Why is the curfew at the ancient city gate being implemented, and what should someone do if they want to leave the city?
When the ancients traveled back in time, how did they resist the cold?
In the cold and windy winter, when we wrap ourselves in thick coats and turn on the heating to keep warm, have we ever wondered how ordinary people spent one winter after another in the era when there was no modern equipment?
How did ancient people without heating keep out the cold when it snowed? What is the difference between the way nobles and commoners keep out the cold? When we are full of questions, why not cross time and space to explore the ancient winter?
i.Animal skin, the warmth of crossing the gap between the rich and the poor.
In 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty ended its 500-year-long Spring and Autumn Warring States period, and China entered a feudal society. In the long history of feudal society, fur products have accompanied the development of almost the entire Chinese nation.
Animal fur has always been important in cold climates. Both royalty and commoners, farmers and artisans alike had a soft spot for leather and fur products.
How did the royal family differ from ordinary people in the use of animal hides?
When Li Zicheng ruled Nanjing, Ming Sizong Zhu Youzhen"The third prince of Zhu"In the name of , he hurriedly fled Beijing with a group of guards. During the biting cold escape, the emperor of the gilded palace could only rely on his own skin to protect himself from the cold.
He wears a partridge coat, a partridge fur cape, and a partridge fur hat. This seemingly ordinary fur coat is made of unpredictable materials. The vermilion mink used by the royal family is priceless and a luxury that ordinary people cannot reach in any way.
In the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago, the poet Bai Juyi used it"The bright moonlight in front of the bed is suspected to be frost on the ground"to describe their winter coats. "The bright moonlight in front of the bed is suspected to be frost on the ground", which is a fur coat made of fox skin. From more than a dozen small coats, it can be seen that Bai Juyi is also brightly dressed.
In contrast, the most common leather goods for the average person are undoubtedly much coarser and simpler. Most people use rabbit, goat, and deer skins for warm clothing and footwear. These materials are relatively easy to obtain and much cheaper.
Craftsman Li insisted on sticking tiles on the roof in winter, how could the thin coarse cloth clothes and straw sandals on his body resist the cold? The skillful Li pulled a large handful of grass from the grass pile on the side and stuffed it into the soles and cuffs of his shoes to temporarily resist the cold. After the work is done, he still has to work hard"Blow"In a fit of rage, I just blew my clothes soft.
At the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, people paid taxes to the imperial court, silk and wool became luxury goods, and linen and linen yarn became the main materials. Hemp stalks are hard, and hemp products are far less warm than soft and smooth silk, but most ordinary people can afford them.
Animal fur was a necessity for winter, showing the gulf between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. The former has no worries about food and clothing, while the latter can only barely survive. However, leather and fur products are indispensable for all and are a common choice for locals.
Two. Folk techniques for using tasers to save people.
In addition to animal skins and furs, what did ordinary people in ancient times rely on to keep out the cold? The answer is two plants, ** and hemp.
In ancient China, ** was a very important cash crop. As early as 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period, our ancestors began cultivating and processing**. According to the literature, by 2000 BC, the cultivation and utilization of ** in China was relatively mature.
*Straw contains many raw materials that can be processed into fibers, making it an excellent natural fiber**. The fibers are extracted, bleached, and processed to make hemp yarn and hemp fabrics. **The product is sturdy and durable, and the average person can afford it.
It is an annual vine endemic to China. Its stems are rich in fibers and can be processed into civilian products such as Abuti fabrics and Abuti ropes.
The payment of grain silk was one of the main contents of the taxes levied on the people in ancient dynasties. For example, only in the Tang Dynasty were people required to pay kickbacks on grain and silk. So-called"Color sign", that is, to convert cloth into the same amount of grain. The most important of cloth products are hemp and flax.
These products, made from common plants, have become the main means of protection against the cold for many ordinary people. A garment made of burlap and a blanket filled with Indian linen wool can help a poor family survive a long winter.
The Southern Song Dynasty writer Zhu Xi once said:"Donating food and clothing is the most filial piety"。For many poor families, a piece of linen or a quilt is their only subsistence clothing.
Although these plant fiber products are rough and simple, they are not as soft and comfortable as silk. But in times of scarcity, their economic use is a lifesaver for the poor. Wang Shizhen of the Qing Dynasty said:"The sack saves lives, and the vegetable soup quenches hunger"。
3. Chili wine, a good remedy for the elderly to cure colds.
In ancient times, not only did clothing, shoes and hats be needed to keep out the cold, but food and drink also played an important role in keeping warm. Many spices that we are familiar with, such as black pepper, also played a good role in keeping out the cold in ancient times.
Chili pepper originated in southwestern China and is a spicy spice. In ancient times, many recipes for relieving colds with chili peppers were widely circulated among the people.
According to the Zhuangzi - Outdoor Objects, the walls of the greenhouse hall of the Weiyang Palace in the Western Han Dynasty were covered with crushed black pepper and clay, which not only increased the thermal insulation effect of the walls, but also filled the whole room with the unique aroma of black pepper. In addition, curtains and blankets are used in the greenhouse to further protect against the cold.
In the lives of ordinary people, the most common way to ward off the cold is to grind black pepper into a fine powder and brew it with hot water. After Sichuan pepper enters the human body, it can invigorate blood and dispel blood stasis and resist colds.
In addition, the Aboriginal people also like to drink stuffy alcohol in cold weather to raise their body temperature. For example, Bai Juyi's famous Tang poem "Pipa Xing" reads:"Where do you wake up tonight? The poem depicts a pleasant scene of friends who are invited to drink and have fun on a cold and windy night.
On a cold winter day, a bowl of chili sauce or rice wine can warm up. This type of diet that raises body temperature is still popular today.
iv.place"Underfloor heating", Heating Program for the Elderly.
In ancient times, when there were no modern heating equipment, people invented a variety of unique heating methods to avoid the cold, the most typical of which is"Ondol"。
Originating in rural areas of northern China, Kang furnace is a traditional heating method that uses the principle of heat conduction. To put it simply, it is to dig a hole under the floor of the house and use the heat generated by the burning of wood to heat the entire room from the bottom up.
This type of heating has a long history. As early as the Warring States Period, there are documents that people used kang caves to cook and keep warm. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, kang was very popular in the northern countryside. For example, the famous poems of the Tang Dynasty poet Cen Shen"Self-made cold birds are new, and Morningside is desolate", depicting the daily scene of ordinary people taking a break on the kang.
In the south, due to the hot climate, there is no tradition of using hearths. However, many other ways of heating were invented, such as braziers, stoves, and fireplaces. These heating devices are used in combination with fire, which not only reduces fuel consumption, but also embodies the imaginative wisdom of the ancients.
In today's northern countryside, you can still see old-fashioned houses with earthen kangs. This ancient method of heating is still in use today. Although the aborigines lived in an age of material scarcity, they invented and used all kinds of wonderful ways to heat themselves through the cold winter days. These simple and ingenious ways of survival are worth learning and inheriting.
These scattered fragments of ancient texts help us understand how indigenous people persevered in harsh environments. They don't have thin boots and they don't have heating rooms. Instead, they wore burlap clothes and straw sandals and spent the day eating, drinking, and sleeping outdoors. However, the strong vitality and the will to survive have enabled people to open up a way to survive in the midst of hardships and hardships.
In today's society, the material life is very rich, and we are fortunate to enjoy the beauty that our ancestors could never have dreamed of. Thanksgiving life, standing on the shoulders of giants, let us cherish the present, inherit history, absorb the creativity and wisdom of the older generation, and make our times better.