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The incense clock () is a timekeeping device that originated from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
during the
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960-1279) and spread to neighboring East Asian countries such as
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. The clocks' bodies are effectively specialized
censer A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
s that hold
incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
sticks or powdered incense that have been manufactured and calibrated to a known rate of combustion, used to measure minutes, hours, or days. The clock may also contain bells and gongs which act as strikers. Although the
water clock A water clock or clepsydra (; ; ) is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount is then measured. Water clocks are one of the oldest time-m ...
and
astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...
were known in China (example:
Su Song Su Song (, 1020–1101), courtesy name Zirong (), was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman. Excelling in a variety of fields, he was accomplished in mathematics, Chinese astronomy, astronomy, History of cartography#China, cartography, ...
), incense clocks were commonly used at homes and temples in dynastic times.


History

In addition to water, mechanical, and candle clocks, incense clocks were used in Asia and were fashioned in several different forms.
Incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
clocks were first used in China around the 6th century; spread to Japan, as one survives in the
Shōsōin The is the treasure house of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The building is in the ''azekura'' ( log-cabin) style with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Great Buddha Hall. The Shōsō-in houses artifacts connected to Emperor Shō ...
. Early incense clocks found in China between the 6th and 8th centuries CE seem to have
Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
carvings on them rather than Chinese seal characters. American historian Edward Schafer speculates that the incense clocks were derived from India, transmitted to China.Schafer (1963), pages 160-161 However, no incense clock has been found in India. Historian
Silvio Bedini Silvio A. Bedini (January 17, 1917 – November 14, 2007) was an American historian, specialising in early scientific instruments. He was Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, where he served on the professional staff for twenty-fiv ...
asserts that the carvings were based on from seals mentioned in
Tantric Buddhist Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
scriptures, after those scriptures from India were translated into Chinese, but the time-telling function of the seal was designed and incorporated by the Chinese.Bedini (1994), pages 69-80


Types

Several types of incense clock have been found, the most common forms include the
incense stick Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
and incense seal.


Stick incense clocks

An incense stick clock uses incense sticks that have been calibrated to known burning rates. Most of these clocks were elaborate, sometimes having threads with weights attached at even intervals. The weights would drop onto a platter or gong below, signifying that a set amount of time had elapsed. Some incense clocks were held in elegant trays; open-bottomed trays were also used, to allow the weights to be used together with the decorative tray. Sticks of incense with different scents were also used, so that the hours were marked by a change in fragrance. The incense sticks could be straight or spiraled; the spiraled ones were longer, and were therefore intended for long periods of use, and often hung from the roofs of homes and temples. In fact one of the side jobs of the time keeper in ancient Chinese cities was to mark calibrated incense with individual lines, to denote length of a burn for sale to the public. This was done to supplement the individual's often meager incomes. In
Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
doctors would make multiple partial breaks on an incense stick as instructions to the patient such that the patient would take a dose of medication every time the incense has burned to one of these breaks. In Japan, a
geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...
was paid for the number of ''senko-dokei'' (incense clocks) that had been consumed while she was present, a practice which continued until 1924.


Powdered incense clocks

Incense seal clocks are essentially specialized censers, that work through burning lines of powdered incense
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
s (香印 ''xiāng yìn'' in Chinese; 香時計 ''ko-dokei'' in Japanese). They were used for similar occasions and events as the stick incense clock. While religious purposes were of primary importance, these clocks were also popular at social gatherings, and were used by Chinese scholars and intellectuals.Bedini, pp. 103–104 The seal was a wooden or stone disk with one or more grooves etched in it into which incense was placed. These clocks were common in China, but were produced in fewer numbers in Japan. To signal the passage of a set amount of time, small pieces of fragrant woods, resins, or differently scented incense could be placed on the incense powder trails. Different powdered incense clocks used different formulations of incense, depending on how the clock was laid out. The length of the trail of incense, directly related to the size of the seal, was the primary factor in determining how long the clock would last; all burned for long periods of time, ranging between 12 hours and a month. While early incense seals were made of wood or stone, the Chinese gradually introduced disks made of metal, most likely beginning during the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. They were often made of
paktong Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...
in the form of multileveled small boxes with patterned perforated tops. Gold and silver powder incense clocks are considered quite rare. This allowed craftsmen to more easily create both large and small seals, as well as design and decorate them more aesthetically. Another advantage was the ability to vary the paths of the grooves, to allow for the changing length of the days in the year. As smaller seals became more readily available, the clocks grew in popularity among the Chinese, and were often given as gifts.Bedini, pp. 104–106 Incense seal clocks are often sought by modern-day clock collectors; however, few remain that have not already been purchased or been placed on display at museums or temples.Bedini, p. 187 Although they are no longer used formally for time keeping, such incense clocks are still used by scholars and monks in the East for evoking moods and for aesthetics. Using incense seal clocks requires a period of preparation. A fine layer of damp white wood ash is first laid down in a small container, flattened, and lightly compacted. Seals that were in the form of patterned metal stencils were simply laid down on the ash while the incense powder was poured over it. After a light compaction of the incense powder by a tamper, lifting up the metal seal forms a long trail of incense powder that has been masked onto the ash. Other seals have a protruded pattern that creates a negative indentation in the wood ash. The incense powder is carefully spooned into the indentation in the ash and then recompacted again with the seal.


See also

*
Incense in China Incense in China is traditionally used in a wide range of Chinese cultural activities including religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, traditional medicine, and in daily life. Known as ''xiang'' (), incense was used by the Chinese cultures st ...
*
History of timekeeping devices The history of timekeeping devices dates back to when ancient civilizations first observed astronomical bodies as they moved across the sky. Devices and methods for keeping time have since then improved through a long series of new inventions ...


References


External links



TIME MEASUREMENT WITH INCENSE IN JAPAN (With Sticks and Coils) -- Silvio A. Bedini

In the Flower and Willow World by—Silvio A. Bedini
Chinese Enameled Paktong Incense Clock
commercial site showing an example of an incense seal styled incense clock
Japanese Incense Clock in Edo Period (17-19th century)
The Seiko Museum Ginza {{Authority control Chinese inventions Clocks Incense equipment