Last revised: 2026-10-18
15 · The twelve double-hour names
| English | 中文 | Gloss | Termonline |
|---|---|---|---|
| midnight | 夜半Fundamentals · time systems | One of the twelve double-hour names: the zi hour, 23:00 to 01:00, the middle of the night. | — |
| cock-crow | 鸡鸣Fundamentals · time systems | The chou hour, 01:00 to 03:00 — the hour of cock-crow. | — |
| daybreak | 平旦Fundamentals · time systems | The yin hour, 03:00 to 05:00, where night gives way to day. | — |
| sunrise | SunriseFundamentals · time systems | The mao hour, 05:00 to 07:00; also the moment the sun rises above the horizon. | — |
| breakfast time | 食时Fundamentals · time systems | The chen hour, 07:00 to 09:00 — the morning meal in old China. Not to be confused with the duration of an eclipse. | — |
| late morning | 隅中Fundamentals · time systems | The si hour, 09:00 to 11:00, drawing near noon. | — |
| noon | 日中Fundamentals · time systems | The wu hour, 11:00 to 13:00, when the sun culminates. Also used of the equinoxes, as in the Canon of Yao’s “mid-day star, Bird”. | — |
| early afternoon | 日昳Fundamentals · time systems | The wei hour, 13:00 to 15:00, when the sun begins to slant westward. | — |
| late afternoon | 晡时Fundamentals · time systems | The shen hour, 15:00 to 17:00, the second meal of the day. | — |
| sunset | 日入Fundamentals · time systems | The you hour, 17:00 to 19:00; also the moment the sun sinks below the horizon, the counterpart of sunrise. | — |
| dusk | 黄昏Fundamentals · time systems | The xu hour, 19:00 to 21:00. | — |
| night’s rest | 人定Fundamentals · time systems | The hai hour, 21:00 to 23:00, when the night is deep and people settle. It closes the round of the twelve. | — |
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