{"id":1000407,"date":"2026-09-18T12:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T12:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/the-fire-clock\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:24:01","slug":"the-fire-clock","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fire Clock"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAfter being invented in Asia, the fire clock\u2014also known as a combustion clock\u2014reached Europe around the 8th century CE. Replacing the hourglass, which had to be turned at regular intervals, it made it possible to measure time by using a fuel whose burn was both slow and uniform, and therefore predictable\u2014either a candle or oil contained in a lamp. Let us explore the history<\/a> of this clock. \r\n

\"\"The Fire Clock: a Celebrated System<\/h2>\r\nIt was in Asia that the fire clock<\/a> first appeared, particularly in China\u2014Japan adopted it later. Evidence of its use dates back as far as the 6th century BC.\r\n\r\nThe principle is simple: sticks coated with a combustible paste are used\u2014what we would today call incense. Because it burns at a fixed rate, incense is an excellent indicator of time passing. The stick is placed on a horizontal support, most often a hollow lacquer object. As it burns, the incense stick passes graduations that make it possible to calculate the time elapsed. \r\n\r\nAnother way of marking the hours is to place, at regular intervals along the stick, weighted silk threads on either side, with small suspended masses (typically metal beads). When the burn reaches a thread, it burns through and releases the masses, which fall into a metal receptacle, producing a recognisable sound. In this way, not only did the Chinese invent the chronometer (the calculation of a relatively precise duration, represented by the length of the incense stick), they also devised the alarm clock! \r\n\r\nWith the aesthetic care characteristic of ancient China, the lacquer supports of incense clocks, on which the sticks are placed, are anything but crude containers. The archetypal model is what is known as a dragon boat<\/a>: a base shaped like a vessel, whose bow and stern represent the head and tail of a dragon. Around the support, two containers collect the beads held by the silk threads. \r\n

\"\"Measuring Time by Candle<\/h2>\r\nThe fire clock arrived in Europe in the 8th century, possibly adopted (or reinvented?) by a monk who needed a time-measurement system to count the night hours between each prayer. The combustible stick of the Chinese incense clock was replaced by a candle, one metre high, regularly graduated to mark the hours. In this way, the candle\u2019s burn indicates the number of hours elapsed, with accuracy depending on several criteria: the candle\u2019s regularity, the quality of the wax, the thickness and spacing of the marks, and, of course, any draughts. \r\n\r\nIn fact, the earliest uses of the fuel-based clock were reserved for religious congregations, so that they could observe prayer times during the night as accurately as possible. Three one-metre candles are generally required to reach dawn. This device nevertheless spread rapidly throughout medieval Europe. \r\n\r\nThe candle<\/a> has therefore always been a symbol of duration flowing by, and its combustion a representation of time slipping away\u2014right up to the present day, when we still blow out candles to celebrate birthdays. Before the invention of the oil lamp, the candle was used in the theatre to light the stage and the actors\u2014the length of an act was thus conditioned by the candle\u2019s burn time. In the Middle Ages, it also became a symbol of wealth: the wax candle, more luxurious than its tallow equivalent, was the preserve of wealthy families. And it could not be used as a fire clock in the least well-off households, which had to preserve it for as long as possible. \r\n

The Evolution of the Fuel-Based Clock<\/h2>\r\nBetween Asia and medieval Europe, another model of fire clock developed, inspired by both the candle and incense: the labyrinth clock. On a support, using a grid, a \u201cpath\u201d is created with incense paste\u2014or with any combustible powder\u2014along the twists and turns of a mandala-shaped labyrinth (in a closed system), whose length depends on the desired time. The end of the burn indicates that the intended duration has elapsed. \r\n\r\nThe principle of the fuel-based clock was modernised from the 15th century onwards with the invention of oil lamps. These were then fitted with graduated reservoirs that made it possible to gauge the passage of hours as, with the wick burning down, the oil level drops along the graduations. \r\n\r\nThrough its evolutions and its journeys from one continent to another, the fire clock retained its basic operating principle, unaltered. It took the invention of watches and mechanical clocks to bring an end to the dominance of this ingenious time-measurement system. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After being invented in Asia, the fire clock\u2014also known as a combustion clock\u2014reached Europe around the 8th century CE. Replacing the hourglass, which had to be turned at regular intervals, it made it possible to measure time by using a fuel whose burn was both slow and uniform, and therefore predictable\u2014either a candle or oil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1000422,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1000407","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OH SELECTION\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-28T14:24:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/the-fire-clock\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/the-fire-clock\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-18T12:33:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-28T14:24:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/the-fire-clock\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/the-fire-clock\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/the-fire-clock\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/guides\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"History of Watchmaking\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/guides\\\/history-of-watchmaking\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The Fire Clock\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"OH SELECTION\",\"description\":\"A selection of products tested and approved by our watchmakers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohselection.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle","description":"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle","og_description":"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/","og_site_name":"OH SELECTION","article_modified_time":"2026-09-28T14:24:01+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/","name":"The Fire Clock: a Game Worth the Candle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-18T12:33:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-28T14:24:01+00:00","description":"The fire clock has crossed centuries and continents on the basis of one unalterable principle: using a fuel source to measure the passage of time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/the-fire-clock\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"History of Watchmaking","item":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/guides\/history-of-watchmaking\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The Fire Clock"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/","name":"OH SELECTION","description":"A selection of products tested and approved by our watchmakers","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1000407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1000407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1000408,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1000407\/revisions\/1000408"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1000422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohselection.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}