The Chinese twelve-hour clock was originally divided like this, and it is so unparalleled in beauty…

China\’s twelve-hour clock was originally created by the working people of the ancient Han nationality based on the natural laws of the sun\’s rise and fall during the day, changes in sky color, and their daily production activities. One day and night is divided into twelve periods, and each period is called an hour. Twelve hours can refer to either a day or any hour. It turns out that the ancients divided time so beautifully! At midnight, at Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City, the bell rang for a passenger ship. ——Zhang Ji\’s \”Night Mooring at Maple Bridge\” The first hour of twelve o\’clock is called \”midnight\”. \”Midnight\” refers to the time from 23:00 the night before to 1:00 a.m. this day. This period is named after the earthly branches and is called Zi hour. The earliest example of people using \”midnight\” as a noun of time can be found in \”Zuo Zhuan: The Sixteenth Year of Ai Gong\”: \”Send him off drunk, send him off at midnight.\” \”Midnight\” refers to the natural phenomenon from dark to dawn. The middle period of change, and what people usually call \”midnight\” generally refers to all the dark time, which often exceeds the two hours in the middle of the night. When you are ugly, you will eat when the rooster crows, and you will obey orders. ——\”Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan Zhengyi\” Literally speaking, \”rooster crow\” does mean \”rooster crow\”, but at twelve o\’clock, it specifically refers to the period after midnight and before Pingdan, that is, after midnight From 1 to 3 o\’clock, if named after the earthly branches, it is called Chou hour. The chicken was praised by the ancients as \”the animal that knows the time\”. \”Han Shi Wai Zhuan\” praises the rooster cloud: \”Watching the night without losing time is faith.\” The first light of dawn appears, the rooster crows, and people get up at dawn. When the rooster crows in Luocheng, the forbidden gate will be opened on Pingdan. ——Bao Zhao \”Dai Fang Ge Xing\” Before the sun rises above the horizon, the period of time when the sky is just bright is called \”Pingdan\”, which is what we now call the dawn. Using earthly branches to represent this period is Yin hour, which is between 3 and 5 o\’clock every morning. The \”Pingdan spirit\” in \”Mencius Gaozi 1\” is the earliest use case of the word \”Pingdan\” that we have seen. The \”qi\” in this sentence refers to the \”clouds in the sky\”. Later, the word \”Pingdan\” was also used in the article \”Historical Records: Biography of General Li\”, such as: \”On Pingdan, Li Guangnai returned to his army.\” At the time of Mao, the sun was shining brightly, and the lamb\’s fur was like cream. ——The word \”The Book of Songs·Huifeng·Laoqiu\” was first found in \”The Book of Songs·Hinner Wind·Laoqiu\”: \”The sunrise has rays, and the lambsqiu is like ointment.\” \”Sunrise\” refers to the time when the sun rises above the horizon. Named after the earthly branches, it is Mao Shi. This period refers to 5 to 7 o\’clock every morning. At this time, the rising sun rises in the east and shines on the earth, giving people a sense of vitality. At the time of the day, Yanying comes to the morning, and at the time of eating, there are springs. ——Wang Yi \”Jiu Si Shou Zhi\” Eating time is the time when the ancients \”eat breakfast\” (breakfast), that is, 7 to 9 o\’clock every day. Named after the earthly branches, it is called Chenshi. The term \”eating time\” appeared as early as in \”Book of Rites\”. For example: \”Therefore, when a gentleman is in an official position, he will not harvest crops, and when he is in the field, he will not fish. When he eats, he will not take care of it. A great man will not sit on a sheep, and a scholar will not sit on a dog.\” In addition, there are also sentences using \”eating time\” in \”Guanzi·Discipleship\”. For example: \”When it comes to eating, sir, I will eat.\” When Sisi comes to Hengyang, it is called Yuzhong. ——\”Huainanzi·Tianwenxun\” The time near noon is Yuzhong, that is, from 9 to 11 o\’clock in the morning. It is expressed as Si hour using the earthly branches. \”Huainanzi Tianwenxun\” first appeared \”Yuzhong\”\”As for Sangye, it is called Yanshi; as for Hengyang, it is called Yuzhong; as for Kunwu, it is called Zhengzhong.\” \”Make an appointment with Zhuang Jia at noon, and meet at the military gate at noon on the first day. – \”Historical Records·Biography of Sima Ranju\” The sun has reached the midday, which is the time of noon. Noon means 11 to 13 o\’clock every day. This period of time is named after the earthly branches and is called noon time. In ancient times, people used the time when the sun reached the middle of the sky as a time mark to go to the market to trade. There is an example to prove: \”The middle of the day is the market, bringing together the people of the world and gathering the world.\” The goods are traded and withdrawn, and everyone gets their own place. \”Liezi·Tangwen\”: \”One son said: \’At the beginning of the day, it is as big as the hood of a car, and at the middle of the day, it is like a plate. Isn\’t this why the far ones are small and the near ones are big?\” \’\” \”Historical Records: Biography of Sima Ranju\”: \”I made an appointment with Zhuang Jia to meet at the military gate on the first day of the day at noon.\” It can be seen that \”Rizhong\” is used quite frequently in ancient books. At the end of the day, all the guests rushed to the market to buy.昳 will meet. – \”Hanshu·Youxia Zhuan\” \”日昳\” is named after the earthly branch, which is Wei Shi, and refers to 13 to 15 o\’clock every day. \”昳\” is interpreted as \”日昘ye\” in \”Shuowen\”. \”Hey, when the sun is in the west, it\’s sideways.\” \”This time noun was first seen in \”Historical Records Tianguan Shu\”: \”When the day comes to eat, it is wheat; when the day comes to eat, it is Ji. \”Also, \”Hanshu·Youxia Biography\”: \”All the guests are rushing to the market to buy things, and they will all meet at the end of the day. \”The meaning of \”日昳\” is that the sun has passed the midheaven and deflected to the west. With the midheaven as the boundary, the sun at this time is opposite to the sun in the corner. As for Shen Shiri, as for the Valley of Sadness, it is called Wenshi. – \” \”Huainanzi·Tianwenxun\” The ancients had a dining habit of eating the second meal at the afternoon time. Therefore, the meaning of \”afternoon time\” is \”the time of the second meal\”. This period is named Shenshi after the earthly branches, which refers to every day 15 to 17 o\’clock. \”Yun\” (玎) hour\” first appeared in \”Huainanzi·Tianwenxun\”: \”(日) As for the Valley of Sorrow, it is called Yao hour.\” In \”Zizhi Tongjian·Tang Ji\” There are examples of using \”Yunshi\”: \”Yunshi, the door is broken. It is useless to go up to the city to plead guilty, so go into the Chengcheng ladder and go down.\” When the sun came in at Youshi, he said, Xu Yan Yu Youguang. ——\”Spring and Autumn Zuo Zhuan Zhengyi\” \”Sunrise\” means the sun sets, which is when the sun sets in the west. The ancients used the earthly branches to call this period Youshi, which refers to the period from 17 to 19 o\’clock every day. In ancient times, people regarded \”sunrise\” and \”sunset\” as signs of the arrival of day and night respectively. \”Yuan Shi Li Zhi\” says: \”Sunrise is day and sunset is night.\” At that time, people used \”sunrise\” and \”sunset\” as the basic simple timetable for production, labor and recuperation. In the Xu period, the moon rises above the willow branches, and people meet at dusk. ——Ouyang Xiu\’s \”Sheng Cha Zi\” refers to the time when the sun sets and the sky becomes dark but is not yet dark, that is, between 19 and 21 o\’clock. It is expressed as Xu hour with earthly branches. Why do people use \”twilight\” to express this time? \”Shuowen\” says: \”Yellow is the color of the earth.\” It also says: \”Dusk is the color of the sun.\” The setting sun sinks, everything is hazy, and the sky and the earth are dim. The word \”twilight\” vividly reflects the typical characteristics of this period. Natural features. After the dark dusk of Haishi, people are still at the beginning of the night. ——\”Peacock Flying Southeast\” This is the last hour of the twelve o\’clock in the day and night. It refers to the 21st to 23rd hour of the night. The earthly branch is named Haishi. It means that the night is very late, people stop activities and have a rest.While sleeping. \”Ren Ding\” was first seen in \”The Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Lai She Zhuan\”: \”After I Ren Ding at night, why was someone injured by thieves? The middle minister was the key.\” The first long narrative poem in ancient Chinese folk songs, \”The Peacock Flies Southeast\”, has \”Dark After the dark dusk, the lonely people are at the beginning of the night.\”