South China Morning Post · General

How ancient Chinese night watchmen patrolled streets, used ‘dripping buckets’ to tell time

· By Fran Lu
Story summary

In ancient China, before the advent of mechanical clocks and digital devices, people relied mainly on night watchmen to keep time, prevent fires and maintain their daily routines. But how did the watchmen tell the time? Chinese night watchmen mainly used two methods: clepsydras and incense sticks. A clepsydra, also …

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