Ke (unit)

Ke (unit)

__NOTOC__The ke (刻; pinyin: "kè") is a traditional Chinese unit of decimal time lasting approximately a quarter of a western hour. Traditionally the "ke" divides a day into 100 equal intervals [According to the "Shuowen Jiezi" from "Xu Shen", “漏以铜壶盛水，刻节，昼夜百刻。” Translation: “Drop waters from a copper/bronze container with water inside. The time spent is measured. We can thus divide a whole day into 100 measures.”] of 14.4 minutes (14 m 24 s). The "ke" is equivalent to the centiday (cd), a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. "Ke" literally means 'to etch' or 'to cut', and it is part of the noun "Kedu" which refers to etched-on markings on measuring devices.Fact|date=March 2007

Alongside the "ke", the ancient Chinese kept time with double hours (traditional 時辰, simplified 时辰, pinyin "shíchen") also known as watches. Because one cannot divide 12 double hours into 100 "ke" evenly, each "ke" was subdivided into 60 "fen" (分; pinyin "fēn").

There were various attempts to redefine the "ke" to 96, 108, or 120 so as to divide evenly into 12 double hours. During the Qing dynasty around the time of the arrival of Jesuit missionaries, the duration of the "ke" was finally redefined to one-ninety-sixth of a day, or "exactly" one quarter of a western hour. Today "ke" is the standard Chinese term to refer to a quarter of an hour.

Notes

References

* Ronan, Colin p 247-250 in Walker, Ch. ed.: "Astronomy before the telescope." Brit. Museum P., UK (1999). ISBN 0-7141-2733-7

See also

* Chinese calendar
* Decimal time


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