Timepiece is an essential time instrument in our daily life 、 study 、 work and scientific production 、 management 、 research, it develops along with human culture history. It evolved from ancient sundial and clepsydra to modern mechanical timepiece 、 quartz electronic timepiece and atomic timepiece, the course records the evolvement of human society and the development of industrial civilization.

China is the earliest country to invent time instrument in the world. Ancient sundial and clepsydra are the simplest calculagraphs invented by our ancestors, which calculate the time of the day by the shadow of the sun and constant flux of dripping water or quicksand. According to historical datum, Luoxiayi invented the earliest instrument calculating celestial body movement in our country ─ armillary sphere in the early years of Hanwudi (from 104 to 101 BC). Zhangheng invented water transportation armillary sphere in Donghai period (in 130 A.D.), it is the earliest water-driven mechanical calculagraph to observe astronomical phenomena in the world, and it is the forerunner of the world mechanical chronometer. In 725 A.D., the Tang Dynasty, Zhang sui and Liang lingzan created water transportation copper armillary sphere, it could not only demonstrate the movement of the celestial sphere 、 the sun and the moon, and made two wooden persons standing there to rataplan and strike the bell on time. By applying release governor to calculagraph, it is great contributions of the Chinese scientists to mankind time science. It is six centuries earlier than the mechanical clock that turned up in Europe in the fourteenth century.

Su song and Han gonglian in the Song Dynasty (1092 A.D.)created the famous water transportation 仪象台 , it combined armillary sphere 、 浑象 and mechanical calculagraph, it became the first water-driven self-ringing mechanical chronometer equipped with release mechanism in the world , but the most valuable is the book 《新仪象法要》 edited from the detailed description of design of 《水运仪象台》 written by Su song, it recorded the entire structure of water transportation 仪象台 , and drew over sixty attached pictures of over one hundred and fifty types of spare parts, this is the first astronomic calculagraph monograph with both the pictures and its accompanying essay in the world. The water transportation 仪象台 displayed in China History Museum was replicated according to 《新仪象法要》 . In the early years of Yuan Dynasty, scientist Guo Shoujing (1276 A.D.) created famous Damingdian water clock; it became independent mechanical calculagraph firstly divorced from chronometer range. This is another achievement in the calculagraph history. In the first year of Ming Dynasty (1360. A.D.), Zhan Xiyuan invented using quicksand as the power instead of water, in case that freezing made instrument unworkable. It adopted integrated gear wheel system and cam, and invented “ five wheel sandglass ” which showed time by hands, gave the correct time by striking, it is an independent timepiece machine completely divorced from chronometer. The invention was more than two hundred years earlier than European calculagraph of the same type. The Britain scientist Doctor Li Yuese wrote in the article “ Chinese chronometer ” issued on the Britain magazine 《 Nature 》 in March of 1956: “ The Chinese chronometer is the direct ancestor of the chronometer of Middle Age in Europe. Feudalism restricted the development of timepiece technology, during the two hundred years after Ming Dynasty; the development of Chinese calculagraph was so little that Occident clock eventually displaced it.

Occident calculagraph underwent water clock and mechanical two phases. But it had not got out of the water clock phase until the thirteenth century. A self-contained gear wheel system didn't been used to a clock until the fourteenth century (about 1370) in France, it employed weighty hammer instead of waterpower, modern mechanical clock was created after a long period of about two centuries.

In 1583, the famous Italian physical scientist Galileo discovered the time equation of “ pendulum ” , in 1656, Holland mathematician 、 physical scientist and astronomer Huygens continued Galileo 's theoretic research, founded mechanics theory about it ,created the theory of “ pendulum clock ” , and marked an epoch in precision timing science. In 1658, Huygens pendulum clock with the “ pendulum ” as timing organ came out, here from, pendulum clock became an important form of timepiece, which is widely used at present. The invention of clockwork spring created condition for miniaturization of timepiece, and that the invention of the pendulum further advanced precision of timepiece, all this made pendulum clock the best time criterion for the long time. In 1675, Huygens adopted balance wheel hairspring system to create an easy-taken timepiece. It just the predecessor of present alarm clock.

Along with the invention of free anchor-type release governor and the micromation of pocket watch, the first wristwatch in the world was created by a Swiss watchmaker at the end of the eighteenth century. The first quartz clock came forth in 1920s, and was popularized from 1930s, from 1960s, since semiconductor technology was successfully applied to making daily use quartz clock, quartz electronic technology was widely use in the timing field. And it then acted as a new time criterion instead of mechanical clock.

During the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Occident clocks came into the palace, it gradually took up Chinese market, and drove the development of timepiece manufacturing of China, and many handcraft workshops appeared one after another in Nanking 、 Guangzhou 、 Suzhou 、 Shanghai, etc. But because of very low efficiency, the workshops had no ability to accumulate capital, they were defeated by import clocks, almost all of them were forced to closed up in the Republic of China period.

Modern Chinese timepiece industry was developing as competing with Occident timepiece. In July of 1915, Dongshan Li set up Baoshi Timepiece Factory in Yantai, Shandong province, which started modern timepiece industry of our country. In 1931, Baoshi Timepiece Factory was transformed to Deshunxing Timepiece Factory; it produced over fifty five thousand clocks annually, reached production peak. Some technicians separated from Baoshi Timepiece Factory set up five and more than ten timepiece factories respectively in Yantai and all over the world, they not only formed large-scale timepiece industry base in Yantai with the annual production of more than one hundred and sixty thousand clocks, but also spread the timepiece technology all over our country. Yantai made a contribution to the invention and development of Chinese modern timepiece industry.

Before liberation, Japanese aggressors and Kuomintang destroyed China's national industry, the timepiece industry suffered the same fate, there were few timepiece factories left struggling to survive.

After liberation, the standard of living was increased greatly under the lead of Chinese Communist Party, the country established many timepiece industry bases, which made timepiece production grow quickly. Under the lead of light industry department, “ standard movement ” for pendulum clock 、 alarm clock 、 wristwatch 、 electronic clock and quartz clock was worked out. To meet the needs of market, varieties of designs and colors changed quickly, China became great power for world timepiece production and made a great contribution to national economy.