When is Zi time considered the beginning or the end of the day? What is Zi time called?
Zi time refers to midnight from 23:00 to 1:00, and it is both the end of the day and the beginning of the new day.
Western calendars use 0 o'clock as the starting point, known as the prime meridian. This calendar is our current 24-hour system.
Eastern calendars also adopt the prime meridian concept, but there is one key difference to note. Although the East uses the prime meridian concept, its time units are based on the twelve Earthly Branches. The beginning of Zi time, which is at 11 o'clock, is not the start of the next day, but the midpoint of Zi time (midnight) is the start of the next day.
So there is no contradiction between the two. Both use 0 o'clock as the starting point of the next day. At 0 o'clock, anything before that belongs to the same day, and anything after that belongs to the next day.
Eastern calendars also adopt the prime meridian concept, but there is one key difference to note. Although the East uses the prime meridian concept, its time units are based on the twelve Earthly Branches. The beginning of Zi time, which is at 11 o'clock, is not the start of the next day, but the midpoint of Zi time (midnight) is the start of the next day.
So there is no contradiction between the two. Both use 0 o'clock as the starting point of the next day. At 0 o'clock, anything before that belongs to the same day, and anything after that belongs to the next day.
What else is Zi time called?
[Zi Time] Midnight, also known as Ziye or middle night: the first of the twelve hours. (From 23:00 to 1:00). Rats are most active during this time.
Early Zi Time and Night Zi Time
Early Zi Time and Night Zi Time ("Early Zi Time (also called 'Zizheng Time')") and "Night Zi Time (also called 'Zichu Time')")
Those who study Chinese calendars know that Zi time has always been used to mark the transition between days.
In the Tang Dynasty, when Li Chunfeng created the "Lingde Calendar," he clearly stated in the "New Book of Tang ยท Calendar Table": "Ancient calendars divided days starting from the midpoint of Zi time," meaning that midnight (24 o'clock) was the beginning of the day.
The first of the twelve hours is called "Midnight." The earliest example of using "Midnight" as a time term can be found in "The Commentary of Zuo" in "The Book of Documents, Year Sixteen of King Ai": "He got drunk and sent him off, and sent him away at midnight."
Early Zi Time and Night Zi Time
Early Zi Time and Night Zi Time ("Early Zi Time (also called 'Zizheng Time')") and "Night Zi Time (also called 'Zichu Time')")
Those who study Chinese calendars know that Zi time has always been used to mark the transition between days.
In the Tang Dynasty, when Li Chunfeng created the "Lingde Calendar," he clearly stated in the "New Book of Tang ยท Calendar Table": "Ancient calendars divided days starting from the midpoint of Zi time," meaning that midnight (24 o'clock) was the beginning of the day.
The first of the twelve hours is called "Midnight." The earliest example of using "Midnight" as a time term can be found in "The Commentary of Zuo" in "The Book of Documents, Year Sixteen of King Ai": "He got drunk and sent him off, and sent him away at midnight."
