The shichen is an ancient timekeeping unit.
Zi (zǐ), Chou (chǒu), Yin (yín), Mao (mǎo), Chen (chén), Si (sì), Wu (wǔ), Wei (wèi), Shen (shēn), You (yǒu), Xu (xū), Hai (hài).
The twelve shichen were summarized and created by the ancient Chinese working people based on the natural laws of the sun's rise and set during the day, the changes in the sky color, as well as their daily production activities and living habits.
The twelve shichen system. It was already in use during the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, it was named Midnight, Rooster Crow, Dawn, Sunrise, Breakfast Time, Mid-morning, Noon, Afternoon, Late Afternoon, Sunset, Dusk, and Human Settling. It is also represented by the twelve Earthly Branches. From 23:00 to 1:00 at midnight is the Zi hour, from 1:00 to 3:00 is the Chou hour, from 3:00 to 5:00 is the Yin hour, and so on.
What Shichen is an app that showcases the twelve shichen with high aesthetics. It provides 3 different-sized desktop widgets and adapts to the dark mode. Allowing you to see the time in the twelve shichen system on your mobile phone in real time.