This makes people curious. In ancient times, there were no air conditioners and fans. How do people spend their summer?
If you are interested, follow the poem to reveal the ancient summer magic.
Looking through the history books, you will find that the ancients paid attention to "four seasons, cold and hot".
So what can be done to achieve this state?
First, adjust the mentality-the so-called "peace of mind is naturally cool."
"Huangdi Neijing Su Wen Si Qi Tiao Shen" records: "Summer March 3, this show is very beautiful. Heaven and earth blend together and everything is gorgeous. I lie down at night and get up early. I am insatiable about the sun, so that my ambition will not be angered, and Huaying will become a show, so that my anger will be vented. If I love it outside, this summer should be the way to grow up. "
It is not difficult to see that the core of this passage is "keep your mind from getting angry", that is to say, keep a happy mood in summer and don't get angry easily. Anger only hurts the liver and makes you hot and dry.
This sentence in Neijing is also a major code of conduct for future generations to escape the heat. In layman's terms, it is "calm and natural."
Qiu Chuji, a health expert in the Yuan Dynasty, said in "On Taking Health": In summer, "it is more appropriate to adjust your breath and cleanse your heart, often like ice and snow in your heart, but less heat in your heart; It can't be hot for the sake of heat, but it can be hotter. " To put it bluntly, it is necessary to adjust the mentality, cultivate self-cultivation and be calm and natural.
Second, cover the sky and the sun-"It's good to enjoy the cool under the big tree."
The first method is easier said than done. It is estimated that many people can't reach this level.
Even Liu Zongyuan, a great writer in the Tang Dynasty, bluntly said that he could not do it.
Do you want to ask me how I know? There are poems to prove it. He wrote in the poem "Climbing to the West Building on a Bitter Summer Night": "If it weren't for my aunt, it would be better to be quiet and happy." In vernacular Chinese, it is really impossible for me to overcome the heat with "peace of mind".
Since I can't adjust my heart, what should I do?
Don't worry, the ancients were very smart and couldn't change the inside, so let's use the method of changing the external environment to escape the summer.
So there is a saying of "enjoying the cool", also called "enjoying the cool".
So how to enjoy the cool?
In fact, there are different choices at different times, but shading (avoiding direct sunlight to reduce body surface temperature) is the most common method.
Lian's Four Seasons Enjoyment Record recorded many ancient people's "summer anecdotes", and the "summer pavilion" talked about the phenomenon of enjoying the cool of the people in Beijing at that time: "Chang 'an people tied a brocade knot in the pavilion every summer and set up a summer meeting. "
"Xia Party", a bit like the modern outdoor "cool party", was still very popular in the Song Dynasty.
According to Song Mengyuan's Dream in Tokyo, Volume 8, Miscellaneous Selling in Streets and Alleys, in the Northern Song Dynasty, "people are the heaviest, and there is no season in June, so there are often wind pavilions and waterside pavilions, ice trays and snow sills in high-rise buildings, floating melons and heavy plums, flowing cups and swamps, and new lotus flowers, which can be sung from a distance to pass the evening."
But I think "Summer Fair" should be a way for the ancient "rich" to enjoy the cool.
Most people build a simple arbor under a tree, or go to caves and other cool and low-temperature places to escape the summer.
Therefore, as the saying goes, "it is good to enjoy the cool under a big tree" is a summary of the experience of the ancients in summer.
When I was a child, every summer when I went back to my hometown, people moved out of their cool beds and slept in the yard, while city people chose to sleep on the roof. Everyone chatted while counting the stars, so they fell asleep slowly. ...
It was at this time that many people had a basic knowledge of astronomy, got to know the Big Dipper, saw the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or witnessed a meteor shower. ...
Third, "summer near the water"-enjoy the lotus by cruise.
It is one of the first choices for modern people to enjoy the cool in the summer. In summer, we all like to go swimming at the seaside or swimming pool, and the ancients are no exception.
Southerners in ancient times were the most hydrophilic, such as Suzhou people in Ming and Qing Dynasties, who liked to enjoy the cool. The article "cooling by the wind" in Jia Qinglu, a Qing guru, said: "Cool means cooling by the wind. Or park at the mouth of Xumen Bridge for ten thousand years, or at the edge of Tiger Hill across the ocean, or at the ice pavilion of Sanskrit water window in the diverse Kremlin, and wander at will ... "
According to Wu Mengjuan's article "June" in the Southern Song Dynasty, people in Lin 'an (now Hangzhou) have the custom of going to the West Lake to enjoy the cool on the sixth day of June: "It is a painting boat in the Sun Lake, which is close to the embankment and enjoys the cool and summer."
The ancients enjoyed the cool by the water, which was often combined with enjoying the lotus. "Appreciating the lotus in summer" was the habit of the ancients to spend the dog days, just as Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty, described it in "Pan-West Lake Nighttalk": "The water is boundless, and the lotus blooms overnight." By the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou was the most popular place to enjoy lotus in summer, surpassing Hangzhou. Suzhou people regard June 24th of the lunar calendar as the birthday of the lotus, and it is the most spectacular day to enjoy the lotus by boat. According to Lu's article "Lotus Dang", on the birthday of the lotus, "the boat is painted with a small drum, and the lotus swings outside Fenmen to watch the lotus enjoy the cool."
In addition, there were many ways for the ancients to be hydrophilic. For example, "soaking" is also a custom of enjoying the cool: you should take a cold bath in the river on dog days to get rid of heat and toxic substances to reduce boils and fever. Ge Hong, an alchemist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was most famous for his "immersion". The article "Going into the Water for Summer" in Four Seasons records his story: "Every time Ge Xianweng gets drunk and it is hot in summer, he goes into the deep water and goes out on the eighth day to drown his anger."
After talking about the method or realm of the ancients' "suitable for cold and summer", let's talk about the specific objects and concepts of enjoying the cool in ancient times.
(1) fan
The ancient people mainly relied on fans to enjoy the cool, and fans were mostly made of bamboo. The ancients called it "shaking the wind" and "cooling friends". Rich people will buy silk fans, which are easy to shake; It is very interesting for literati to paint poems on fans again. Dignitaries can enjoy the comfort of "artificial fans" brought by servants in hot summer.
There is a classic "plot" in A Dream of Red Mansions in which Qingwen tears fans, which makes people feel bad about these fans. I really want to say to Qingwen, "Can we not be so willful? Can't you pity a person who doesn't have fans, at least give me two? Don't worry, I won't tear it. I will regard it as a family heirloom. "
(2) Building gazebo, arbor, etc.
In ancient China, people also liked to build pavilions for their houses in summer.
The production of the arbor is very creative: bamboo is used as the skeleton, the mat is used as the roof, and a high awning is built on the eaves or yard to cover the roof and yard to prevent the summer sun from directly hitting the wall, so that the external wall is not easy to get through and the ground in the yard will not heat up quickly.
But shading also has a disadvantage: it affects lighting. Therefore, the ancients invented the movable shed roof: the whole mat was cut into many rectangular pieces, and the edge of each mat was tied with a long rope. When the sun is at its worst, the mat is completely covered. Pull the rope gently in the morning or at night, and the mat will open automatically, and light and cool air can come in. I can't help but marvel at its exquisite design, which is a bit like the effect of modern tents, flexible and convenient, and very humanized.
In the Ming Dynasty, Gao Lian once described in "Respecting the Eight Lights": "One hall and seven wells in Huo Dou Villa are all engraved with plumes of smoke, and sitting on the well in summer is very cool." The production of the pavilion shows the wisdom of the ancients and skillfully uses the geographical advantages.
Later, there were pavilions, cloisters and other designs, probably all for summer and other times to avoid rain and snow.
(3) Porcelain pillow
Porcelain pillow is a kind of pillow and one of the most popular styles of ancient porcelain in China. The pillow is painted with colored glaze into beautiful pictures or engraved with poems. It was first burned in the Sui Dynasty and became popular after the Tang Dynasty.
The surface of porcelain pillow is blue glaze, cold and transparent. When sleeping, it is "half a window, a pillow of breeze". There is a saying in Li Qingzhao's famous poem "Drunken Flowers" that "the festival is also the Double Ninth Festival, and the jade pillow gauze pavilion is cold at night." The jade pillow here is a blue-and-white glazed porcelain pillow.
But I think this porcelain pillow is cool, but is it a little hard? Maybe the ancients used to sleep with hard pillows, but now we are used to sleeping with soft and comfortable pillows, and we probably can't stand giving a porcelain pillow.
(4) Summer Palace
In ancient times, the emperor built some palaces to escape the heat, which was called "Summer Palace" to facilitate his residence in summer.
When Emperor Kangxi visited the north, he found that Chengde was a place with good terrain, pleasant climate and beautiful scenery, and it went straight to the north, the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty. It is the gateway to the hometown of the Manchu emperor, and it is also the gateway overlooking the customs and controlling the ministries of Mongolia. Later, a summer resort was built here.
Many emperors in the Qing Dynasty left their palaces to spend their summer holidays. When they reach midsummer, they will leave the Forbidden City and go to chengde mountain resort or Yuanmingyuan for a "holiday". In an episode of Empresses in the Palace, Yong Zhengdi took his concubines to the Yuanmingyuan for the summer.
It is said that there is a mystery hidden in Yuanmingyuan. The skillful craftsman installed a set of machinery and equipment in the garden. This set of mechanical equipment is called "water bright color" It is powered by water power and can blow air to cool down, and its performance is similar to that of today's electric fans. Imagine, such a large set of equipment, a cool breeze in midsummer, isn't it fast! However, the Yuanmingyuan was destroyed by Eight-Nation Alliance, so it couldn't pass the exam. I'm really sorry.
(5) Use ice cubes
In the pre-Qin era, the ancients used natural ice cubes to refrigerate, preserve food or make cold drinks.
Generally speaking, the government stores a lot of natural ice and snow in the freezer in the first winter, and when the next summer comes, it takes ice or snow out of the freezer and puts it in the living room, which becomes an "ice tray". When the ice and snow melt, it constantly sends out a chill, and the refrigeration effect is not inferior to today's air conditioner.
The royal family will also send ice cubes to people around them, but not everyone can enjoy them. Only people who are equivalent to senior cadres can get it, that is, officials who are not qualified to eat meat are not qualified to use ice cubes in summer.
In Empresses in the Palace, there are many scenes where ice cubes are used to cool down. In TV, ice cubes are put in big containers, which makes the hall cool and comfortable.
In the episode where Zhen Xuan was punished for being pregnant, there was ice next to the imperial concubine. Otherwise, how could she be in the mood to brave the heat and watch Zhen Xuan kneel down? If there was no way to escape the summer, she would have suffered from heatstroke.
But personally, I think this is also a way for the rich to escape the heat. After all, it was extremely difficult to preserve ice in ancient times.
(6) Eat watermelon and drink ice water and other drinks.
Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, people have made soup cakes to escape the heat. In the Song Dynasty, there were more and more foods that could escape the summer, such as watermelon, mung bean soup and silver seedling vegetables. Among them, Fang Hui, a poet in the Song Dynasty, wrote a poem saying: "Watermelon is enough to quench thirst and split the green Yao skin."
It is said that during the Southern Song Dynasty, there were more than ten kinds of cold drinks sold in the streets: Shen Xiang Shui, Litchi Cream Water, Bitter Water, White Water, Ginger Tea Water, Myrica rubra chabat, Fragrant Sugar chabat, Papaya chabat, Wuwei chabat, Xuepao Shrinking Skin Drink, Apricot Crisp Drink, Perilla Drink, Xiangzi Drink, Mei Huajiu, Soap Water, Duorou and so on.
In ancient times, there were also different grades of drinks. According to the numerous records of the old man's victories in the West Lake, "medicinal ice water" was a summer drink that local tyrants and rich second generations often drank at that time. Will it taste a bit like herbal tea like "Jiaduobao" or "Wang Laoji" today?
(7) Air conditioning well
It is said that Cao Cao built a large-scale cold storage "ice well platform" to collect cold air by digging a deep well, that is, digging a deep well in the hall or a room in need, covering the lid and drilling holes in the lid, so that cold air comes out from below in summer and heating comes up in winter to ensure that the temperature in the hall is relatively stable and pleasant.
(8) bronze ice guide
The bronze ice guide is a "primitive refrigerator" invented by China during the Warring States Period. Jane is a big basin, which was made of pottery in the early days. After the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, bronze swords became popular. When in use, put a container full of drinks or food in it and cover it. Soon, a "cold drink" can be made.
The ice guide is not only beautiful in appearance, but also exquisite and scientific. Whenever the summer heat comes, you can take off the insect trap, put the ice cubes in the box, and put the fruits or drinks on the ice for use at any time. Ice water will not corrode the wooden case, but will seep out from the small hole at the bottom.
(9) Wooden refrigerator
Wooden refrigerators with natural ice refrigeration were widely used in the court of Qing Dynasty, which was called "ice bucket" and "ocean bucket" at that time, and evolved from the ancient ice container-"ice guide".
Made of mahogany, rosewood, cypress and other materials. Put mud under your feet to prevent it from getting wet. Compared with the existing refrigerators, this kind of palace refrigerator is too simple, but its structure is reasonable, durable and practical.
Due to the high cost of wooden refrigerators, the use occasions are mainly limited to the palace and the upper-class dignitaries' homes, so the physical objects that have been passed down to this day are rare.
Seeing this, people can't help but be proud of the creativity of the ancients! Our ancestors were really smart, and even this humble summer vacation method is full of wisdom and philosophy!