to keep time at night, and it has been used in rural areas to this day. Generally, the rooster crows very regularly, and the time of night can be roughly confirmed by "rooster crows three times". The rooster will crow again shortly after twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, indicating the time of the child; the second will be called on the fourth watch, indicating that it is the time of the second watch; The third time will be called on the fifth watch, indicating that it is the time of the hour. It is not uncommon for the people to wake up when they hear a rooster crow a third time. However, this method of timing is rather crude, and you can only know the approximate time frame.
Missing timekeeping: Missing timekeeping is another timekeeping tool in ancient times, which appeared as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty. The leaky engraving is composed of two parts: the leaky pot is used to drain water or hold water, the ruler is used to mark the time, and the ruler is placed in the pot when used, and the current moment can be known with the change of the water level in the pot. In addition, it does not depend on the weather and the sun, so it can also be used for night timekeeping. This timekeeping method is more accurate, but it can also be seen that this is not something that the common people can afford, so it is generally only used by the royal family and nobles, which is also a necessary facility for the imperial court to study and use the "Yellow Calendar" calendar.
Beat the time: It is a kind of night time system of the people, not only to remind people what time it is, but also to remind people to pay attention to fire prevention and theft. The watchmen were usually full-time or part-time workers in towns or wealthy villages, and they would strike a bang or a small gong as they walked. There is also a certain pattern in the rhythm and sound of the watch, and the people only need to listen to the gong and shouting of the watchman to know the time accurately.
Second, how did the ancients use celestial phenomena to determine the time of night?
During the day, you can check the time by looking at the sun, and at night, you can also check the time by looking at the stars and the moon. This method is older than the rooster timekeeping, but it is also extremely complex, and the time of night can only be determined according to the different positions of celestial objects such as the moon, other stars, and the Big Dipper in different seasons. This set of night observation techniques is not accessible to ordinary people, and is generally only mastered by professionals such as astronomers, military strategists or navigators.
Among them, the Big Dipper is the most commonly used celestial timekeeping tool, because its position changes more regularly and can be seen throughout the year. The Big Dipper is very accurate at 6 o'clock in the evening and 6 o'clock in the morning and 12 o'clock in the evening on the spring and autumn equinoxes, winter solstices and summer solstices, and the Big Dipper is exactly in the east-west and north-south positions. Nocturnal people often look at the position of the Big Dipper according to the season to determine what time the night should be, so the ancients had a set of techniques for observing the sky at night.
3. How did the ancients use the biological clock to determine the time of night?
The circadian clock refers to a natural time-regulating mechanism in an organism, which can keep the physiological activities of an organism consistent with the diurnal changes of the environment.
The lives of the ancients were not as fast-paced and colorful as those of modern people, so they basically had little need for the accuracy of time. Especially at night, when there used to be only three things to light up at night: lamp oil, candles and torches, and these three things were not cheap at the time. Therefore, most people, especially ordinary people, rest at sunset and work at sunrise, and the night is used to sleep and make children, and there is no need to determine the time at all. Their biological clock is enough, they sleep when they are sleepy, and work when they wake up.
Through the above introduction, we can understand that the ancients had a variety of ways to determine the time at night, some by tools, some by celestial phenomena, and some by biological clocks. Different approaches have different advantages and disadvantages, and also reflect different social classes and life needs. We can feel the wisdom and creativity of the ancients, and we can also compare the lifestyle of modern people and think about us.