246 D. J. Macgowan on Chinese Horology. 
unquestionably derived from the West. But they were not in- 
troduced, as Sir J. F. Davis.supposes, by the Jesuits ; the Chinese 
are probably indebted to the Mahomedans for this instrument, 
although we find an astronomer endeavoring to rectify the clep- 
sydra by means of the sun’s shadow projected by a gnomon, 
about a century earlier than the Hegira. ‘There is a sun dial in 
the imperial observatory at- Pekin above four feet in diameter. 
Smaller ones are sometimes met with in public offices. These 
were all made under the direction of missionaries of the Roman 
church, or their pupils.» From remote antiquity, a family named 
Wang, residing im Hiuning, \N. lat. 29° 53’, long. E. Greenwich 
118° 17’, in the. province of Ganhwui, has had the exclusive 
manufacture of pocket compasses, with which sundials are often 
connected. In most of these, a thread attached to the lid of the 
instrument serves as a gnomon, without any adaptation for differ- 
ent latitudes, although they are in use in every part of the em- 
pire. Another form, rather less rude, is employed. by clock- 
makers for adjusting their time pieces; itis marked with notches, 
one for each month of the year, to give the gnomon a different 
angle every month. The Japanese instrument exceeds that of 
China in every respect, . sig ; i 
Time is not unfrequently kept by igniting incense sticks, the 
combustion of which proceeds so slowly and regularly as to an- 
swer for temporary use tolerably well. ‘ 
_ Hour glasses are scarcely known in China, and only men- 
tioned in dictionaries as instruments employed in western coun- 
tries to measure time. | ' 
_A native writer on antiquities says, “the western priest Limé- 
tau (M. Ricci,) made a clock which rendered and struck time @ 
whole year without error.”.. The clock brought ont by Ricci, if 
not the first seen in China, is the earliest of which mention 1s 
made in Chinese history. 'They subsequently. became an article 
of import, andas already mentioned, this branch of trade was at 
one time of considerable value. Clocks and watches of very 
antique appearance are often met with, specimens of the original 
models scarcely to be found in any other country; some of the 
latter by their clumsy figure remind. one of their ancient name 
‘‘ Nuremberg eggs,” but their workmanship must have been su 
perior to that of most modern. ones, or they would not. be found 
in operation at this lateday. ss... i 
‘The Chinese must have commenced clock making at an early 
they possess. It is certain that the disciples of Loyala for a 
long time, and until quite recently in their corps at Pekin, some 
who were machinists and watchmakers. One of these horolo- 
