"At dusk, I beg for three dollars, and buy a sleep in the chicken feather house" - Jiang Shiquan
The chicken feather house became a unique symbol of the streets of the Qing Dynasty, and it also became the only place where poor people and beggars could find warmth in winter. The winter in ancient times was definitely the nightmare of the poor people in the north, the style of winter was cold, and they did not have enough clothes to withstand the cold, how to spend the winter, has become a problem that many poor people cannot avoid.
The emergence of the "chicken feather house" has brought hope to the bottom people who cannot afford to wear clothes and eat enough, at least, in the chicken feather house, they can survive one long night after another, bringing the slightest hope of survival to these poor people. What exactly is the "chicken feather room", and how many people know it?
Behind the great Qing Dynasty was the displacement of the people
The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history, and likewise, it did not cross the 300-year rule mark and eventually disappeared into the ocean of the people. The Qing Dynasty gave birth to the last prosperous era of Chinese feudal society - "Kangqian Shengshi", speaking of "Kangqian Shengshi", Kangxi is to open up the territory of the Qing Dynasty to the maximum, Yongzheng's diligence has restored some vitality to the Qing Dynasty, and Qianlong, the longest-reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty, does not have much merit to be made.
During the Qianlong period, many of the affairs were passed down among the people, and he wantonly squandered the few riches of the Qing Dynasty like a rich second generation. During Qianlong's reign, he went down to Jiangnan many times to play, consuming a lot of people's and material resources and adding a heavy burden to the people of the country. Most of the people of the Qing Dynasty, even during the heyday of Kangqian, lived in poverty.
However, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty thought that this was something they had always been proud of, the Eight Banners were invincible, the idea of the Heavenly Dynasty was filled in the hearts of the rulers, and under the policy of closing the country for hundreds of years, what was lost was the opportunity to open their eyes to the world, and what was lost was the opportunity to learn and communicate with foreign countries.
In 1840, when the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were bombarded by foreign invaders with guns, they opened their eyes to look at the world, and we found that there were too many backward ones. The eight banner disciples, who were proud of the rulers, were immersed in the sound and color of dogs and horses every day, and the aristocratic class of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was accustomed to running horses in enclosures, and at first the circle occupied the wasteland, and slowly began to encircle the cultivated land.
In the ancient agrarian society, cultivated land was everything for the people. The people who have been robbed of cultivated land have no source of livelihood, cannot eat or drink, and cannot talk about dressing? What's more, it is not easy for a family to have a complete set of clothes to go out.
"Young man, sleeping in the cold kang, all by firepower", but in the ancient winter, you really can't rely on firepower alone. The chicken feather house has entered the people's field of vision, providing warmth for the poor people and beggars.
What is a "chicken feather room"
The "Chicken Feather House" is a beautiful scenery unique to beijing in winter, and its appearance is to provide warmth for the homeless or poor people. "Chicken feather house" as the name suggests is a house full of chicken feathers.
On some of the fringes of Beijing, you'll see chicken feather houses. The chicken feather room itself is not large, there is no furniture in it, and some are just "chicken feathers on a place". Poor beggars and people had to rely on this method for warmth. They walked into the room and lay on the thick floor of chicken feathers, the room was not large, there were many people crowded, relying on body temperature and chicken feathers to resist the cold of the night.
In addition to the chicken feathers on the floor, there is a box hanging above the house, and when everyone is lying down, the chicken feathers in the box can be poured down, so that the person lying below can cover it with a layer of chicken feathers. Relying on chicken feathers to keep warm, relying on body temperature for warmth, the chicken feather room gathers three religions and nine streams of various people, and the smell inside can be imagined, but the only advantage is that many people are really warm.
"Chicken feather house" is not the social welfare institution house at that time, it itself also needs to make a profit, according to records, such a poor condition of chicken feather house, accommodation fees of 2-3 yuan, if you can not pay money, even such a bad conditions of the chicken feather house can not live, just imagine, thin clothing people in the cold wind frozen overnight, the consequences are unimaginable. As a result, the chicken feather house became the last straw for the beggars and poor people at the bottom, which made people tear up.
"Zhumen wine smells of flesh, the road has frozen bones", the feudal dynasty rises and falls, the people have always been at the bottom of society, under the feudal dynasty, life is still so difficult, not to mention freedom and the value of life.
Imagine that they had to curl up in the stinky chicken feather room for the winter on countless cold nights, and the next day they had to work hard to earn the 2 yuan of accommodation, so that they would not sleep on the road that night, and it was tearful to think.
Time flies, the blink of an eye is full of collapse, only remains in our memory, and the chicken feather house has faded out of people's vision, life is getting better and better, what reason do we have not to work hard?