在人类刚开化的时候还没有时间这么一个概念，甚至计数都是以结绳的方法。随着文明的发展，时间的概念开始出现在人类的心中，人们开始有计算时间的需求。早期计算时间的器具很多，有简陋的沙漏，也有精良的日冕。这些可以算较为小众的报时工具。而在大型场合，大型的报时工具则就是当时的铜钟。铜钟能发出的声音极大，传达极远，所谓“姑苏城外寒山寺，夜半钟声到客船”描述的就是山上寺庙铜钟报时发出的声音远远传达到了姑苏城的河上。
In the beginning of human civilization, there was no time for such a concept, and even counting was done by tying. With the development of civilization, the concept of time began to appear in human mind, and people began to have the need to calculate time. In the early days, there were many instruments for calculating time, including simple hourglass and excellent corona. These can be regarded as a relatively small number of time reporting tools. In large occasions, the large-scale time reporting tool is the bronze clock at that time. The sound that the bronze bell can make is very loud and far-reaching. The so-called "Hanshan Temple outside the city of Gusu, the bell goes to the passenger ship at midnight" describes that the sound that the bronze bell of the temple on the mountain sends out to the river of the city of Gusu far away.