From Bai Juyi's two simple poems, we can know that the living environment of the ancients is really different from today. For example, the image of such a great poet and celebrity scholar is actually like this. He hasn't taken a bath for many years, and occasionally he washes off several thick layers of mud in one bath, and he has lost a lot of weight. This situation is really surprising.
Unlike many people's imagination, bathing was a particularly extravagant thing for the ancients. Moreover, in the concept of the ancients, the habit of bathing was very general, and not many people regarded it as a particularly important thing except sacrifice. So there is the thing of "no bathing after the year". It is conceivable that ancient celebrities and scholars were still like this.
Of course, some people may wonder why the ancients didn't take a bath for many years.
In fact, this is determined by the extremely low level of social productive forces.
First, the level of social productivity is low.
Judging from some literatures about bathing, the ancients were more particular about hygiene. In the pre-Qin period, bathing was basically popular throughout the country, but at that time it was mainly stipulated to bathe before sacrifices or major festivals.
However, bathing is indeed a trivial matter for people nowadays, but for the ancients, bathing was a luxury. I don't think it should be a problem for princes and nobles to take a bath every three to five days. After all, at that time, the upper class in society could enjoy convenience.
But for people in the middle and lower classes, it is impossible to waste a lot of resources on bathing. On the one hand, ordinary people live a hard life, and they are basically busy with their livelihood every day, and they have no extra energy to spend on bathing. On the other hand, because they live in poverty, they have no extra money to spend on bathing.
The waste of resources mentioned here is not what people think of as the waste of water resources. In fact, for the ancients, water resources should still be sufficient. But burning hot water in the bath will "waste" a lot of charcoal.
Bai Juyi wrote in "Selling Charcoal Weng", "What is the business of selling charcoal for money?" Wear clothes and eat in your mouth. "Judging from the living conditions of the poor described by Bai Juyi, the money people get from selling charcoal is spent on food and clothing. This is the case. The ancients were still "naked" and had no extra money to spend on boiling water and bathing.
If you take a bath every three to five days, no, even ten days, ordinary people will definitely not survive. Therefore, the poor must scrimp and save after half a year or a year, so that they can take care of themselves and take a bath.
From this point of view, it is precisely because of the extremely low level of productivity in ancient society that the general public can only concentrate all their energy on survival instead of bathing.
However, you may not believe it. In the eyes of the ancients, "bathing" and "bathing" are not the same thing. What's going on here?
If you know the nature of the ancients, you will know that the ancients paid special attention to talking about words. For the ancients, bathing is not a whole body wash, but a whole body wash. Don't make mistakes, or you will make jokes.
Second, the difference between bathing and bathing
As I said before, the frequency of bathing in ancient people's homes was very low. Once every three to five months is normal, and once a year is not unusual. In fact, it is not wrong for us to say this now, but if we look at this matter from the perspective of the ancients, it is the frequency of "bathing", not the frequency of "bathing". Because the ancients strictly distinguished between "bathing" and "bathing".
The word "mu" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions looks very vivid, just like a person bending down to wash his hair in a vessel with his hands. The word "bath" looks like a person standing in a vessel to wash, and small drops of water are sprinkled around him.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this explanation was more accurate in Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Here, he explained that "bathing" means washing your hair, "bathing" means washing your body, "washing" means washing your hands and "bathing" means washing your feet.
From these explanations, it can be seen that for the ancients, "bathing" means washing the whole body and hair together, just like what we are saying now. And "bathing" is more like washing hands and feet before going to bed.
Therefore, for the ancients, we can't say that they didn't bathe for many years, but as Bai Juyi wrote, we can say that they didn't bathe for many years.
In addition, in the concept of the ancients, "bathing" may have another meaning. That is, "bathing" will only be carried out during sacrifices or major festivals, and it will not be taken too seriously at ordinary times. In other words, in the ancient concept, "bathing" is more like a kind of etiquette.
For example, that's how the word "bathing and fasting" came from. Because it is recorded in the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic Su Wen, "there is evil, thinking that stains are sweat." The purpose of sacrifice is to pray or exorcise evil spirits. Therefore, in the cognition of the ancients, it is very necessary to "bathe and fast" before sacrifice and major festivals.
It can be seen that for the ancients, "bathing" is a more serious thing, and it is also a thing that people usually don't care much about. And "bathing" is relatively simple.
So, how often did the ancients take a bath?
In fact, this issue needs to be discussed separately from the rich princes and nobles and the poor who have no money.
Third, the frequency of bathing in ancient times.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the state stipulated that everyone should "bathe and fast" before offering sacrifices and major festivals, and also stipulated that children should wash their parents' hair and bathe every three to five days. After the Han Dynasty, it was recorded in the official documents of the Han Dynasty that court officials were required to "take a bath for five days off, also known as bathing".
In other words, the emperor of the Han Dynasty couldn't stand the smell of courtiers and forced him to take a day off and take a bath every five days. In the Tang Dynasty, the regulations on rest were extended to the level of "ten days' rest".
It can be seen that for princes and nobles, the frequency of bathing is basically once every five days. According to regulations, there are also differences in different dynasties and generations, and there are also ten days. Of course, this only applies to princes and nobles. For poor people or literati like Bai Juyi, I'm afraid no one will take those rules seriously.
In other words, it is "normal" for the poor to take a bath for more than half a year or even longer.
In addition, in the commercial prosperity of Song Dynasty, people began to pay attention to personal hygiene. In the streets, there are not only teahouses and restaurants, but also public bathrooms. People in this period can take a hot bath for a little money. I believe that it is not a problem for ordinary people in the Song Dynasty to take a bath three or five times.
Of course, for the really poor people, it is estimated that it is still the frequency of "not taking a bath after the year". Even after the Qing Dynasty, this phenomenon remained the same. The frequency of bathing for the rich is determined according to their own wishes, while the poor families have to be careful.
Even from these nuances, we can know how miserable the living environment of the ancients was. Compared with the current living environment, it is inevitable to sigh: modern living conditions are still good!
Conclusion:
For people living in this era, taking a bath every day is a very common thing. Just like eating and drinking water, it has been deeply integrated into people's lives. We are used to it. However, it is hard to imagine how the ancients lived by comparing their bathing frequency.
Of course, it can be seen from the small matter of bathing that the class differentiation in ancient feudal society was extremely serious. For princes and rich gentry, they can enjoy all the living resources that can make them live comfortably, while for the poor, the only thing they have to worry about is how to survive. As for enjoying life, it is really beyond their power.