Though the emperor could have a water clock built for himself, for ordinary people in traditional China there were no convenient clocks. Most folks used a sundial to determine the time of day. This was all pretty unimportant for the day's work, which began when the sun rose and ended when the sun set.
原來，古代沒有鐘錶，宋朝皇帝還可以在宮中造座水運儀象台，算出精準時刻；一般升斗小民只能看看天光，或頂多利用日晷，來估量一下時辰了。