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connection with Chinese history when comparing the same with the Western system. There was also a slight derangement of time over the year, by one day only, with the intercalary moon being so arranged as to have only one solar period in it.
Although the months were divided into two fifteen-day periods, markers for rituals, these periods had no particular relevance to the lives of the common man. What did have marked relevance for the majority of the population was the artificial division of the month into three ten-day periods, used mainly to mark rest days. However, as the seven-day week of the Judeo-Christians does not follow the natural laws by which events and phenomena operate, it was an alien concept to the majority of Chinese until 1911 when the western Gregorian calendar was introduced by the Republic.
The day was divided into twelve equal hours, each of 120 minutes - though the concept of such minuscule divisions as minutes within an hour used to be beyond the comprehension of the great majority of Chinese. Short periods of time used to be described as the length of time it took for a standard incense stick to burn down.22
These twelve Chinese hours were referred to using the twelve 'branches' or horary characters. These not only provided names for each of the twelve hours of the complete day but also, in combination with the ten celestial 'stems,' they gave titles for the years.
Months were referred to by twelve [or thirteen in intercalary years23] ordinary and literary names completely unconnected with the stems and branches.
The twelve hour day began with 11p.m. to 1 a.m., the hour of the rat and known by the first of the 'twelve branches' Zi; the second hour, 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. was the hour of the ox and known by the second 'branch', Chou. The remainder of the twelve branches' were Yin, the hour of the tiger; Mao, the hour of the hare; Chen, the hour of the dragon; Si, the hour of the snake; Wu, the hour of the horse; Wei, the hour of the sheep; Shen, the hour of the monkey; You, the hour of the cock; Xu, the hour of the dog; and finally, Hai, the hour of the pig.
131
connection with Chinese history when comparing the same with the Western system. There was also a slight derangement of time over the year, by one day only, with the intercalary moon being so arranged as to have only one solar period in it.
Although the months were divided into two fifteen-day periods, markers for rituals, these periods had no particular relevance to the lives of the common man. What did have marked relevance for the majority of the population was the artificial division of the month into three ten-day periods, used mainly to mark rest days. However, as the seven-day week of the Judeo-Christians does not follow the natural laws by which events and phenomena operate, it was an alien concept to the majority of Chinese until 1911 when the western Gregorian calendar was introduced by the Republic.
The day was divided into twelve equal hours, each of 120 minutes - though the concept of such minuscule divisions as minutes within an hour used to be beyond the comprehension of the great majority of Chinese. Short periods of time used to be described as the length of time it took for a standard incense stick to burn down.22
These twelve Chinese hours were referred to using the twelve 'branches' or horary characters. These not only provided names for each of the twelve hours of the complete day but also, in combination with the ten celestial 'stems,' they gave titles for the years.
Months were referred to by twelve [or thirteen in intercalary years23] ordinary and literary names completely unconnected with the stems and branches.
The twelve hour day began with 11p.m. to 1 a.m., the hour of the rat and known by the first of the 'twelve branches' Zi ; the second hour, 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. was the hour of the ox and known by the second 'branch', Chou #. The remained of the twelve branches' were yin
, the hour of the tiger; Mao I the hour of the hare; Chen the hour of the dragon; Si E the hour of the snake; Wu T the hour of the horse; Wei* the hour of the sheep; Shen the hour of the monkey; You the hour of the cock; Xu F the hour of the dog; and finally, Hai the hour of the pig.
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