冬天里中国古人也用“暖宝宝”暖手 How ancient Chinese people warmed their hands in winter
chinadaily.com.cn 2024-01-11 17:37
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As winter comes, hands and feet can easily get cold (手脚易受凉, shǒu jiǎo yì shòu liáng), especially among women. Thick gloves (厚手套, hòu shǒu tào
) might be a good choice, yet sometimes wearing them is not convenient, especially when people want to do something with their hands.
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However, this was not a problem for ancient Chinese people, who had a more exquisite tool to keep their hands warm: hand warmers (手炉, shǒu lú).
There is no accurate written record regarding the origin of this tool, but there are some tales about its invention.
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One folk story concerns Emperor Yangdi from the Sui Dynasty (隋炀帝, suí yáng dì) (581-618) who visited Jiangsu in the winter. Due to the bitter cold, the local official asked manufacturers to make a small warmer for the emperor that could be held in one's hands. Thus the hand warmer was created.
By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the tool was in widespread use. Techniques for producing the tool were extensively employed in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
Many poems and books from this period recorded people using hand warmers.
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The Dream of the Red Chamber (《红楼梦》hóng lóu mèng), the classic novel by Cao Xueqin (曹雪芹, cáo xuě qín) from the Qing Dynasty, also featured a maid sending a hand warmer to the protagonist Lin Daiyu (林黛玉, lín dài yù) in one chapter.
Zhang Mingqi (张鸣岐, zhāng míng qí), a veteran manufacturer of hand warmers (手炉匠师, shǒu lú jiàng shī), was considered a first-class craftsman in the Qing Dynasty. The tools he produced bore his surname, called Zhang-style hand warmers ("张炉", zhāng lú).
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Made of bronze (青铜, qīng tóng) or ceramics (陶瓷, táo cí), ancient hand warmers had a variety of designs. Round, square and octagonal shapes are typical, with some fashioned to look like pumpkins, flowers and turtle shells.
Inside a hand warmer, there were burning charcoal (木炭, mù tàn) or simple coals (煤,méi). Some coals were blended with fragments and pressed into flower shapes, emitting a pleasant scent when burned.
来源:chinadaily.com.cn
编辑:万月英