What is the meaning of ancient fighting? Is it really just a time report?

The most direct purpose must be to tell the time.

Ancient people lacked effective means of timing, so they had nothing to do during the day. At night, they sleep in a daze, and there is no way to show the passage of time except when the sun rises.

The night watchman, that is, the night watchman, knocked on the crisp banger and walked across the street, at least reminding people wandering in dreams and reality what time it is, what you should do and how long it will take to get up.

Of course, there are other considerations besides telling the time.

Watchmen are the product of the state's attempt to control the community. He comes from the community, but he is employed by the local grassroots government, which is very intriguing.

First, for time, ordinary people in ancient times lacked accurate timing methods. This is not because the ancient people were stupid, but because timing, as an essential advanced professional knowledge, was used for sacrificial rites and divination activities, and its right to use was monopolized by the state. Therefore, the system of playing overtime has the significance of declaring the existence of state power.

Second, since timing was a black technology in the eyes of the ancients, people who mastered this black technology naturally cast a mysterious veil, and there have been many legends that people who ring bells can exorcise ghosts. In fact, it is really hard to say whether people who play overtime can exorcise ghosts, but the system of playing overtime originated from exorcism, and it is similar. Wizards or religious people often beat musical instruments when exorcising ghosts, similar to the watchman beating bamboo poles. But the problem is that wizards and religious figures who are good at exorcising ghosts are often feared and shunned by ordinary people, even wandering on the edge of state power. Why? Because these people pose a threat to the state power, the false rumors about the state and peasant uprising are also full of witchcraft and religious factors, which is black witchcraft. Of course, the state will treat it differently, because the consolidation of power also requires witchcraft, that is, white witchcraft, which is often presided over by the emperor himself or the state officials in charge of sacrifice.

A little ahead of time. Let's go back to the topic that the state intentionally or unintentionally plays up the mystery of the overtime system and shapes the mysterious profession of night watchman, so as to counter the unstable factors such as ghosts, witches and monks that are not recognized by the state and the secular, and the purpose is still to strengthen control at the grassroots level.

Third, more directly, the overtime system is the product of the ancient curfew system. Curfews, that is, no one is allowed to go out and wander in the streets at night, are not only for security reasons, but also for maintaining political stability. When the night watchman patrols at night, he will immediately notify government officials to suppress and arrest anyone who goes out during curfew. If there is a murder or theft at night, the watchman will also become the first witness, so as to achieve the goal that the state power tries to go deep into the grassroots and control the person.

However, it must be emphasized that the night watchman may not know this. Although they have access to the government, they still come from the general public, and overtime is just their livelihood. Like other minority businesses in the old society, such as corpse drivers and corpse salvage teams, they silently do things they don't want to do for the public, but at the same time they bear the criticism, fear, alienation and even slander brought by the public.

Today, they are consumed by street literature, boring movies and other mass entertainment again and again, which has to be said to be a kind of sadness.