Bathing washes out the country of civilization and etiquette.

In fact, people in China didn't pay attention to bathing before. Liang Shiqiu said: "We China people have always regarded bathing as a major event."

As early as 3000 years ago in the Western Zhou Dynasty, people had to bathe before offering sacrifices to their ancestors, which was called "abstinence". The abstinence ceremony in the Western Zhou Dynasty was very grand and elegant, with full-time officials in charge. Bathing etiquette in the pre-Qin period was very complete. Governors have to wash their hair and take a bath before they can go to see the emperor.

Scholars say that China's bathing etiquette has become a kind of customization, which is unique in the world. In the heyday of the Han and Tang Dynasties, there were many bathing rituals in the court, and the post of "hot spring supervisor" appeared, which was responsible for the affairs of the Royal Tang Chi; In the Ming Dynasty, there was a special bathing management organization "Mixed Hall Division".

In China at that time, bathing was a serious religious and even political activity, and the appearance of officials was closely related to "political civilization".

Going to the temple and taking a bath are related to people's living standards. It is specially stipulated in the Book of Rites that the etiquette of respecting the elderly must include boiling water for the elderly to take a bath, taking a bath every five days and washing their hair every three days. The procedures for ordinary people to take a bath, and there are also detailed regulations for bathing at birth and funeral.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, in late spring and March, the river was paralyzed to eliminate diseases and disasters and evolved into a spring outing for the whole people; At the same time, taboos are everywhere: men and women don't take a bath and don't wear towels; Father and son take different baths, the monarch and ministers take different baths, and people with different identities, generations and status also take different baths.

Public bathhouses began to appear in the Song Dynasty with the development of urban economy. There is a bath hall in the shop, where there are pictures of the Qingming Festival on the river everywhere. Su Shi wrote a preface to a dream after taking a bath in a public bathhouse. It can be seen from the words "send a message to wipe people's backs" that the public bathhouse service at that time was perfect.

And look at Europe in the15th century. It's really pathetic. Europeans actually believe that plague can invade the body by bathing, which has led to the fact that for hundreds of years, all walks of life, especially the court and the upper class, basically did not bathe or wash their faces.

At that time, Louis XIV, the famous "sun king" in France, used a lot of perfume to cover up his bad smell.

The Evolution of Bathing Custom in China

In China, there are many customs about "bathing". When I was involved in the "three washes" of life for the first time, my soul returned to the paradise in the west to keep myself clean. Bathe Buddha with fragrant soup on April 8th every year, bathe body with bluegrass and wormwood on Dragon Boat Festival every year, and bathe cats and dogs on June 6th. Women in Rizhao, Shandong wash their hair on Tanabata.

In China, bathing has a long history. In ancient China, people divided it very finely. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen said: Mu: Zhuo Fa also; Take a bath and sprinkle yourself; Wash your feet and spread your feet; Take a shower and give up.

It can be seen that bathing in ancient China is not exactly the same as bathing today. Only by combining the explanations of these four words can we have a full sense of bathing today.

In primitive society, people lived a life of fishing and hunting for a long time, and sometimes they needed to go into the water to catch fish. And when the weather is hot in summer, people will jump into the water to take a bath, which is the original bath.

With the development of society, people have gradually developed the habit of taking a bath at home. At the latest in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China already had bath utensils. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, bathing etiquette was gradually customized, and bathing also penetrated into all aspects of society. Bathing is not only simply regarded as a way to keep the body clean and healthy, but also as a prelude to the grand ceremony held by the court and the people.

Public bathrooms appeared in the Song Dynasty, and bathing became more popular. After the Mongols entered the Central Plains, they changed the habit of seldom taking a bath in the past and built a public bathhouse in Beijing. In the Qing dynasty, bathing became a fashion because of social atmosphere.

However, under the influence of feudal hierarchy, bathhouse industry was classified as "the lowest stream". In fact, the appearance of bath industry is the result of social progress, urban development and commercial economic prosperity.

The structure of bathhouses in Qing Dynasty followed the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, with slight changes. For example, in the bathhouse in Yangzhou, the big pool is divided into several compartments and there is a "doll pool". The swimming pool is small and not hot, suitable for children to take a bath. There is a wardrobe in the bathhouse.

Shanghai calls bathing "bath" 19 Since 1950s and 1960s, there have been large bathhouses in Shanghai. Changyuan Pot Soup and Yiyuan Garden in Zilai Street were built in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty, and they were the earliest bathhouses with Pot Soup.

Bathing industry has its own industry god. The ancestor of Beijing bathhouse industry is Zhigong, and the ancestor of bathhouse industry is Zhigong. He has a temple in the backyard of Xishengtang at the back door of Beijing. In the past, every year in the third month of the lunar calendar, pedestrians would come here to worship.

Bathrooms provide many services, besides bathing, there are also services such as pedicure, massage, haircut, tea and food. So there are many "bubble guests" who go to the bathhouse every day and stay in the bathhouse all day. Their main purpose in entering the bathhouse is to take a bath and rest.

For most of the 20th century, people in China bathed in public bathhouses, which was a luxury every two weeks. Most welfare units have "staff bathhouses", which are not open to family members.

Bathing in old Shanghai is more common and humanized. In the past, several old-fashioned baths in Qingdao invited Shanghai massage masters and pedicure masters. Shanghainese are more careful, and a simple toilet is often built behind the tiger stove, mainly for boiling water. That kind of pure bathing feeling is by no means comparable to the ginseng bath and surfing bath in today's bathing center.