The ancients took a "bath" for a few days: the historical changes of the bathing holiday
In ancient China, bathing was not only to cleanse the body, but also to be a ritual and culture.
From emperors to commoners, people saw bathing as an important way of life and social interaction. Interestingly, in ancient times, there was even a special "bathing holiday", so how did the ancients arrange this special holiday?
1. Pre-Qin and Qin and Han Dynasties: The Beginning of Bathing
As early as the pre-Qin period, people had formed the Xi of washing their hair every three days and bathing every five days. Qin Shi Huang was particularly fond of bathing, and often bathed in Lishan, where the hot springs were called "goddess soup" that only existed in the time of the first emperor.
By the Han Dynasty, the Xi of bathing had become a society-wide behavior. According to the Han Gong Yi, the emperor would give his officials a day off every five days to go home and take a bath. This is also the first time in the history of our country that a statutory holiday was established for bathing.
2. From the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties: the change of bathing
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, people's attitudes towards bathing were polarized. On the one hand, he refuses to bathe, represented by Ji Kang, and on the other hand, he is a bathing addiction represented by He Tongzhi.
Most of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty loved hot spring baths, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi praised hot springs in the poem "Overheated Soup", and the story of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei bathing in Huaqing Pool is even more well-known.
In the Song Dynasty, with the prosperity of the commodity economy and the development of the city, the town ** appeared public bathhouse, called "bathhouse". Su Shi and other literati also liked to bathe in public baths. The Yuan Dynasty was influenced by the Han people, and the Mongols also began to love bathing.
3. Ming and Qing dynasties: the prosperity of bathing
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the urban public bath industry was very developed. It became fashionable to soak in the bath and chat.
Moreover, the ancients bathed in a variety of ways.
Although there is no modern shower system, they cleanse the body with natural items such as wooden barrels, bath beans, honey locusts, etc. The palace has a state-of-the-art bathing system similar to modern faucets and showers.
4. Holiday system: from 5 to 10 days
During the Han Dynasty, they enjoyed the treatment of "five days and one bath", which became a legal holiday for them to go home to take a bath and rest.
In the Tang Dynasty, this system changed, from "five days of rest" to "ten days of rest". The Song Dynasty followed the Tang Dynasty's "ten-day rest" system, but the number of holidays increased greatly, making the rest time more abundant.
5. How did the ancients take a bath?
The ancients usually used wooden barrels or porcelain basins for bathing. They will first add the right amount of warm water and soap (or natural cleansers such as bath beans and honey locusts) to a bucket or basin and then soak the body parts to clean.
They will also use a bath towel or cloth towel to wipe down the body for a thorough cleansing effect. Some high-end baths offer more sophisticated bathing equipment and techniques, such as hot springs and steam baths.
6. Cultural significance: bathing and etiquette
In ancient times, different words were used to wash different parts of the body, such as washing hair, bathing referring to washing the body, washing fingers and feet, and bathing referring to washing hands.
This meticulous distinction reflects the respect that the ancients had for the body and the importance they attached to cleanliness.
At the same time, bathing was a civilized ritual in ancient times. People show respect by bathing before meeting the Son of Heaven and attending major events such as sacrifices. This tradition continued until the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The bathing culture of ancient China is rich and colorful, it is not only a way of life and social mode, but also reflects the pursuit of etiquette and civilization of the ancients.
From the change of the holiday system from "five days and one bath" to "ten days and one bath", we can also see that the ancient society attached great importance to personal hygiene and public health, as well as the gradual improvement of the bureaucratic system.