| Show water clocks in china in the history of the tang dynasty it Is fis stated that in persia at the same period there was a clepsydra on a terrace near the palace formed of a balance containing twelve metal balls one of which fell every hour on a bell and thus struck the tha hours correctly it is deemed not un liady that this instrument was identical with the celebrated one which the king of persia sent in the year to charlemagne in the astronomer tai taig g produced an improvement on all former anstr instruments 12 a machine arranged on a sort of minia miniature ture terrace ten feet high and divided into three stories the works being in the middle twelve images of men one for every hour appeared in turn before an opening in the terrace another bet of automata struck the hours and eighths of hours these figures occupied the lowest story the upper story was devoted to astronomy tr onomy containing an in motion very complex machinery must have been required As to the natura of the mechanism nothing is known except that it was kept going by falling water inasmuch as the arabs had reached i china by sea at the close of the eighth century some assistance may have been derived from them in the construction i of this complicated instrument but in all probability it was wholly chinese boston globa |
