In ancient times, there was no weather forecast. How do people distinguish between rain and shine?

The ancient government also provided meteorological services. Since Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, abolished the street drum system, a group of "Dawn reporters" gradually appeared in Kaifeng, who were responsible for dawn work every day. Lin 'an (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, followed this custom, and people who announced the dawn reported the weather every day.

According to Wu, a Southern Song Dynasty man, in Dream, every morning around four o'clock, the temples around Hangzhou began to ring, and the Buddhist monks in the temples would announce the dawn and report the weather in the street. If it is sunny, say "unfathomable"; If it is cloudy, say "it is cloudy"; If it rains, it says "rain". The main way to tell the time is that monks and buddhist nun beat iron plates or wooden fish along the street in designated areas to tell the time orally, serving court officials, guards and citizens.

It can be seen that Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, has already had "daily" meteorological services. It is possible that the daily weather reported by the Herald is true, but it does not rule out that it is the weather forecast for that day. Its information source may be Taishi Museum, the royal astronomical management institution of the Southern Song Dynasty in Lin 'an.

According to the History of Song Dynasty, Taishi Bureau is responsible for testing astronomy, determining the calendar, observing the sun, moon, stars, clouds, climate and other matters. The imperial edict in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty clearly stipulated that Taishi Bureau must report astronomical, meteorological and climatic observation facts to the Secretary Province every month. It can be seen that the duty of Taishi Bureau is inseparable from weather and climate observation. Especially in the Southern Song Dynasty, Taishi Bureau has brought meteorological phenomena such as wind, clouds, thunder, dew and frost into the astronomical observation range.