In ancient China, night was divided into four time periods. At the first time of the time period and at the three handover points, the night watchman gives the people time by beating drums or cymbals, which is called overtime. The specific time of night shift is as follows:

A table at dusk: (19: 12) At this time, the sun has set and it will be dark. The world is dark and everything is hazy, so it is called dusk.

People will stay overnight: (2 1:36) At this time, the night is already deep, and people have stopped their activities and rested and slept. People will be quiet.

Midnight: (00:00) The legendary "ghost" came out at this time.

The cock crows at four o'clock: (02:24) It's time to "steal the dog".

Pingdan Wugeng: (04:48) When the cock crows, people gradually wake up from their sleep and begin to welcome a new day.

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The Historical Evolution of Watchmen

Beating has a long history and originated from primitive witchcraft, which mainly plays the role of exorcism. Only highly respected wizards are qualified to play, so the custom of exorcism is preserved in many literary works.

For example, in the famous Dream of Red Mansions, there is such a passage that "Wu Gui came home at night and died on the kang. People outside say that the monster climbed over the wall and sucked sperm to death because his wife was not suitable. So the old lady was extremely anxious, and sent many people around Baoyu's house to patrol and play ... ".

There are also many celebrities playing overtime. For example, Dr. Sun Yat-sen's father used to work overtime, but he has cultivated such an outstanding figure as Sun Yat-sen. In the Nanyang Memorial Hall of Sun Yat-sen, his father's overtime items are still preserved, which can't help but cause people to think about overtime.

Before liberation, it was a relatively common occupation. Generally speaking, there are few clocks in the city, and almost all of them work overtime to tell the time at night. Even many rural towns have overtime. At that time, there was little cultural and entertainment life at night, which was basically made at sunrise and stopped at sunset.

When people hear the beat of the night watchman, they know the time and what to do according to the usual practice. People live a quiet life step by step. Overtime has become an ancient occupation.

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