Black color folded branch pattern tiger pillow gold Shanxi Museum collection
Pillows, as a key role in bedding, have been closely related to people's sleep quality since ancient times. Because it not only carries people's expectations and pursuit of comfortable sleep, but also is an important medium to promote physical health and relaxation.
A suitable pillow can not only help people effectively relieve neck and shoulder fatigue, but also promote people to fall into deep sleep faster.
The Eastern Han Dynasty writer Xu Shen explained the "pillow" in "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" as "the first person recommended by the lying place". It can be seen that the importance of the pillow as a tool to support the head during sleep is self-evident.
So, what is the right pillow? What do people of different eras want of it? Today, we will talk to you about the joy of porcelain pillows that you can't experience.
瓷枕的发展史
Longshan culture black pottery pillow Neolithic
Porcelain pillows have a long history, dating back to the late Neolithic period. At that time, people had already started to use clay pillows as a sleeping tool. With the passage of time, the continuous development of pottery making techniques, porcelain pillows gradually stood out from the pottery pillows.
At present, the earliest porcelain pillow comes from the joint tomb of Zhang Sheng and his wife in Anyang, Henan Province in the fifteenth year of the opening of the Sui Dynasty (595). Zhang Sheng's family has been an official for generations, and he himself is a Zhongsan doctor of the fifth grade.
The burial goods of Zhang Sheng's tomb are extremely rich, and there are as many as 192 pieces of various burial goods unearthed. Among them, the porcelain pillow is one of the burial vessels. It can be seen that the original use of porcelain pillows was to accompany the funeral.
After that, the purpose of the porcelain pillow quietly changed. In the Tang Dynasty, porcelain pillows began to be produced in large quantities, and gradually changed from Ming ware to bedding and pulse diagnosis, and the style was mostly light and small.
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, with the continuous increase in the number of kilns, the porcelain pillow market has become unprecedentedly prosperous, at this time the porcelain pillow not only became larger in shape, but also advanced by leaps and bounds in decorative techniques, and people began to use porcelain pillows as ideal summer bedding.
Kangxi Su Sancai Fish Ploughing Qiao Reading Porcelain Pillow Qing Kangxi Period
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the emergence of more excellent pillow materials, the production scope of porcelain pillows has been narrowed more and more, except for a few areas in the north that still use it as daily necessities, other production areas, basically porcelain pillows are used as "longevity pillows" specially designed for the deceased to exorcise ghosts.
Therefore, after lasting for more than 1,300 years, the porcelain pillow gradually withdrew from the stage of history.
瓷枕的多功能用途
Three-color three-lion porcelain pillow, Liao, collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, USA
Porcelain pillow, as the name suggests, "porcelain pillow", because of its glazed pillow surface, has the physical characteristics of cooling and deheating, so people gradually use it as an ideal summer bedding to drive away fire and brighten the eyes and prolong life.
In ancient times, porcelain pillows were the best summer artifact for the ancients. In the era when there was no air conditioning and electric fans, cold porcelain pillows were cooler and more comfortable than pillows made of cotton. In particular, for ancient aristocratic women, porcelain pillows were indispensable living utensils.
Because ancient women not only had long hair, but also had cumbersome hairstyles. Therefore, the porcelain pillow can not only bring them a lot of coolness, but also keep their hair in a bun, saving them the trouble of redressing the next day.
In addition, porcelain pillows are mostly hollow, and the ancients would use it as a small safe, placing precious items in the porcelain pillow, and picking up the pillow in the event of a fire and running out, in order to be foolproof.
I didn't expect that a small porcelain pillow would have such a big use. This is what is recorded in "Yue Jue Shu Wai Chuan Pillow": "Yi Dan book silk, put it in the pillow, think it is a treasure." ”
瓷枕睡的舒服吗
The ancient porcelain pillow was indeed designed with ergonomic principles in mind. They tend to design porcelain pillows with a concave surface that conforms to the human head.
Because such a design can not only support the head and neck well and maintain the natural curvature of the neck, but also reduce the pressure on the neck and make people feel comfortable while sleeping.
In addition, the ancients also had certain requirements for the height of the porcelain pillow, as the so-called "longevity three inches, worry-free four inches", so the height of the porcelain pillow is generally 3-4 inches, that is, about 10 centimeters now.
Modern medicine has also proved that such a height is very much in line with the range of the optimal physiological curvature of adults, and plays a key role in the protection of the cervical spine and spine.
In addition, because of the particularity of the material of the porcelain pillow, during sleep, it will not only have a certain pressure or support on the back of the human head, but also play a certain role in health care.
瓷枕上的文化
White porcelain brown floral poems octagonal pillow gold Shanxi Museum collection
As a bedding, in addition to the wonderful use of cooling off and facilitating women, porcelain pillows have also derived many other uses, among which "police pillow" is an example.
The police pillow here does not refer to a round pillow made of logs, warning yourself not to snooze. Rather, it refers to the poetry pillow inscribed or engraved with aphorisms, famous sayings, poems and proverbs on the porcelain pillow.
White porcelain flower flower poems octagonal pillow gold Shanxi Museum collection
This kind of poetry pillow is generally divided into two categories, one is the writing style, with the most black characters on white ground, and there are also black and white characters, and the writing level is uneven.
White glaze carved poems Ruyi-shaped pillow Northern Song Dynasty to gold
The other is the carved script written by the "knife", although these text works used for decoration are not from the hands of famous artists, but they are the most authentic kind of writing in the Song Jin and Yuan dynasties.
In addition to the warning pillow that uses words to warn the ancients, there are also modeling pillows that use different contents to show the beauty of porcelain pillows.
These porcelain pillow decorations include: female pillows and children's pillows with the theme of women and children; tiger-shaped pillows and dragon and phoenix pillows with the content of warding off evil spirits and keeping peace; a plant pillow with the theme of various auspicious flowers; There are also landscape pillows and courtyard pillows that express the patterns of small scenes of life; and stories related to history.
In general, the rich and diverse patterns on the porcelain pillow not only show the exquisite skills and unique aesthetics of the ancient porcelain kiln craftsmen, but also directly or indirectly reflect the culture, customs, fashions and pursuits in the social life of the time.
Okay, that's all for today, I'm Xiaoshu. It's not easy to be original, welcome your attention, likes and comments in the comment area, and we'll see you next Monday.