How did the ancients predict the weather?
In the Shang Dynasty, using sensory systems such as eyes and ears to observe celestial phenomena was a great skill. There is no problem in mixing a senior career position in government. By the Zhou Dynasty, people had learned to predict the weather through the behavior of animals. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the ancients completed the formulation of the twenty-four moral principles. The advent of the lunar calendar later was the crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors. Although the ancients did not have sophisticated instruments to predict the weather, they were much more reliable than the so-called "weather forecasters" today.
How did ancient women wear makeup?
Painting and plastering are women’s hobbies that have not changed since ancient times. The three most commonly used magic weapons by ancient women are: dai powder, makeup powder, and rouge. "Dai" is a black mineral. It can be ground into powder, mixed with water, and used to draw eyebrows. Makeup is now powder. It is an ancient rouge lipstick. The raw material is a kind of flower called "red and blue", which can also be used as blush when mixed with cosmetic powder. Nowadays, the dazzling array of cosmetics gives women more choices, and the technology of "facial masks" is also superior to that of the ancients.
The ancients did not have condoms or condoms. How could they prevent birth control?
If the ancient emperor did not want his concubine to become pregnant, he would order the eunuch to hang her upside down and wash her private parts with saffron. In the past, brothel women would also take "cooling pills" containing musk for contraception. However, the effect is not 100%. Wei Xiaobao's contraceptive measures popped up in his 80s, and some people even drank highly toxic mercury. Of course, most ancient people did not deliberately avoid contraception.
How were garbage disposed of in ancient times?
Ancient people were much more environmentally friendly than modern people. Littering is uncivilized and rarely happens. As early as 8,000 years ago, ancient people concentrated on garbage disposal and used natural or excavated earth pits to pile garbage. The fastest way to deal with garbage is to burn it directly. If you can't burn it, just bury it. The ruins of the ancient garbage dump are mostly broken porcelain and lacquerware. If you put them all together, you can't say whether you can restore an antique. Therefore, those who want to make a fortune can dig through the garbage of the ancients.
Did ancient people drink water raw or boil it before drinking?
Only modern people will be troubled by this problem. In ancient times, there was no environmental pollution. Whether it is river water, spring water, well water, or even rainwater, you can drink it directly without worrying about diarrhea. Only when the weather is cold, the ancients would boil water for drinking. Although water can be obtained anytime and anywhere, ancient people still had to be careful about water pollution, because most of the epidemics of ancient plagues were related to drinking water. Villains in martial arts movies often use the dirty trick of poisoning water to take human lives without leaving a trace.
Have there been maps since ancient times? How is it made?
It is said that when Yu the Great was controlling floods, he had a map. The oldest existing maps in China are three ancient maps from the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. "Six Types of Cartography" was created by Fei Xiu, a geographer in the Western Jin Dynasty, which made the compilation of maps more accurate. In ancient times, maps were basically measured step by step, so the brothers who made the maps first had to be ascetics like Tang Monk. Because it often takes more than 10 years to make a national map, it is a huge and boring project.
How to correct typos written by ancient people?
Brushing it off directly is the easiest way. This is how Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing dealt with typos. Therefore, "Wang Xizhi Orchid Pavilion Preface" and "Yan Zhenqing's Manuscript of Memorials to Nephew" can be regarded as "graffiti works" by two great calligraphers. The most common method is: use a brush to add some dots next to the typo, and keep the original word and continue writing. Another method is to apply a mineral called "orpiment" on the typo, which is somewhat similar to the current "correction fluid". This is how orpiment comes from.
How did the ancients kill pests in the era without pesticides?
In ancient times, many kinds of drugs were used to control pests, including plants, weeds, etc. animals, such as fly ash and fishy smell, and minerals, such as salt, sulfur, lime and arsenic. Usage methods include mixed seed collection, sowing, soaking in water or spraying with cooking juice, lighting cigarettes, and smearing wormholes
Don't think that clocking in is a perverted invention of modern times.
If you look at the records of the work of the ancients, you will feel that things are much more humane now. Civil servants in ancient yamen worked in spring and summer. They had to sign in at 6 a.m. in summer and autumn, and at 5:30 in the morning. If anyone dares to be absent from work or late for no reason, it will not be as simple as deducting some money. Depending on the number of days and the severity of the case, he can be punished with whipping or imprisonment. Therefore, being late for work may be a flesh-and-blood trick that is not easy to mess with.
Do ancient students have winter and summer vacations or weekend holidays?
Nowadays students often complain that the vacation is too short. If this kind of complaint happened in ancient times, it is estimated that the palms of the hands would have been peeled off by teachers or parents. In ancient times, students had no special festivals. Except for national holidays such as New Year and Dragon Boat Festival, students’ daily task is to study hard in the cold window. Before the exam, they have to hang their heads and stab at stocks, or chop down a wall to steal some light to sprint for the exam. Only officials in ancient times could take vacations, so after working hard to gain fame and fortune, they could legitimately take vacations.
Did ancient babies drink goat’s milk or cow’s milk? Or just breast milk?
If ancient babies could drink goat's milk or cow's milk, there would not be so many tragic cases of premature death. Ancient people generally drank animal milk only after reaching a certain age. Babies mainly receive breast milk containing human antibodies. Because at that time, animal milk did not have the current sterilization technology, and babies had no resistance to bacteria. What should a mother do if she has no milk? They could only "borrow milk", and this is how the profession of nursing was born. Poor families without milk can only use rice as a substitute, grinding it into a fine pulp suitable for swallowing.
How did the ancients make fire?
At first, when the ancients saw fire erupting from a volcano or struck by lightning, they thought it was some kind of god and would worship it. Later, Zui Ren saw woodpeckers rubbing wood to create smoke and learned to drill wood to make fire. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the "Yang Sui" method was invented to make fire, which used the principle of focusing sunlight to make fire with a concave bronze mirror. Fire was very convenient before humans knew how to knock stones to make fire. Therefore, flint was a necessity for ancient people's home life. However, be careful to keep it out of reach of children and kittens to avoid playing with fire.
Can an iron pestle really be ground into an embroidery needle? If not, how are needles made?
In ancient times, everything that was metal was considered valuable. If the allusion is true, then the old woman grinding the iron pestle can be regarded as a wealthy idler. However, making iron needles does require a lot of perseverance and patience. First draw the red-hot iron into wire, then cut it into sections, sharpen one end and drill holes in the other end. The needles used for acupuncture are even more troublesome. First, you should insert them into the bacon, filling the pits with grease, and the tips should be sharpened and rounded to prevent the needles from puncturing blood vessels.
Before there were sanitary napkins, were menstrual cloths disposable or reusable?
In ancient times, the longest thing on a woman's body, besides her hair and foot-binding cloth, was the "menstrual cloth." A menstrual cloth is a long strip of cloth used to wrap the lower body tightly when "aunt" comes. However, because women in ancient times participated in manual labor more frequently, "seeing red" was inevitable. In addition, because China has always advocated frugality, used cloth strips will still be reused after cleaning. Today’s women should be grateful to the inventor of sanitary napkins, which “liberated women” to a certain extent.
How did ancient people lose weight? Are there any home remedies for breast enlargement?
Compared with today’s various weight-loss drugs, ancient methods are much simpler, such as drinking tea to lose weight. But people in ancient times rarely had big fish or meat, so they had to do heavy and tiring work all day long. How did they get fat? Ancient breast enlargement methods were more natural, such as using red beans and soybeans to achieve breast enlargement effects. In addition, ancient people believed that acupoint massage can also promote breast swelling. Compared with the "internal adjustment method" of the ancients, today's breast augmentation method is more dangerous, and it can become "breast destruction" if you are not careful.
A bellboy shouting "We're going to do it at midnight" on the street? Is he a civil servant?
The watchmen in ancient times were similar to those today
China pays attention to respecting the elderly and loving the virtuous. Only old people can live a big life. When a newborn baby turns one year old, Catching Week takes place. Every year after birthdays, parents often cook a few eggs to fool them, which is also called a "little birthday".
You can only celebrate your birthday when you are 60 years old, that is, have a "big birthday". At this time, the stage is set, and relatives and friends will send precious gifts and best wishes. Therefore, in ancient times, if you want to have a decent birthday, you must have the ability to live a long life.
If ancient heroes participated in today's Olympic Games, would they win a great victory?
Who do you think will win in a PK between Spider-Man and Sun Wukong? Such questions can only spark heated debates that will never lead to a conclusion. Most ancient people were engaged in physical labor, so their endurance and tolerance should be much stronger than those of modern people. However, in the current Olympics, the country is trying to develop a small number of young athletes. With the support of financial resources, manpower, and technology, the ancient heroes could not defeat them. However, in some endurance races, such as marathons, the ancients still had a high chance of winning.
Did the ancients have plastic surgery?
The ancients believed that "the skin of the body is influenced by the parents." Therefore, ancient people would not take the initiative to operate on themselves like modern people. In previous wars, it was very popular to cut off the noses of prisoners of war, so the ancients developed a set of nose reconstruction surgery, which involves cutting a notch in the arm, fixing the arm on the injured nose, and waiting for the wounds on both sides to heal. Cut a nose-sized piece of flesh from your arm to use as a new nose. However, this is completely different from modern cosmetic surgery.
Did ancient people brush their teeth?
The ancients also paid great attention to oral hygiene. Our ancestors long ago used the middle finger of their right hand as a toothbrush. Later, the "Yangzhi toothbrush" invented by Indians was introduced to China by monks, also known as "wooden toothbrush". The method of use is very simple: bite the poplar branches until soft, dip them in the medicine and brush your teeth, and your teeth will be smooth and clean. An easier way is to use "chewed" twigs like a giraffe, which can achieve a similar effect. When modern people forget to bring their toothbrush while "living in the wild" one day, they might as well go back to the ancient methods.
What should the ancients do if they were myopic?
In ancient times, there was no environmental pollution problem, and there was no temptation of televisions and computers, so there were very few people with myopia. Usually myopic scholars study hard. Think about it, it would be strange if you are not myopic. The ancients believed that inability to see clearly was due to lack of concentration. Therefore, "Zhi Na Wan" is the most commonly used prescription, and acupoint massage and acupuncture are also used to treat eyes. In the Ming Dynasty, glasses were introduced to China from the West. Thanks to glasses, people ruined their eyes, which made them even more unscrupulous.
Is it really feasible to send messages by flying pigeons?
In ancient China, it is impossible to verify when flying pigeons were used to deliver books. During the Mongolian Western Expedition, pigeons were widely used in military activities and made great contributions. Later, pigeons became an excellent tool for delivering love letters and the matchmaker for many beautiful marriages. In ancient times, flying pigeons used red silk thread to bind letters to attract the recipient's attention. Today we use email, phone calls, videos, etc. Although more convenient and faster, it lacks a touch of romance and expectation.
Did ancient men have a preference for cross-dressing?
"Drag men" are similar to today's gay men. They are feminine, handsome, and like to play female roles. There are relevant records in documents from the Spring and Autumn Period. This custom of liking beautiful men was mainly prevalent among the aristocratic class at that time, and was even heard among the people during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Emperor Wei Ming's Pan An, Yan He, Du Hongzhi and others were all famous handsome men at that time. They were good at applying vermicelli, and even women were not as good as themselves.
Were there lesbians in ancient times?
In ancient China, lesbians were often called "mirror grinders", and both parties obtained a certain degree of sexual satisfaction by rubbing or touching each other's bodies. Because the body structure on both sides is the same, it seems that there is a mirror in the middle, so it is called "grinding mirror". There is also a woman who disguises herself as a man and wears a dildo around her waist to have sex
During the operation, the castrated person’s abdomen will be tied tightly with white cloth strips, then disinfected with paralyzing pepper water, and then The castrate's hands and feet were bound. After that, it all depends on the master's sword skills. It is best to cut off the penis and scrotum together, otherwise the cartilage will grow back and you will have to cut it again. If you cut it too deep, it will make a hole, which will cause urine to spill out. Due to the lack of "water pipes" after surgery, most eunuchs urinate in a fan-shaped shape. In order not to soil their pants, they had to squat.
Did men circumcise in ancient times?
In ancient China, men did not have the custom of "hiding their skin". Men generally cherish their body hair and skin, and only ethnic minorities have the tradition of circumcision. However, circumcision is more common abroad. For example, ancient Egyptian reliefs depict adult males being circumcised while standing. The reason for traditional circumcision is not hygiene, but worship of the penis, and the foreskin is considered a cosmetic defect.
In ancient times, women’s tops were Chinese-style bras, so did they wear underwear?
The ancients said that the upper body is "clothes" and the lower body is "shang". "Dress" is a bit like a skirt. To put it bluntly, it is a fig leaf. Pants only appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. Later, when women were menstruating, they would wear an old pair of pants to avoid staining the outer pants. Slowly, men followed suit and gradually evolved into the underwear worn today. Nowadays, not wearing underwear has become another sexy expression.
Should old banknotes be protected against counterfeiting?
The earliest paper money in ancient times was born among the people and distributed freely by merchants. But if you do this, it is easy to get messy hair and forgery. Later, Jiaozi was officially issued, and anti-counterfeiting measures were even stricter, and two official seals were stamped on the banknotes. During the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty, it was changed to "Yin Qian", with more complex patterns and multi-color overprinting, making it more secure against counterfeiting. Since then, each dynasty has its own unique anti-counterfeiting methods. There are so many tricks, and modern people still haven’t figured out how our ancestors cracked down on counterfeiting.
Did the ancients have vaults or safes? How did they hide the money?
As early as primitive times, in order to preserve the hard-earned food, the ancients would dig holes, put the food in the cave, and put a big stone to block it. Later, it evolved into wrapping valuables in animal skins, which should be regarded as the prototype of a safe. As appliances and locks developed, people began to store money in boxes and cabinets made of different materials. However, even if the "safe" appears, it is inevitable that a group of desperadoes will be killed along the way. As a result, banks came into being, but they also became more professional institutions for "harboring stolen money".
Did ancient people wear dentures?
As early as the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing invented the method of filling teeth with amalgam. Professional doctors wearing dentures also appeared in the Song Dynasty. There were many kinds of dentures in ancient times, including ivory, ox bone, and hard sandalwood. Dentures not only solve actual dental problems, they also serve a decorative and display purpose. A "dental bridge" uses soft gold wire and iron wire to tie the teeth together and then insert them into the mouth. It has no chewing function and is purely decorative. This reminds me of Hong Kong movies from the 1980s and 1990s, where the nouveau riche opens his mouth and flashes his gold teeth.
Did boys in ancient times have long hair?
The hard work of the ancients on three thousand hairs is unimaginable to modern people. In ancient times, both men and women had long hair, the longer the better. Hair is almost never cut, and the edges are trimmed at most. Even so, they still look to the zodiac signs to choose a date. When a boy reaches the age of studying, he will tie his hair into a bun. This is called "tying hair to study". In ancient times, "bald punishment" was an unbearable punishment for the ancients, which was what Sima Qian called "shaving and being humiliated."
Did ancient people smoke?
Tobacco was first introduced to China from Luzon Island in the Philippines during the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty. At first, small amounts of tobacco were grown in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, but not many people smoked. As we all know, the harm caused by tobacco began with the Opium War. A little opium became the trigger for rewriting Chinese history. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, British merchants used trade to bring cigarettes to the mainland. At first, they gave it away for free, and others began to sell it
Gold has a price, but jade is priceless. Ancient people have long known the preciousness of jade and precious stones. And "stones from other mountains can attack jade" also shows that the ancients knew the hardness very early and knew how to use harder minerals to polish stone tools. When ancient people carved jade, they often crushed minerals with higher hardness such as garnet, diamond, etc. into gravel to become "jade-removing sand". Later, the hardest "emery" appeared, that is, broken diamonds. No matter how hard the GEM is, it can still be "slaughtered".
Did the alarm clocks of ancient people only have roosters?
What should I do if the rooster used as an alarm clock is slaughtered? Of course, ancient people did not hang themselves from a tree. In addition to broken pot wine and Japanese monsters, the ancients also invented fragrant bells. Just use a special mold to make incense.
The thickness of the incense coil is even and the burning time can be accurate. Then guess the time from the scale on the coil of incense remaining after burning. Later, the ancients improved the incense table clock. When the incense burns to a certain level, the heavy object hanging on it will fall and hit the metal vessel under the incense plate, achieving the effect of an alarm clock.
Did ancient women shave their body hair?
Compared with their high IQs that keep pace with the times, Chinese women have not evolved at all in shaving their body hair. In fact, a long time ago, ancient women advocated shaving their eyebrows and applying black paint. Yes, the women in Akira Kurosawa's movie "Ran" all like to make their eyebrows smaller. This is the result of learning from their Chinese ancestors. In addition, ancient women were also popular for "face slimming", that is, using thread to remove the fine hair on the face. It is said that only men care about face, but this is not true.
The ancient emperor’s harem had 3,000 people. Are there really so many?
3000? This is just a conservative number. Ancient emperors were tireless in their pursuit of female sex. The famous fatuous emperor Yang Di once issued an edict to recruit beauties from all over the world, and even selected 3,000 virgins to enter the palace for his "entertainment." Emperor Yang Di is still a piece of cake, and the most important thing is Tang Xuanzong. Don't look at the ancient books that say that his love with Concubine Yang was earth-shattering and earth-shattering, but the number of his harem was as high as 40,000. Well, it would take more than 100 years to use up one of them every day.
The ancients often said that learning makes you rich in five carts. How many books can fit in five carts?
It should be pointed out that this "car" is a horse-drawn carriage and an ox-cart, not a large truck. This word describes the diligence and studiousness of Shi Hui, a famous scholar during the Warring States Period. Every time he went out, he took five carts of bamboo slips to read on the road. I wonder if he could see the rough road. Anyway this style is enough. There aren't many books in these five carts of bamboo slips, and they probably can't even fit into the hardcover version of "Gu Wen Guan Zhi". According to this algorithm, any one of us will learn to get rich by riding dozens or hundreds of cars.
How often did ancient people generally take a bath? What do they use to wash their hair?
The ancients were much more hygienic than we thought. As early as the pre-Qin period, the ancients "washed their hair on three days and bathed on five days." In the Han Dynasty, "bathing" appeared, which meant that after officials worked for five days, they could take a day off to take a bath. How can civil servants get this treatment now? Some people write books because they like taking baths. This is Xiao Gang, Emperor Liang Jianwen of the Southern Dynasty, and his "Bathing Sutra". Ancient people washed their hair more frequently, often using water and the natural detergent "mukorossi".
The ancients did not have toilet paper, so what did they use to wipe their butts after going to the toilet?
The ancients probably practiced "Ninja Kung Fu". Before the invention of paper, the ancients used small pieces of wood or bamboo to "scrat" their buttocks after defecation, so as not to worry about hemorrhoids. Even after the invention of paper, because China has a tradition of "respecting writing paper" and paper is relatively expensive, wiping one's buttocks with paper is a disrespectful luxury, so the ancients had to continue to be "ninjas". Until the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolians didn't care about your paper. From then on, the butt was treated "gently".
The ancients did not have refrigerators, so how did they preserve food?
Who said the ancients didn’t have refrigerators? A "bronze ice mirror" was unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Hou Yichu in Suixian County, Hubei Province. It is the earliest refrigerator discovered in the world. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, slaves carved ice cubes in winter and stored them for the nobles to dredge