When the sun shines on a pole, its shadow reaches the third division of daylight marked on the ground.(日上三竿)
When the sun shines on a pole, its shadow
reaches the third division of daylight marked on the ground.(日上三竿)
How did the ancient Chinese calculate the
time of day? According to historical records, they had already calculated that
a year has 366 days by 2000 BC.
During the Zhou dynasty, they designed a
practical astronomical instrument similar to a sundial.
It mainly consisted of two parts: a
perpendicular pole and a horizontal ruler with detailed graduations.
As the sun moved across the sky, the shadow
of the pole changed, enabling the ancient Chinese to accurately calculate the
time of day based on its length.
The shadow of the pole was longest when the
sun rose in the east and set in the west. At noon, when the sun was directly
above the pole, the shadow was shortest.
Using this instrument, the Chinese divided
the day into 12 equal parts, each of which was equivalent to two hours in
modern terms. Day and night were each divided into six equal parts, each with
12 hours.
According to ancient Chinese geography,
sunrise occurred at around 5 am, when people would begin their workday.
The sun's shadow reached the first division
between 5 and 7 am, the second between 7 and 9 am, and the third between 9 and
11 am. Therefore, this idiom applies to anyone who gets up after 9 am.
The ancient Chinese had a subtle way of
describing this: when someone was lazy and disorganised, often sleeping until
nearly noon, they would say that they slept until the shadow of a pole reached
the third division of daylight.
A poet named Yang Yi from the Song dynasty
used this allusion in his poetry.
The idiom literally translates as 'When the
sun shines on a pole, its shadow reaches the third division of daylight marked
on the ground.'.
It is used to describe someone who sleeps
until almost noon.
This idiom is also used to describe someone
who is extremely lazy and lacks self-discipline.
Dear friend, what are your thoughts or
feelings after hearing this story?
What time do you usually go to bed? Have
you ever considered changing your lifestyle?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
日上三竿(When the sun shines on a pole, its
shadow reaches the third division of daylight marked on the ground.)
中國古代如何計算每一天的時間呢?
根據歷史書的紀載，中國人在西元前2000多前就已經計算出一年有366天。
中國在周王朝時代就設計出一種非常實用的天文儀器，這種天文儀器的概念如同日晷。
這種天文儀器主要由兩個部分所組成，第一部分是一根垂直於地面的竿子，另外一個部分是水平放置於地面上的有詳細刻度的尺規。
這根竿子的影子會隨著一天當中的每個時刻的太陽位置的不同而產生變化，中國古代的人們便能夠根據這根竿子的影子長度來精準地計算一天當中的時間。
一天中的太陽從東邊出來與西邊落下的這兩個時刻，太陽光照射到這根竿子上，這根竿子的影子長度會最長。一天中的正中午，由於太陽正位於這根竿子的正上方，所以這根竿子的影子長度會最短。
根據這套天文儀器，中國人將一天分成12等分，一等分等於現在一天中的兩個小時。白天與黑夜各有六等分，白天與黑夜各自有12小時。
根據中國古代的地理位置，每天大約5點日出，人們就開始一天的工作。
早上的5點到7點太陽的影子會到達第一刻度，7點到9點會到達第二刻度，9點到11點會到達第三刻度。因此只要超過9點起床，就可以適用這句成語。
中國古代有一種很含蓄的形容方式，當中國人要形容一個人如果不夠勤勉，這個人的生活態度很懶散時，這個人常常睡到將近中午，中國人就會說這個人睡到太陽照射竿子時，竿子的影子已經到達白天的第三等分的刻度的那個時刻。
中國的宋王朝時有一個名字叫楊億的詩人，在他寫的詩中就用到這個典故。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是太陽照射一根竿子時，這根竿子的影子到達地上所標示的白晝的第三等分的刻度的時候。
這句成語被用來形容一個人睡到很接近中午才起床。
這句成語被用來形容一個人非常的懶散與沒有紀律。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你每天都會睡到幾點呢?你是否曾經想過要改變自己的生活作息呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為尚書-堯典
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9B%B8/%E5%A0%AF%E5%85%B8
出處為周禮注疏-卷41
https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=523404
出處為西崑詶唱集-卷下-107條108條