The ancients chose to use paper-pasted windows after a long period of evolution, and learned some lessons from them, so they came up with the initiative of using paper-pasted windows.
At first, I used some other things, such as straw covers or panel doors, but if you look at these things, you should be able to feel that if you use them to glue the windows, there is basically no lighting in the house.
With the invention of paper, the ancients discovered such a material that is very suitable for pasting windows, in fact, it is not only the paper used for pasting windows, but also the existence of "oil paper umbrellas", so the specially treated paper can be used to block the rain.
As for the mystery of it, it is necessary to talk about the fate between the window and the paper, which is a history of human struggle for light.
According to the current understanding, a house is incomplete without windows, except for special purpose rooms (such as confinement rooms), windows are certainly indispensable. But in ancient times, windows didn't start out.
- In the beginning, the house had no windows, and as you can imagine, the rooms were all black.
The ancients invented the window for the sake of lighting the room, but at first it was just a "skylight", opening a window directly above the house. But the consequences of this can be imagined, "cold in winter and hot in summer" is a small matter, and it rains heavily outside, and the rain in the house is not small, which makes people uncomfortable.
Then the window in what we now know was invented, that is, a hole in the wall, with this window, the light in the house is good, but problems also arise.
1. The first problem is that there is no privacy, after the wall is opened, the outside looks at the house clearly, there was no high-rise at that time, everyone lived on the first floor, and there were no curtains.
2. The second is that flying insects and something come in and out casually, and in summer, just thinking about it makes me itch.
And when it rains, the rain in the house is light, but compared with "opening the skylight", once the wind blows, the rain will only have a lot more impact on the house.
Naturally, it will not work like this, so the ancients thought of the method of "pasting the window", blocking the window a little, trying to ensure that the light can enter the room, but abandoning other drawbacks.
When I think of the act of "pasting windows", of course, the materials of pasting windows are constantly changing over time.
In the beginning, the glue window was to take what was easy to obtain at hand.
For example, sheepskin, cowhide, or board doors, but these things have great drawbacks.
The first is the cow and sheepskin, although this thing is tough, but it will produce a great odor over time, and if it rains for a few days, it may stink when damp. Moreover, these things were very precious at that time, and the cost of obtaining them was also very high, and they were also available to ordinary people casually.
The board door, this thing is good, but it will feel very troublesome after a long time, after all, you have to pull the plank up at night and get up early to open it.
At that time, there would be some tropical plants in the south, and the leaves of these plants were relatively large, and some of them were picked and glued to the windows, which had a certain degree of light transmission, and could also isolate flying insects and privacy.
If it is said once and for all, it may be this leaf, first, there is no peculiar smell, second, it can penetrate some light, and it can also block the wind and rain. The only problem is that it is not disabled, and the leaves will dry after a little while, and they will break when touched, so they will not be able to shelter from the wind and rain.
It was not until after the Han Dynasty that many large families began to use silk cloth as a material for pasting windows, which also marked a new era, durable and once and for all. The problem is not nothing, the cost is too high, and the people can only look at it and look at it.
With the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, papermaking technology has been unprecedentedly developed, this relatively inexpensive material has gradually entered the people's field of vision, similar to the light transmission of silk cloth, and there is no need to worry about flying insects entering, it is finally a good solution.
Since the advent of paper windows, it has become popular in an instant and has been used ever since, with the only difference being that they have been improved on paper windows.
First of all, the front window is pasted with paper, which has light transmission, and if it is only a light rain, it will not be too damaged, especially in the north.
Moreover, paper is relatively cheap, even if it is broken and pasted again, it can be accepted, and it has gradually become a fashion in the streets and alleys.
In costume dramas, you can often see the bridge of stabbing the window with wet fingers with saliva, which is actually true, as the so-called "anti-gentleman does not guard against villain".
However, there is only one piece of paper on one window, and if the paper area is too large, it will be easy to break, and it was only in the Tang and Song dynasties that the window lattice appeared. The window lattice is to divide a window into different compartments, which is equivalent to sharing the stress point of the paper, so that a piece of paper can be more durable.
With the development of Tang and Song Dynasty culture, the window lattice also developed different styles, and the preferences and aura of the owner of the house can also be seen through different shapes, which can also be regarded as the plaything of literati and elegant guests.
However, since it is paper, there will definitely be some drawbacks, such as poor water resistance, and the ancients naturally began to work paper materials.
In addition to the bark of the tree tree, the ancients also tried hemp and bamboo, and experimented with different materials to find out the most durable one, such as the more popular "yellow rattan paper" in the Tang Dynasty, which was very durable.
However, it is not enough to be durable, it is also waterproof, and there is a demand for businessmen who are willing to do it.
In ancient times, there were many "window paste stores" that sold paper specially used for pasting windows, including paper brushed with tung oil, which was very waterproof. Moreover, this kind of window paper is pressed together in many sheets, which is durable, and is very suitable for use as a paper window.
In fact, in ancient times, the "oil paper umbrella" was brushed with tung oil on the paper, but after all, it was paper, and even if it was durable, it could not withstand the attack of several waves of heavy rain. However, the "oil paper umbrella" will be created by many literati, and there are very beautiful patterns, so naturally these well-known hand-made products are expensive.
It wasn't until the invention of glass in modern times that durability and light transmission were truly unified, and mainstream society completely abandoned paper as a window paste material.
Finally, it is the mystery of the ancients who pasted the window with paper, which may be the pursuit of beauty and light by the ancients, the invention of the window lattice made the paper and the window form a distinct and unified beauty, and everyone is also happy to write and draw on the paper.
Not only the window paper, but even the "oil paper umbrella" has become a place for many literati to create.
Because of the special significance of paper, it can not only shelter from the wind and rain, but also become a cultural inheritance, and the derivative industry is also booming. In this case, ** can be high or low, everyone can afford to use it, and customized window paper can show identity, why not use it?