If you have 時間 (shí jiān), time, I will take a moment to explore 時間觀念 (shí jiān guān niàn), Chinese notions of time.

The character for 時 (shí), time, originally written 時, is a compound of three elements: 日 (rì), sun or day, 土(tǔ) , derived from 止(zhǐ), advance, and 寸 (cùn), meaning "take hold of" in ancient times. The four seasons are called 四時 (sì shí). When followed by 間 (jiān), space, it forms the word 時間 (shí jiān), which can be understood as "a space of time." A similar expression is 時空 (shí kōng), time and space.

Understandably, the characters for sun and day are often associated with duration. The sun was the most primitive way to 計算時間 (jì suàn shí jiān), measure the passage of time.

Where does the expression 晝夜 (zhòu yè), day and night, come from? In Chinese, it means a full day but also means "all the time." 現在 (xiàn zài), right now, it is the 早晨 (zǎo chen), morning, and we have 一天的時間 (yì tiān de shí jiān), a whole day, before us to embark on a 時空旅行 (shí kōng lǚ xíng), journey through time, and lose some of our cultural and temporal preconceptions. Einstein believed that traveling through space/time is like chasing after light. The Chinese have discovered this long ago, so another way to describe time is 時光 (shí guāng), literally "time and light."

We are 時常 (shí cháng), often, 趕時間 (gǎn shí jiān), chasing after time, and too 經常 (jīng cháng), frequently, get the impression that it passes too quickly. This is the reason for the exclamation 時光飛逝 (shí guāng fēi shì) , time flies. 美好時光 (měi hǎo shí guāng), good times, are 一時的 (yì shí de), ephemeral, or literally "momentary." We often regret being unable to 時光倒流 (shí guāng dào liú), go back in time. If only we could invent a 時光機 (shí guāng jī), time machine.

I speak and speak and little by little, 光陰荏苒 (guāng yīn rěn rǎn), time flows by. Hours pass, 歲月 (suì yuè), years and months, come and go. The 時代 (shí dài), epochs, change and 四季更迭 (sì jì gēng dié), the seasons turn.

Since childhood our parents told us to make the best use of every day, and not to 浪費時間 (làng fèi shí jiān), waste time. Because 時間是金錢 (shí jiān shì jīn qián), time is money, and 時間不等人 (shí jiān bù děng rén), time waits for no man. Worse, 歲月不饒人 (suì yuè bù ráo rén), it does not spare anyone...

But before thinking about these bigger issues about time, you have to know how to read a 手表 (shǒu biǎo), wrist watch, which tells the 小時 (xiǎo shí), hour, 半個小時 (bàn ge xiǎo shí), half hour, 刻 (kè) , quarter, 分 (fēn), minute, and 秒 (miǎo), second. I look down at my watch and note that the hour is different from that of my 掛鐘 (guà zhōng), wall clock. Do I have to 調時間 (tiáo shí jiān), adjust it? Is there 時差 (shí chā), a time difference, between the wall and my arm? Or perhaps, like Alice’s White Rabbit, am I 遲到了 (chí dào le), late? Maybe like Dali’s watch, time is beginning to melt...

I think about time all the time, 朝思暮想 (zhāo sī mù xiǎng), from morning till midnight, 日日夜夜 (rì rì yè yè), all day and all night, and the same during my 自由時間 (zì yóu shí jiān), free time...

What do you say? There might be free time? But 時間都去哪兒了(shí jiān dōu qù nǎr le), where has it gone?

來源：China Today
編輯：萬月英