自十七世纪以来,西洋商舶将自鸣钟、观(?)望远镜、幻灯、鼻烟壶、哈哈镜等许多奇巧物品运至广州,然后辗转流传至清宫,得到帝王们的宠爱。许多欧洲国家的使臣、传教士们来到我国,在觐见帝王时也大多以钟表作为贡礼。清初,清圣祖在《庭训格言》中说,顺治十年(1653年),清世祖得一西洋小自鸣钟,“以验时刻,不离左右”,可见当时还是稀罕珍奇之物。康熙年间,清圣祖在内府创设自鸣钟处,倡导学习西洋钟表轮環、发条等机械原理,并将先祖遗留之废旧钟表“尽行修理,使之皆准”。那时,除清圣祖本人外,连王子们也“皆得自鸣钟十数,以为玩器”,可见数量逐渐增多。然而,自从乾隆年间后,由于扩大了和欧洲尤其是英国的贸易,流传到广州的钟表就更多,据称每年约有几千双! Since the 17th century, Western merchants have sent many chivalrous goods such as the chime, view (?) Binoculars, slide show, snuff bottle and haha ​​mirror to Guangzhou, and then transported to Qing Palace for their love of emperors. Envoys and missionaries from many European countries came to our country, most of whom paid tribute to timepieces during their pilgrimage to the emperor. At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, Qing Shengzu said in the “motto of the courtroom” that during the ten years of Shunzhi (1653), the Qing Dynasty ancestral was a small Western self-proclamation bell. “To test the time, not to be left and right” shows that it was still a rare thing at that time. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Qing Shengzu set up his own chime bell in the prefecture and initiated the study of the mechanical principles of Western clockwork, clockwork and clockwork. He also tried to repair all the old timepieces left by his ancestors. At that time, in addition to clearing the holy ancestral home, even the princes also “got their own chimes from the dozen, that play device,” showing the number of gradually increased. However, since the Qianlong years, more watches spread to Guangzhou due to expanded trade with Europe, especially the United Kingdom, and it is said that there are about a thousand pairs a year!