During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a corrupt official named Yang Yuanqun. When he was dismissed and returned home, what he missed was not the official seal, the jewelry, or the beautiful women, but the government toilet. It was said that the toilet was built very ingeniously, so he He dismantled the toilet and smuggled it back to his hometown as a souvenir, which became a joke at the time.
In most people’s minds, dry toilets were used in ancient times, with flies flying around and being extremely dirty. They were not only dirty, but also “unforgettable”. Why do corrupt officials like such a building that harbors dirt and evil? We don’t know what the ingenuity of the official toilets in the Han Dynasty is. If you look at a panoramic view of the toilets in the Song Dynasty, it will not only subvert your understanding, but you will also be surprised to find , the toilet facilities and services from 1,000 years ago are not inferior to modern star-rated public toilets!
Why are ancient toilets so attractive? Let us travel through the time tunnel back to 1,000 years ago and enjoy the full service of the Song Dynasty toilet.
The public toilet facilities in the Song Dynasty were rated as star-rated
During the Song Dynasty, a Japanese monk who studied in the Song Dynasty once hand-drawn an atlas called "Five Mountains and Ten Temples", including a picture Depicted is Toji. The name "Dongsi" sounds awesome. Is it a mysterious power organization like "Dongchang"? This place is indeed quite mysterious, but it doesn't have much power. It is commonly known as the latrine, or more elegantly called the toilet. It is a place that even the emperor cannot leave.
The layout of the public toilets in the Song Dynasty was similar to that of today. There were both squatting pits for defecation and pools for urination. What is amazing is that not only was there a place to wash hands, but also hand hygiene supplies and Hot water and very complete facilities, almost the same as today's public toilets.
When you walk into the luxurious public toilet of Jinshan Temple in the Song Dynasty, your jaw will definitely be shocked. It is nine rooms wide and four rooms deep? Oh dear, it is at least 600 square meters. You can’t see this kind of thing in modern times. Big scene.
A bamboo pole dozens of meters long hangs in the middle of the toilet, and there is a charcoal stove with an iron grate underneath. Could it be that I went to the wrong place and entered the Song Dynasty barbecue restaurant?
Panorama of the public toilet at Jinshan Temple in the Song Dynasty
Why is there an oven in the toilet during brain supplement time?
The ancients were very particular about going to the toilet. If you have the urge to defecate, you must deal with it in time. You cannot wait until you are unbearable before rushing to the toilet. First, for health reasons, holding it in for a long time will damage the bladder, small intestine, kidneys, etc. Body organs; the second is related to the clothing of the ancients. At that time, dignitaries, nobles and literati all wore gorgeous gowns and tall hats. If this set of equipment was used in the toilet, it would be a trivial matter to get the smell on the clothes, and the hem of the clothes might become a mop for cleaning the latrine. Therefore, it was very troublesome for the ancients to go to the toilet. First, they had to "change clothes". They took off their long coats and replaced them with short, smart clothes. Then they put a clean towel on their shoulders and walked leisurely eastward with a figure-eight step. manage.
Here comes the important point. The bamboo pole in the middle of the toilet is a coat hook. It is used to hang clothes, accessories and towels, such as monks' rosary beads, jade sachets, turbans and hats. In order to prevent If you fall into a filthy manure pit, you can hang it on a bamboo pole. Bamboo pole has a nice name Jinggan?. What is the oven below used for? It is used to dry towels for those who use the toilet. Especially in winter, it can dry clothes and heat the toilet. The toilets in the Song Dynasty were quite thoughtful.
There were clothes hangers and ovens for baking clothes in the toilets of the Song Dynasty
How clean were the toilets?
The most eye-catching thing in Jinshan Temple’s Dongsi is that there are eighteen squatting pits, and eighteen people squatting with their white buttocks exposed. This is too embarrassing! In fact, there is no need to worry. The ancients also had privacy and were shy. Of course, the feelings of those who use the toilet must be considered when building public toilets to prevent Confucian scholars from squatting out due to face. There are partitions in each pit. In addition to avoiding embarrassment, this function can also Keep it clean.
Brain time: Ancient people had to take off their shoes when going to the toilet.
In ancient times, when going to the toilet, you had to take off your shoes (boots) first and put them neatly. The squatting area is on a wooden or bamboo floor. Taking off your shoes to go to the toilet is enough to show that the sanitary conditions of the toilet are up to standard. It can also prevent people who use the toilet from being unethical and not aiming at the squatting area. Because people in the Song Dynasty liked to wear white cloth socks, if the floor was not clean, or if you were not careful, your socks would be white when you entered, and your socks would change into yellow socks when you came out, it would be very embarrassing.
The picture of taking off shoes to show respect in the Dunhuang murals
For example, the toilet instructions are very strange
There were many stinky problems in ancient times. What are the instructions for using the toilet? For details, go to Guantianguandi No matter what the farts are, for example: Don’t laugh at people talking or laughing at the other side of the door. ?You can’t chat when you go to the toilet, you can’t talk when eating, and you can’t talk when you poop?! Don't cry, spit, work hard and make a sound. ?You just can’t spit anywhere, you can’t blow your nose randomly, and the most perverted thing is that you can’t get rid of constipation. You have to hold your breath, hold in your farts, and secretly compete with each other. You can’t make a sound by making a sound. If you exert too much force, you will make a loud fart, which is not elegant. !
Why do you snap your fingers when you go to the toilet during brain-boosting time?
If the squatting position is full, the person who comes to the toilet later will not be able to rush the person who arrived first, let alone snap his fingers, no matter how anxious he is. The ancients used to snap their fingers when going to the toilet. Before crossing the two banks of the Yellow River, they had to snap their fingers three times. What kind of joke is this? Buddhism teaches: Among the sentient beings in the six realms of ghosts, there is a kind of ghost that eats poop. If he is eating a big meal and you give birth on it and disturb him, he will make mischief. It is estimated that Jin Jinggong did not snap his fingers when he went to the toilet, so he fell into the manure pit and drowned, becoming the only king who will be infamy for thousands of years.
Therefore, when you go to the toilet, especially at night, you should first say hello to the poop ghost and make sure you are safe.
Han Dynasty toilet
Can't use it? Toilet chip? Practice calligraphy
In ancient times, paper was used for writing, and writing was used to carry the truth, so we should respect the writing paper. If Wiping your butt with paper is an insult to Sven. In fact, it was because the earliest paper was made of silk cotton, which was very precious and could be afforded by dignitaries. After Cai Lun used bark, hemp, etc. to make paper, the output increased, but it has not yet reached the level of widespread use in daily life. Most people are still accustomed to using "toilet chips", which are bamboo chips and wood chips. For the sake of convenience, ordinary people use tiles to scrape the chrysanthemum after defecation. Although it is a bit hard, you get used to it once you get used to it. The biggest advantage of toilet chips is that they are convenient and environmentally friendly. They can be washed clean after use, disinfected by the natural ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun, and can be reused. There were no mobile phones back then, and squatting was very boring, so some people used toilet chips as pens to scratch on the ground to practice calligraphy or create toilet quotations. This was strictly prohibited, using smelly toilets and using wood to scrape poop. Doing elegant things with sticks is an insult to elegance!
Toilet chips have the same function as modern toilet paper
Can toilet chips be scraped clean during brain-replenishing time?
Scraping with a piece of wood will definitely not be as clean as wiping with paper. The toilet chip is only the first step in cleaning the poop. There is also an upgrade task? Washing with water. There is a basin stand in front of the toilet with a basin and a spoon for scooping water. People who are fastidious will bring a jar of cold water. If the toilet seat cannot be wiped clean, use clean cold water. Note that you should use cold water to clean chrysanthemums. The ancients believed that Washing with hot water can easily cause discomfort in the large intestine and can also lead to hemorrhoids.
Does secondary brain replenishment need to be washed by hand?
Answer: Yes!
Holding a water ladle (water can) in your right hand, use the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of your left hand to gently clasp, rub, and wipe. I feel like I have traveled to the wrong place, not back to the Song Dynasty, but to India. ?
What should I do if my fingers are stained with yellow soup?
The chrysanthemums are clean, but there is a strong smell on your fingers? Don’t worry, Dongsi provides one-stop service.
On the other side of the east side, there is a cleansing rack, which is now the wash basin. In addition to hot water, there is also a three-piece hand sanitizer set, each of which will dazzle you. The first artifact: ash, which is furnace ashes with coarse particles. After being calcined in the stove, it becomes hygienic and sterile. After grinding, the fine sand-like particles can rub out the yellow soup left in fingerprints and fingernails. The second artifact: soil. Rub your hands with steamed fine soil, and the finer residue will stick to the soil. The third artifact: bath beans. Bath beans (soap locust) are still used in many places, and some shampoo products have also developed bath beans and soap locust washing products. Bath beans were very popular in ancient times. Use bath beans from fingertips to elbows, apply them evenly, clean them carefully, and rinse with hot water. The bacteria and strong smell will be lost with the dusty bath beans? Finally completed A grand solution project.
Where does the hot water for brain-boosting time come from?
Next to the cleaning rack, there is a "huotougui", which is the boiler room, which provides everyone with hot water for hand washing in a timely manner. Although public toilets on city streets are clean and tidy now, they rarely provide hot water. I didn't expect the service in the Song Dynasty to be so meticulous and thoughtful.
The hand washing area and cleaning supplies are at the bottom, and the boiler room is on the left?
How to eliminate the odor?
People are also concerned about how the ancients used dry toilets to get rid of the odor. This problem really gave the ancients a headache. The most effective way was to use incense to neutralize the odor. An incense burner is placed in front of each toilet in Jinshan Temple's East Division to burn incense to drive away odors. This method will definitely not work very well, especially in a large public toilet like Jinshanji Toji. The smell and smell will be mixed together, making the smell even weirder. In fact, ventilation is more effective than incense.
There is an incense burner in front of the squatting pit to eliminate the odor