But you know, refrigerators have appeared in ancient China. The earliest refrigerator "Ice Guide" can be traced back to the Warring States Period. Although it uses ice cubes to realize the function of refrigeration, its function is no different from that of the current refrigerator. I'll introduce it to you today.
It is recorded in the Book of Songs that slaves cut ice in winter and stored it for nobles to drink in summer. Zhou Li, an ancient book, records "ice offering guide". "Jane" is actually a box, in which ice cubes are put, and then food is put in the middle of the ice cubes, which plays the role of preserving food. It can be seen that the Zhou Dynasty had an original refrigerator at that time, but ice was not available all year round, especially in hot summer, which was very precious.
In ancient times, no matter how hot the weather was, it couldn't get hot. As a result, the palace had the original' machine'. The ice guide is a double-layer container with a piece inside. In summer, ice cubes will be put between Jiange and wine will be put in Jiange to cool down.
1978 Two ice guides were unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Ceng Houyi, Suixian County, Hubei Province. There was a long spoon on the ice guide, which was specially used to scoop cold drinks. In addition, in the ancient book "Wu Yue Chun Qiu", it is also recorded: "Gou Jian also stayed in the ice kitchen during this trip." The "ice kitchen" mentioned here is a house specially used by ancient people to store food, and it is a place where food is served in summer. Ingenious design and exquisite casting were regarded as "refrigerators" in ancient China. A sword consists of a wine container and a sword. Fang Zun is placed in the center of the building, which has a cover with carved holes. The square mouth in the middle of the cover just covers Fang Zun's neck. There is a movable mechanism at the bottom of the mirror to firmly fix the statue. There is a big gap between the sword and the statue. It should be used to hold ice cubes in summer and hot water in winter.
A few years ago, the National Museum exhibited a bronze statue of Ceng Houyi during the Warring States Period, which was called the most complicated and exquisite bronze installation at that time. There is a big gap between the statue and the plate. You can put ice cubes in summer, store warm water in winter, and hold wine in the statue, so that you can drink wine that is warm in winter and cool in summer.
By the Ming Dynasty, the emperors and nobles in Beijing had regarded the refrigerator as an important summer heat removal device. It was a box made of Huang Huali wood or mahogany, which was filled with natural ice cubes to cool down. From the appearance, the refrigerator has a big mouth and a small bottom, which is in the shape of a square barrel with a copper hoop around the waist for two weeks. There are copper rings on both sides of the box. The purpose of copper rings is to facilitate handling. The mouth of the box is covered with two opposite hardwood cover plates, which are engraved with money holes.
At that time, the refrigerator was not only beautiful in appearance, but also very exquisite and scientific in functional design. There is an iron lining in the refrigerator box with a small hole at the bottom. One of the two cover plates is fixed at the box mouth, and the other is a trap. Whenever the summer heat comes, you can take off the insect trap, put the ice cubes in the box, and put new fruits or drinks on the ice for use at any time. It tastes dry, makes people feel comfortable, and the summer heat disappears. Because of the protection of tin lining, ice water will not corrode the wooden box, but will seep out from the small hole at the bottom.
In addition, when the ice melts, it absorbs the hot air in the room and regulates the room temperature by covering the hollow exhaust holes, which can also play the role of air conditioning. Because of the widespread use of refrigerators, Beijing needs a lot of ice cubes every summer, which are all taken from the freezer. In the past, both the Forbidden City and the Governor's Office had their own ice storage rooms. Every winter, full-time officials are responsible for collecting natural ice cubes, storing them in "ice wells" and taking them out in hot summer for the use of royalty and nobles. This tradition has a long history and is recorded in the Book of Songs. This is a traditional custom in China, also known as "ice storage". This custom has been spread to the Republic of China.
Old ice deliveryman
There are many wooden embryo refrigerators handed down from the late Qing Dynasty, mostly made of exquisite wood such as mahogany, rosewood and cypress. This work is made of mahogany, imitating the style of bamboo weaving, and it is beautifully made. It is shaped like a bucket with a big mouth and a small bottom, embedded with lead leaves and a small drain hole at the bottom, similar to a wooden bucket. There are rings on both sides of the refrigerator body, a cover plate on the top, and double money holes on it, which are both hand picks and cold air outlets.
In the Palace Museum, there are two refrigerators made of silk and enamel from the Qing Dynasty, which were lost from the Qing Palace and returned to the Palace Museum.
Daqing Qianlong royal cloisonne refrigerator, 76 cm high, is divided into two parts: box body and box seat. There are four rings on both sides of the refrigerator. The box is 45 cm high, weighs 102 kg, has a big mouth and a small bottom, and is bucket-shaped. The refrigerator is made of wood, lined with lead, and has a small round hole at the bottom corner for draining water during thawing. Cloisonne enamel outside the box, decorated with branches and precious flowers, is gorgeous and colorful. The edge of the cover is inlaid with gold, and the six characters of "Qing Qianlong Imperial System" are written in regular script. When summer comes, the refrigerator is built with ice cubes, and cold air is released through the two coin holes on the cover to cool down. The box base is made of mahogany, with a height of 3 1cm and a weight of 2 1kg. Cloisonne enamel inlaid in four corners, decorated with animal face patterns. This pair of refrigerators is exquisite in workmanship, solemn and elegant, and originally belonged to the court. Later, it was smuggled out of the palace by Puyi and transported to the apartment in Tianjin. Finally, because of its heavy weight, it was auctioned on the spot. The refrigerator was purchased by Mr. Lu Guanhu and donated by his daughter, Ms. Lu Yi, to the Forbidden City on 1985, so that the national treasure lost for more than half a century finally returned to the Forbidden City.
Although compared with today's refrigerators, these "antiquities" are a little insufficient, but in ancient times when there was no electricity, it was natural that the predecessors could gather such wisdom and make refrigeration appliances, which was quite advanced at that time, with such a beautiful appearance.