57 mins ago · China
How ancient Chinese night watchmen patrolled streets, used ‘dripping buckets’ to tell time
What's happening
SignalsMonitor is following this as a general story. South China Morning Post Asia is the outlet attached so far. The reports are tied to China. The first report grouped here was at 25 Oct 2026, 10:00 UTC. The headline in use is “How ancient Chinese night watchmen patrolled streets, used ‘dripping buckets’ to tell time”. This note is SignalsMonitor's own briefing, not the publisher's article.
What we know
In ancient China, before the advent of mechanical clocks and digital devices, people relied mainly on night watchmen to keep time, prevent fires and maintain their daily routines. But how did the watchmen tell the time?
Story timeline
Reports grouped into this story, earliest first. Exact repeats from the same outlet are collapsed.
- First reported by South China Morning Post Asia
How ancient Chinese night watchmen patrolled streets, used ‘dripping buckets’ to tell time
Reported by 1 outlet
- South China Morning Post
- South China Morning PostHow ancient Chinese night watchmen patrolled streets, used ‘dripping buckets’ to tell time