plant and harvest their crops. Both the Chinese and Hindu
calendars are still used today.
Th e Chinese calendar was supposedly invented by the
fi rst legendary ruler of China, Huang Di, who is said to have
reigned from 2698 to 2599 b.c.e. Although various calendars
were in use over the centuries, Chinese tradition says that the
fi rst year of the fi rst calendar cycle was either 2637 b.c.e. or
2697 b.c.e. under the Gregorian calendar system (the system
used in the United States today). Th e Chinese calendar runs
in cycles, or epochs, of 60 years. Chinese years are numbered
from one to 60; aft er 60 years, a new epoch begins and the
count starts over. If the calendar began in 2637, the current
cycle is the 78th 60-year cycle; if the calendar began in 2697,
the current cycle is the 79th.
Th e most ancient Chinese dates are impossible to verify
because the fi rst few centuries of calendar keeping were some-
what fl exible. Th e year had 12 months based on the move-
ments of the moon and the sun, but people constantly had to
adjust t he ca lenda r to keep up w it h t he seasons, adding one or
even two months as needed. Th e fi rst generally accepted spe-
cifi c date is in 841 b.c.e. (Th e Chinese kept dates before then,
but we do not know what they were.) Th e fi rst month started
around the time of the winter solstice; if an extra month was
needed to put the seasons back in sync with the calendar, it
was added at some point during the year. Instead of calling
years by their numbers, the Chinese typically marked dates
by the year of the current ruler’s reign.
In 484 b.c.e. the Chinese invented a more precise cal-
endar with 365¼ days. Th e Qin Dynasty instituted the use
of this calendar throughout China in 256 b.c.e. It still need-
ed an extra month from time to time in order to keep the
months stable. In 104 b.c.e. Emperor Wu of the Western Han
Dynasty established new rules to govern the calendar; these
rules are still used today. Under these rules the solstice gener-
ally occurs in the 11th month. Th e fi rst day of a new month
begins at midnight on the day of the new moon. Each year
has 12 months, and every third year has an extra month that
can fall aft er any month; the extra month shares the number
of the month that precedes it. Each month corresponds with
one of the 12 signs of the zodiac. According to the Gregorian
calendar, the Chinese New Year occurs at a diff erent time ev-
ery year.
Th e Chinese zodiac added another layer of complication
to the calendar. Th e 12 zodiac signs are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit,
dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Every Chinese year is assigned one zodiac sign; for example,
2006 was the year of the dog. Th e cycle repeats itself every 12
years. Each day is divided into 12 hours, each of which corre-
sponds to two Western hours. Each of the 12 hours is labeled
with one of the zodiac signs. Th e Chinese also divide the day
into 100 equal parts, each of which roughly corresponds to 15
Western minutes. For the most part, people in ancient days
told time by the position of the sun and the shadows it cast on
the ground. Accurate mechanical clocks were not invented
during the ancient period, but people did use sundials made
of bamboo or other materials. Th ese could be very accurate
at determining the days of the winter or summer solstice; the
sundial’s shadow would be shortest at the winter solstice and
longest at the summer solstice.
Many Asian nations adopted the Chinese calendar sys-
tem. In Japan, for example, the emperor Kōtoku decided in
645 c.e. that the nation would begin the practice of naming
periods of time for the current emperor. Th e Korean calendar
was taken directly from the Chinese calendar and recognized
the Chinese New Year. According to tradition, the calendar
began counting with the year 2333 b.c.e., the year in which
Korea was supposedly founded. Most Asian cultures adopted
the Chinese zodiac system, occasionally substituting animals
that seemed more appropriate to them; for example, Vietnam
and Th ailand placed a cat in the fourth position, and Japan
inserted a wild boar in place of the pig.
Th e Hindu calendar of India was invented in Vedic times,
between 1300 and 1500 b.c.e. Th e Vedas, the main scripture
of Hinduism, describe the cycle of the calendar. Th e Vedic
calendar began with the spring equinox, the day at the end of
winter when night and day are of the same length. Th e year is
based on the length of time it takes the earth to circle the sun.
Th e calendar is both a solar calendar, based on the earth’s
movement relative to the sun, and a lunar calendar, based on
the moon’s movement around the earth. Th e solar calendar
has 12 months, each corresponding to a sign of the zodiac.
Each month has between 29 and 32 days, determined by the
length of time the constellation of stars associated with a par-
ticular zodiac sign remains in the path of the sun across the
heavens. Th e 12 months are also defi ned by the portion of the
earth’s orbit around the sun, called the rashi. Th e calendar
also has lunar months, based on the cycle of the moon. When
the lunar calendar falls out of sync with the rashi, or solar
months, an extra month is added to the lunar calendar. Th e
combination of lunar and solar months is known as a luniso-
lar calendar. Th e fi rst day of the fi rst year of the Hindu cal-
endar is said to be January 23, 3102 b.c.e. Th e calendar runs
in 60-year cycles, or epochs. Each year has a name, and the
names start over when a new epoch begins.
Th e Vedic calendar has a very complicated approach to
daily timekeeping. Each day is a tithi, or lunar day, but be-
cause a day is measured by the length of time it takes the
angle between the sun and the moon to increase a specifi ed
amount, a day can range from 19 to 26 hours in length. Each
Hindu month is divided into 30 tithi, which are further di-
vided into two groups of 15 days. Th ese divisions are meant to
keep the month in step with the phases of the moon.
Most ancient people did not have clocks, instead noting
the positions of the sun, moon, or stars to furnish a rough
idea of the time. Th e earliest clocks were water clocks, con-
tainers made of stone or metal. Water was set to drip at a
constant rate into such a container and gradually fi lled it;
markings in the container indicated how much time had
passed by the time the water level reached them. Other
water clocks were bowls with small holes in the bottoms;168 calendars and clocks: Asia and the Pacific