A sundial is an instrument that measures time by the position of the sun. Called "rigui" in Chinese, a sundial is a timepiece that indicates the daylight hours by the shadow that the gnomon casts on a calibrated dial in ancient China. A typical sundial is made up of a bronze pointer and a stone dial.
Category: Chinese Culture
Chinese Culture: Zhongyuan Festival (中元节)
Today I will introduce the zhongyuan Festival(中元节 zhōngyuán jié). Zhongyuan Festival, also called Ghost Festival(鬼节 guǐ jié), is specified at the date of July 15th in Chinese lunar calendar, though it is celebrated on various dates of lunar July in different regions.
Famous Boats in Ancient China
The shipbuilding in China enjoys a history almost as long as the development of mankind. Through thousands of years, ships have been developed from the raft, canoe, wooden boat, oared boat, wooden sailboat, steamship, and airscrew-propelled vessel to modern steel vessel. The various models, structures, rigs and propelling forces are full embodiment of the diversification in human wisdom and creativity. Among all ships in ancient China, the most famous and influential ones are the towered ship in the Han Dynasty, the grand dragon boat in the Sui Dynasty and Zheng He's treasure boat in the Ming Dynasty.
Chinese Culture: Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节)
Today I will introduce the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-autumn Day (中秋节 zhōngqiū jié), or Mid-autumn Festival, falls on the fifteenth day of the lunar August, the middle of the autumn, usually happens between the early September to early October in western calendar.
Ancient Clepsydras
Lou (water clock) is an idiom used by ancient Chinese equivalent to today's "clock". Zhonghu Dilou is also called clepsydra or water clock. The time-measuring device consists of several kettles filled with water, which are usually connected together. There are small holes on the bottom of upper kettles, so that once the kettles are filled up, the water will drop down stepwise and regularly to the lower kettles. The lowest kettle has an erect buoy in it carved with scale divisions. The clepsydra is a 24-hour calculagraph used to calculate time through observing the scale of buoy according to fluctuation of buoy enabled by changes in water level. It measures time day and night during both sunny and rainy days. However, there may be changes in the speed of dripping according to temperature condition, which lead to inevitable error or difference in telling time. Nevertheless, it can be corrected by using sundial during fine days.
The Earliest “Refrigerator” – Bronze Jian
The Bronze Jian (utensil containing ice) is considered the earliest and most primitive green “refrigerator” ever found in the world by far. It is unearthed in 1977 from Zeng Hou Yi tomb in Sui County, Hubei province. It is a representative of the bronze vessels in the tomb as it gives a full expression of the novel, unique and delicate features of the bronze vessels in the tomb.
The Oldest Contour Canal in the World: Lingqu Canal
The Lingqu Canal (灵渠 Líng qú) is located in Xing'an County, near Guilin, in Guangxi Province, China.
Dagger-axe
The dagger-axe or ge was developed from agricultural stone implement during the Neothilic, dagger-axe made of stone are found in the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) site at Miaodian, Henan. It also appeared as ceremonial and symbolic jade weapon at around the same time, two being dated from about 2500 BC, are found at the Lingjiatan site in Anhui. The first bronze ge appeared at the early Bronze Age Erlitou site, where two were being found among the over 200 bronze artifacts (as of 2002) at the site,three jade ge were also discovered from the same site. Total of 72 bronze ge in Tomb 1004 at Houjiazhuang, Anyang, 39 jade ge in tomb of Fu Hao and over 50 jade ge at Jinsha site were found alone. It was the basic weapon of Shang (c.1600–1050 BC) and Zhou (c.1050 –256 BC) infantry, although it was sometimes used by the "striker" of charioteer crews. It consisted of a long wooden shaft with a bronze knife blade attached at a right angle to the end. The weapon could be swung down or inward in order to hook or slash, respectively, at an enemy. By the early Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), military use of the bronze ge had become limited (mostly ceremonial); they were slowly phased out during the Han Dynasty by iron spears and iron ji halberds.
The earliest use of turtle shells
The earliest use of turtle shells comes from the archaeological site in Jiahu site. The shells, containing small pebbles of various size, color, and quantity, were drilled with small holes, suggesting that each pair of them was tied together originally. Similar finds have also been found in the Dawenkou burial sites of about 4000–3000 BC, as well as in Henan, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Shaanxi. The turtle-shell shakers for the most part are made of the shell of land turtles, identified as Cuora flavomarginata. These rattles have been unearthed in quantity, with 70 being found in the Jiahu site, and another 52 being found in the Dawenkou culture sites at Dadunzi, Jiangsu, and type site, Liulin and Wangyin in Shandong. Archaeologists believe that these shells were used either as rattles in ceremonial dances, shamantic healing tools or ritual paraphernalia for divinational purposes.
Fork
The fork had been used in China long before the chopstick; a bone fork has been discovered by archaeologists at a burial site of the early Bronze Age Qijia culture (2400–1900 BC), and forks have been found in tombs of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC) and subsequent Chinese dynasties.
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