Farmers' toilets in Calari, Guangdong, are people squatting on the ground, folding a few bamboo blanks on a wooden shelf more than half a meter high. The most common is the leftover of bamboo blank used as garbage shovel, which is even thinner than that of the ancients. You need to be careful when using them. After cleaning, shovel some plant ash in the bucket in the corner to cover it. If there is not much plant ash, you can make do with dry soil [fertilizer anyway]. Let's see if there's any evidence and go.
In the production of hemp rope [brown rope? ] This life is simpler and more interesting: there are two wooden stakes on the toilet floor, with hemp ropes tied at both ends. After defecation, they rub on the rope [so they take off their pants before leaving]. Every family member has his own part. It is said that there is a folk custom in modern Korea that when a piece of rope is too smooth and useless, the family will keep it and take it out on holidays and burn it on the ancestral incense table.
Although Guangdong is far away from the Central Plains, it has preserved more folk heritage than the birthplace of Chinese civilization. What is the reason? What did people in ancient China use to wipe dirt after going to the toilet? Hong Kong TV series "Searching for Qin" raised this question. There is such a plot in the play: Xiang Shaolong, a Hong Kong special police officer, was sent to Zhao State in the Warring States Period by time machine and spent the night in a resident's house. He was in a hurry to go to the toilet, and Xiang Shaolong asked the old man for "toilet paper". The old man was puzzled and asked, "How to wipe your ass"? The old man picked up a bamboo from the toilet and said, "This is it! Please feel free to use it. " Seeing this, I can't help but make people laugh. Yes, what did the ancients use to wipe their ass? This paper traces the history of ancient custom of wiping dirt from near to far.
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Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties-coarse paper age;
There are many documents proving that people used paper to wipe filth in Qing Dynasty. This is just an example. In A Dream of Red Mansions, there is a passage in which Granny Liu has loose bowels: "Granny Liu felt a noise in her stomach, so she took a little girl and asked for two pieces of paper to come to take off your coat. Everyone laughed and drank him: not here! Busy life A woman brought it to the northeast. " This description shows that when Cao Xueqin was alive, people in the Grand View Garden and the countryside used toilet paper to wipe dirty.
In the Ming dynasty, there was an organization responsible for logistics, named "SiSi". "Cherish the firewood used by the compensation company; The bell and drum department is in charge of the bell and drum of the dynasty, as well as various zaju such as inner music, legend, brocade and rice beating; Baochao Zhang Si made thick and thin toilet paper; The matter of bathing in the mixed hall. " Among them, the Treasure Department is the competent department of toilet paper.
So, what paper did people use at that time? Therefore, we need to know the types of ancient paper in China. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Song's Heavenly Creations recorded: "Any paper made of linden bark, mulberry bark, hibiscus membrane, etc. is leather paper. Bamboo paper is for people who use bamboo hemp. The essence is extremely white, used for writing, printing, Cambodia and opening. Thick is fire paper and wrapping paper. " It is also recorded that "this paper (fire paper) is burned 17, and daily 13". It can be seen that paper is divided into "leather paper" and "bamboo paper" because of different raw materials, but no matter which kind of paper is "thin" or "thick", the thin paper is used for writing, 70% of the thick paper is used for offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, and 30% is used for daily necessities.
Distinguishing the types of paper, we also know that respecting and cherishing Chinese character paper has a long tradition in China. According to folklore, there is a reward for wiping dirt with printed paper. In the Qing Dynasty, a large number of precious characters were circulated in the society as sacred laws formulated by Emperor Wenchang. Today, we can also see Xi Zi Fa, Xi Zi Xin Bian, Xi Zi Ji Jian, Wen Chang Di Xi Zi Fa and Wen Chang Xi Zi Gong Fa. Officials even explicitly prohibit printing on paper that can be used to wipe dust. 1873 March 14 The newspaper Shen Bao reported that a woman wiped the dirt with writing paper, threw it into the toilet and was struck by lightning. On February 3, 65438 of the same year, Li Zongxi, the governor of Liangjiang, ordered all paper mills to be extravagant: no font size should be added to cursive paper and other papers, and no old books and accounts should be transformed into paper to avoid blasphemy. "
The earliest record of using toilet paper was found in Yuan Dynasty. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, people used a kind of wood or bamboo piece called "toilet piece", probably because the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty were backward in culture and didn't have the consciousness of "respecting and cherishing word paper" of the Han nationality. Historically, Bolan, the "Saint Queen of Yu Zong Hui Yu Ren", was also very filial to her mother-in-law "Saint Queen Zhao Ruishun" when she was a crown princess. She wanted to test the softness of toilet paper with her face before her mother-in-law wiped it: "After filial piety, good deeds are in the palace, and Sai-jo called it a virtuous wife. After the stone obeyed the holy emperor, he never left his feet, used paper to go to the toilet, and rubbed his face to make it soft. "
To sum up, people began to wipe the filth with toilet paper during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most of this paper is "rough" paper without words. As for whether the toilet paper used in the palace is coarse paper or fine paper, it is impossible to make a detailed textual research. I don't think the princess will rub her delicate face with thick paper.
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Tang and Song Dynasties: The Age of Using Toilets and Coarse Paper;
The toilet seat is also called toilet poop. Simply put, it is a wooden stick or bamboo pole used to wipe dirty after defecation. This kind of toilet was still used in parts of China and Japan in the last century.
Recently, many ancient toilets have been discovered in Japanese archaeology. During the excavation of Fujiwara-Kyo site in Gaodiancho, Nara Prefecture on 1992, the remains known as "the oldest toilet in Japan" were discovered. The toilet remains were found on the outside of Fujiwara-Jingqitiao building site at the end of the 7th century, and "more than 50 pieces of wood/kloc-0 were unearthed in the toilet pit". Similar toilet fragments were also found in the ruins of the split house toilet excavated in Fukuoka City from about 720 to 730 AD. 11-12nd century, a large number of toilets were also unearthed at the site of Liuzhiyusuo in Pingquan Town, Iwate Prefecture, with the specification of "average length of 24, width of 0.5-0.8 and thickness of 0.5 cm". During the Tang and Song Dynasties, China had close contacts with China, and the Japanese lifestyle had a great influence on Japan. Therefore, these archaeological discoveries in Japan have important reference value for inferring the tools used by the Japanese in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition to archaeological evidence, records of using toilets in the Tang and Song Dynasties can also be found in historical books, such as the story of Li Yu in the Southern Tang Dynasty: "The ancestors and Zhou Zhou wore monk's hats and robes, recited Buddhist scriptures and bowed down, which was a tumor. Cut the monk's toilet strip, try it on the cheek, and repair it if there are fewer thorns. "According to Zi Jian, he was appointed as our ambassador to Zhenhai and delivered a lot of materials to Guanzhong, including a toilet:" Then the ship was full of equipment, and all the equipment was recorded in the toilet, and everything was ready. "
The daily norms of monks in the Tang Dynasty are also recorded in the daily rules of monks, among which the toilet law requires monks to "always have a toilet to raise money and not lose money" and expressly stipulates that "no words should be used to copy paper". This record proves that the monks in the Tang Dynasty used toilets to clean filth. At the same time, it is forbidden to use "writing old paper" to wipe dirty things, which is very interesting. Since it is banned, someone must do it in real life, otherwise how can it be banned?
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, paper was not only used for writing, but also for daily life and offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods. The Song Dynasty's Mourning for the Sun and Zhai Congchao recorded that "the Southern Qi Dynasty abolished the emperor and loved ghosts and gods, and often cut paper into money instead of silk, but there was paper money"; "Book of the Tang Dynasty" Wang Yuchuan: "Since the Han Dynasty, every burial has money, so praying for God, using paper money began with Wang Yu"; Records of burning paper money began to appear frequently in historical materials after the Tang Dynasty. There is also a record in "Heavenly Creations": "In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, ghosts and gods were numerous, and paper money was changed to silk. In the north, it is called cardboard cutting. Therefore, the person who makes this kind of paper is called fire paper ... This kind of paper 17 burns 13 for daily use, and the thickest one is called wrapping paper, which is also made of bamboo, hemp and Sutian late rice manuscripts. " Since the emergence of household paper, it is logical for people to use it to wipe dirt.
Before the Tang Dynasty, there was a record of using a toilet, but there was no evidence of wiping it with paper. For example, Gao Yang, the emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty, "Although Yang Cheng was the prime minister, he raised money in the toilet, whipped his back and drew blood robes." . Another example is Liu Ao, a celebrity in the Southern Dynasties. "When I rushed to the toilet, I saw a big bed with a crimson bedstead, which was very beautiful. Two maids with sachets turned away. That is to say, I admire: I strayed into your room, and I admire: I am a toilet ear, I go further, I am a toilet maid, and I entered the toolkit.
The Buddhist work Fayuan in the Tang Dynasty records: "When Wu Jianye was in power, the garden was flat. Get a golden statue. Discuss its origin. It is said that it was made by Wang Yu in the early Zhou Dynasty. This town is in Fu Jiang. How did you know? Since the Qin, Han and Wei Dynasties, there has been no Buddhism and Buddhism in Nantah. There is no such thing as being buried underground. Sun Hao got it. Never believed it. Not very respectful. Put it in the toilet to make a screen. " If this is true, it is obvious evidence of the use of toilet funds during the Three Kingdoms period.
The suspicion of using toilets to raise funds was introduced into China with Buddhism. In the early Buddhist laws, it was recorded that Sakyamuni instructed monks to use toilets: "The Buddha lived in King Snake City, and there was a monk of Brahman caste. Clean and dirty, scrape the grass under the road when you go to the toilet. Scratching will hurt and the color will not look good. The monk asked,' Why do you look haggard and miserable?' ? That is to say,' I hate going to the toilet, and I hurt myself when scraping with a spoon, so I am unhappy' ". In response to this situation, Sakyamuni Buddha said: "The whole story is finished, and the net is scraped clean. Without preparation, the wall surface is not cleaned, the toilet plate beam is not cleaned, stones are not used, grass is not used, and clods of cork and soft leaves are not used; Application, wood, bamboo and reed as preparation. Measurement method, the longest is one finger and the shortest is four fingers. Used doesn't necessarily make it dirty, and used doesn't necessarily keep it in the net. This is a way to improve the toilet. "
Buddha Sakyamuni lived in the 6th and 7th centuries BC, and these commandments were written more than 100 years after his death. So according to the current literature, the history of using toilets in India is much earlier than that in China. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced into China. At first, only some classics were introduced, but the "laws" that explicitly required believers to live in daily life began in the Three Kingdoms, and the earliest record of China people using toilets to manage their finances began in the Three Kingdoms. Therefore, the argument that toilet financing was introduced from India is still valid.