Horizontal Sundial (1985-1)

The Sinbeop, or new-method, horizontal sundial takes its name from the fact that, unlike most sundials, which are shaped as a half-circle, the dial plate on which the time is marked here lies horizontal. It is made entirely of white marble, measuring 120.3 cm across, 57.5 cm deep and 16.5 cm thick, and weighs as much as 310 kg. The dial plate is a finely polished flat surface, on which the time lines and the solar-term lines are densely and beautifully engraved. The time lines divide each hour into four gak (a traditional unit of time, roughly a quarter of an hour) and mark one line per gak, allowing the time to be read from 5:45 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. The solar-term lines number thirteen, running from the summer solstice to the winter solstice; a triangular gnomon that once stood at their centre has since been lost. According to the Jeungbo Munheon Bigo, an encyclopedic reference work, the sundial was made by Yi Cheon in 1636, the fourteenth year of King Injo's reign, following the Siheollyeok calendrical method then newly adopted. Calculation of the standard latitude for which the sundial was made gives 30°54′ N, the same as the latitude of Beijing, showing that Beijing was taken as the site of observation. Given these circumstances, the sundial appears to have been brought back to Korea in 1645 by the retinue of Crown Prince Sohyeon on his return from Qing China.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물