High Middle Ages · East Asia · Technology
1279
Su Song's clock tower continues functioning
1279
In Kaifeng, the elaborate water-powered astronomical clock tower built by Su Song in the previous century continued to strike the hours, its chain-drive escapement silently announcing the heart of modern horology to any Mongol official patient enough to notice. The tower's mechanism, which rotated an armillary sphere and a celestial globe in synchronization with the heavens, represented the most advanced timekeeping technology in the world.
In context
Also in 1279 (2 other events on record)
- Song dynasty ends at the Battle of Yamen · East Asia · War
- Yuan dynasty census counts vast Chinese population · East Asia · Politics
Before and after in East Asia
Before and after in Technology
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources