The Concept of Time in East-Asia

According to the ancient Chinese texts, time can be understood in a corre-lational relationship with the space in which the aspect of existence takes place. In this respect, time is both static and dynamic, quantitative and qualitative. Ultimately, ‘the universe’ is the time and space in which the Tao operates. For Chinese philosophers who conducted philosophical thinking under the philosophical premise of the inverse that what exists changes, the concept of time was never a transcendental standard that could be equally applied to all objects quantitatively. Rather, the meaning of performative temporality was highlighted while the context of life was emphasized. The tradition of measuring time was also for the recognition of the change of heaven and earth and for moral practice accordingly. Therefore, this paper deals with China's unique view of time from a performative, metaphysical, ritual, and astronomical point of view in relation to time measurement, focusing on ancient literature, and finally, the ancient Chinese view of time deals with the significance of the Calendar/Music related to the harmony of time and space.