222 ON CHINESE HOROLOGY, ETC. 



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 in 

 Hiumng, north latitude 29° 53'., longitude E.G. 118° 17', in the province 

 of Canhwui, has had the exclusive manufacture of pocket compasses, 

 with which sun-dials are often connected. In most of these, a thread 

 attached to the lid of the instrument serves as a gnomon, without any 

 adaptation for different latitudes, although they are in use in every part 

 of the empire. Another form, rather less rude, is employed by clock- 

 makers for adjusting their time-pieces ; it is marked with notches, one 

 for each month in the year, to give the gnomon a different angle every 

 month. The Chinese instrument exceeds that of Corea in every respect. 



Time is not nnfrequently kept by igniting incense sticks, the com- 

 bustion of which proceeds so slowly and regularly as to answer for 

 temporary use tolerably well. 



Hour glasses are scarcely known in China, and only mentioned in 

 dictionaries as instruments employed in Western countries to measure 

 time. 



A native writer on antiquities says : " The western priest, Limatau 

 (M. Ricci) made a clock which rendered and struck time a whole year 

 without error." The clock brought out by Ricci, if not the first seen in 

 China, is the earliest of which mention is made in Chinese history. 

 They subsequently became an article of import, and, as already men- 

 tioned, 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 superior to that of most modern ones, or they would not be found 

 in operation at this late day. 



The Chinese must have commenced clock-making at an early period, 

 as none now engaged in the trade can tell when or where it originated ; 

 nor can it be easily ascertained whether their imitative powers alone 

 enabled them to engage in such an undertaking, or whether they are 

 indebted to the Jesuits for what skill they possess. It is certain the 

 disciples of Loyola had for a long time, and until quite recently, 

 in their corps at Pekin, some who were machinists and watchmakers. 

 One of these horologists complains, in "Les Lettres Edifiante et 

 Curieuse," that his time was so occupied with the watches of the 

 grandees that he had never been able to study the language. Doubtless 

 the fashion which Chinese gentlemen have of carrying a couple of 

 watches, which they are anxious should always harmonize, gave the 

 fathers constant employment. A retired statesmen of this province 

 has published a very good account of clocks and watches, accompanied 

 with drawings representing their internal structure, in a manner suffi- 

 ciently intelUgible. 



