How did ancient China calculate time?
Understanding Time in Ancient China: The Twelve Shichen
Have you ever thought about what makes a civilization complete? Besides having a language to write and speak, a society also needs a way to keep track of time. In ancient East Asia, especially in China, people created a special system called the twelve shichen (十二時辰) to measure their days and nights. Let’s explore this fascinating timekeeping method and see how it worked!
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What Are the Twelve Shichen?
The twelve shichen is an ancient Chinese way of dividing a full day—24 hours—into twelve equal parts. Each part, called a shichen, lasts two hours. These periods are named after the twelve earthly branches, which are also linked to the Chinese zodiac animals. This system helped people plan their lives long before modern clocks existed.
Here’s a list of the twelve shichen with their names and modern times:
- Zishi (子時): 11 PM to 1 AM – Known as midnight, when the night is quiet.
- Choushi (丑時): 1 AM to 3 AM – Called cockcrow, when roosters might wake up.
- Yinshi (寅時): 3 AM to 5 AM – Dawn, when the sky starts to brighten.
- Maoshi (卯時): 5 AM to 7 AM – Sunrise, the start of the day.
- Chenshi (辰時): 7 AM to 9 AM – Breakfast time, when people eat their first meal.
- Sishi (巳時): 9 AM to 11 AM – Mid-morning, a busy time for work or school.
- Wushi (午時): 11 AM to 1 PM – Noon, when the sun is highest in the sky.
- Weishi (未時): 1 PM to 3 PM – Afternoon, after lunch.
- Shenshi (申時): 3 PM to 5 PM – Late afternoon, when the day slows down.
- Youshi (酉時): 5 PM to 7 PM – Sunset, when evening begins.
- Xushi (戌時): 7 PM to 9 PM – Dusk, when night takes over.
- Haishi (亥時): 9 PM to 11 PM – Bedtime, when people rest for the night.
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How Did Ancient Chinese People Tell Time?
Long ago, there were no clocks or phones to check the time. Instead, ancient Chinese scholars watched the sun to figure out what time it was. For example, when the sun was straight above, it was Wushi (noon). They also studied the movements of the moon and stars, learning patterns in the sky to keep track of time during the day and night. Pretty smart, right?
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How Does This Relate to Your Day?
Even though we use hours and minutes now, the twelve shichen can still connect to your life! Think about your daily routine:
- Do you wake up during Maoshi (5 AM to 7 AM) or Chenshi (7 AM to 9 AM)?
- Is your lunch around Wushi (11 AM to 1 PM)?
- Maybe you play or relax in Shenshi (3 PM to 5 PM) after school.
- And bedtime might be during Haishi (9 PM to 11 PM).
Next time you check the clock, see if you can guess the shichen!
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Why It Matters
The twelve shichen show us how clever ancient Chinese people were. Timekeeping wasn’t just about hours—it helped them farm, hold ceremonies, and live together as a community. Learning about it gives us a peek into their world and how they made sense of time without modern tools.
So, the next time you plan your day, think about the twelve shichen. How would your schedule look in ancient China?
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Discount Code: Timekeeping