One of the time-measuring instruments used in ancient China, this sundial is typical of those produced in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is an instrument for observing solar time according to the direction of the sun’s shadow projected from the gnomon.
The sundial is composed of a bronze gnomon and a round-shaped stone slab which serves as a scaled dial. The centrally fixed gnomon was set vertical to the surface of the scaled dial that parallels the surface of the equator. The upper end of the gnomon points directly to the north pole whereas its lower end points directly to the south pole, making it in parallel to the rotating axis of the earth. Under the sunlight when the sun’s shadow cast by the gnomon points to due north, the time is 12 o’clock sharp at midday.
The sundial is composed of a bronze gnomon and a round-shaped stone slab which serves as a scaled dial. The centrally fixed gnomon was set vertical to the surface of the scaled dial that parallels the surface of the equator. The upper end of the gnomon points directly to the north pole whereas its lower end points directly to the south pole, making it in parallel to the rotating axis of the earth. Under the sunlight when the sun’s shadow cast by the gnomon points to due north, the time is 12 o’clock sharp at midday.
