Chinese Water-Driven Armillary Sphere Tradition (Continued in the Qing)

Timeline

1. 1092–1094Kaifeng, Northern Song · KaifengSu Song, Han Gonglian, and others oversaw the construction of the water-driven astronomical clock tower, which used water power to drive the celestial globe, armillary sphere, and time-announcing wooden figures, integrating astronomical observation, demonstration, and automatic timekeeping, representing the peak of ancient Chinese mechanical astronomy.
2. 1127–1644Astronomical Bureaus and courts across China · ChinaThe original clock tower was destroyed in warfare, but the escapement, water-power, and gear mechanisms recorded in the Xinyixiang Fayao continued in large armillary spheres, clepsydras, and court timepieces of the Yuan and Ming, forming an independent technical lineage.
3. 1661–1670Beijing Astronomical Bureau · BeijingIn the early Qing, the Beijing Observatory still used large traditional armillary spheres for observation, and court clepsydras and mechanical timepieces continued to operate; after the calendar case, the Western calendar was restored, and the water-driven escapement tradition and European astronomical instruments coexisted within the Astronomical Bureau system.