Twelve, for Chinese, is special.
Zodiac signs, twelve months, twelve hours, the pendulum spikes on the crowns of ancient emperors are also twelve...
Each of these "twelve" is full of Chinese culture.
Such as the twelve hours.
The twelve hours are the great wisdom of the ancestors, and the ancients were originally created in the world according to the laws of the sun's haunting, the changes in the sky and daily activities.
Divide the day into twelve hours: son, ugly, yin, 卯, 巳, noon, un... Guide future generations to live every present moment.
From the Western Zhou Dynasty onwards, people gave each hour an elegant and chic name, which was also represented by a ground branch.
Midnight, Rooster Chirping, Pingdan, Sunrise, Sunrise, Sunrise, Sunrise, Dusk, Human Settlement...
The name of each hour, or depicts a scene between heaven and earth, or clarifies the principle of living and resting, reads it with a mouthful...
Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City, midnight bell to the passenger ship.
——Zhang Ji, "Fengqiao Night Berth"
| midnight (hours) 23:00-1:00 |
The middle of the night is the first hour of the twelve o'clock. Midnight is the tipping point of the two days of this year and tomorrow, also known as the hour of the child, the midnight of the child, and the middle of the night, which means to conceive.
"The ancient calendar divides the day, starting from the sub-half", the sky at this time, like the eyes of a baby, is pure black.
The earliest example of people using "midnight" as a time term is found in the "Sixteen Years of Zuo Chuan And Lamentations": "Send it when you are drunk, and send it in the middle of the night." ”
It is worth noting that what people usually call "midnight" refers to the time when it is all dark, and its time often exceeds the two hours of midnight.
Chickens chirp and eat, only fate is to listen.
- "Spring and Autumn Left Transmission of Justice"
| Chicken Chirping (Ugly Time) 1:00-3:00 |
Literally, "chicken chirping" does mean "chicken crying", but it refers specifically to the period after midnight and before Pingdan in the twelve o'clock.
In the city of Chicken Singing, the forbidden door is opened.
——Bao Zhao, "Substitute Song Line"
| Pingdan (寅時) 3:00-5:00 |
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 of dawn.
The "Pingdan Qi" in Mencius's Confession of Sons is the earliest use case of the term "Pingdan" that we have seen.
Later articles in the "Biography of General Li of Shiji" also used the word "Pingdan", such as: "Pingdan, Li Guangnai belonged to his army." ”
The sun rises, and the lambs are like anointing.
- "Poetry, Hinoki Wind, Lamb Qiu"
| sunrise (midnight) 5:00-7:00 |
Our ancestors told us to do it at sunrise.
In ancient times, at this time, officials had to go to the early dynasty and count the number of people, called "points", that is, to report to work.
Sunrise, also known as the beginning of the sun, the dawn, the rising sun, etc., at this time, the rising sun rises in the east, shining on the earth, giving people a sense of vitality.
In the morning, it is time to eat xi zengquan.
——Wang Yi, "Nine Thoughts and Shouzhi"
| eclipse time (tatsu hour) 7:00-9:00 |
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, people only ate two meals a day, and this meal in the morning was the main meal.
Tatsumi is also the time when the mythical dragons rain.
Food has always been a good medicine to wake yourself up.
As for Hengyang, it is said to be in the middle of the corner.
- "Huainanzi Astronomical Training"
| 9:00-11:00 |
Near noon, the sun was shining, and the snake was lurking in the grass. It's also a time of day when we're full of energy.
With Zhuang Jia, in the middle of the day, he will be at the military gate.
- "The Biography of Sima Yong Tho"
| 11:00-13:00 | during the middle of the day (noon).
The sun has moved to the middle of the day, and the light is most intense, which is the noon hour.
"Japan and China are the city, to the people of the world, to gather the goods of the world, to trade and retreat, and each gets what he wants." In ancient times, people used the time when the sun traveled to the middle of the sky as a time sign to go to the market to trade.
| 13:00-15:00 |
Nichiren, also known as Nichiren, Nichiren, Nichiren, etc. 昳, the Shuowen interprets it as "Ri Yan Ye." "Boom, day in the west, side also." It's that the sun is starting to turn west.
People wake up from their trance, adjust slowly, seize the second golden hour of the day, and work efficiently.
As for the valley of sorrow, it is a time of dawn.
- "Huainanzi Astronomical Training"
| 15:00-17:00 |
The ancients had the habit of eating, and the second meal was eaten at the time of dawn. Therefore, the meaning of "dawn time" is "the time of the second meal".
At this time, people's work efficiency reaches a high peak in the afternoon, and it is also the best time to do exercise.
Bai Juyi also said: "But the spring will be late, and the sorrow is getting worse and worse." ”
Rijin said, Xu Yan Yu Right Guang.
- "Spring and Autumn Left Transmission of Justice"
| Sunrise (unitary hour) 17:00-19:00 |
"Sunrise" means that the sun sets, which is when the sun sets.
In ancient times, people used "sunrise" and "sunrise" as a sign of the arrival of day and night, respectively. "Yuan Shi Calendar Chronicle" cloud: "Sunrise is day, and day in is night." ”
Therefore, sunrise and sunrise are the signs of the ancients' production of labor and recuperation.
The moon is on the willow tip, and the person is about after dusk.
—— Ouyang Xiu, "Sheng Cha Zi"
| dusk (midnight) 19:00-21:00 |
When the sun sets and the sky is dark but not dark, the heavens and the earth are hazy, and what you see in your eyes seems to be plated with gentle filters.
Why do people use the word "dusk" to mean this hour?
The "Sayings" says: "Yellow, the color of the earth also." And he said, "Twilight, the sun is dark." ”
The sunset sinks, everything is hazy, the heavens and the earth are dim, and the word "dusk" vividly reflects the typical natural characteristics of this period.
After dusk, the lonely man is fixed.
- "Peacock Flying Southeast"
| rending (haishi) 21:00-23:00 |
People are fixed, but also people are quiet. This is the last hour of the twelve o'clock in the day, which means that the night is very deep and people stop moving and rest and sleep.
"Ren Ding" was first seen in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "After the emperor was determined, why was the thief hurt, the middle minister was the key." ”
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At this point, this is the twelve hours left by the ancestors.
Twelve hours, a cycle. Every moment is the wisdom of the ancients, and every stroke is a Chinese beauty.