In costume dramas, there are often scenes of puncturing the window paper with a little saliva with their hands and then peeking into the house, as if in ancient China, because there is no glass, you can only paste the window with paper, which is very unstable, but in fact, the glass has appeared in the pre-Qin period, and the Jin Dynasty has also appeared in the glass window, as for the protection of privacy, the ancients have their own other considerations.
(Ming Dynasty carved glass window)
In ancient times, the environment in which the ancestors lived was very simple, not to mention window paper, that is, doors and windows were not available, until the Popularization of Doors and Windows in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, but paper has not yet appeared, and it is naturally impossible to paste windows with paper.
In the pre-Qin era, the main material for pasting windows was textiles such as silk, but these were used by rich and noble people, and the residences of ordinary people were either made of simple straw mats for windows, or there was only a window shelf at all.
Until the Eastern Han Dynasty, although Cai Lun invented paper, but after a long period of time, people did not use paper to paste windows, Cai Lun paper because the initial production process is more complicated, and the quality is not very good, the use is very limited, until the Southern and Northern Dynasties period began to be slightly commonly used to paste windows.
The original paper window quality is not good, and it is also more expensive, even if it is a rich family, often also use waste paper made of paper paste to paste the window, or many people use bamboo curtains, grass curtains to do window shielding.
(Traditional wooden windows and modern glass)
In the middle and late period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the substantial improvement of papermaking technology, the quality of paper rose rapidly, becoming thinner and stronger, and the price continued to decrease, during this period, paper windows gradually became the mainstream.
The paper used by the ancients to paste windows is different from the paper used as a writing material, which is a processed oil paper that needs to be repeatedly soaked in tung oil, so that the paper is stronger and less susceptible to moisture, and more transparent.
In fact, the real paper window paper used by the ancients is still relatively waterproof, and the scene of poking the window with a finger in the costume drama is actually not suitable for all paper windows, only the paper window with poor quality can be wet with water and will not make any sound.
However, the more formal oil paper windows, the oil paper used in it is not afraid of water, once hard poke, it will make a lot of movement, it is easy to attract the attention of people in the house.
(Broken window paper)
In addition to textiles such as silk and light yarn, as well as paper, a more special material also appeared during the Song Dynasty, called Mingwa. It is a material made of goat horn, shell and flaky mica ore, which is continuously polished and has a translucent effect similar to glass.
Mingwa is more sturdy and transparent, but its cost is really very high, but it is not affordable for ordinary people, and it is Mingwa used in Jia Fu in "Dream of the Red Chamber".
In fact, before the emergence of paper windows, house lighting is a big problem, although the nobles can still use silk and the like, but the effect is actually not good, and the cost is very high, until the paper window appeared, these problems were gradually solved.
Ancient real paper windows can both light and block the wind, even if it is damaged, it is convenient to repair and replace, especially after the birth of the special oil paper for windows with high toughness that is not easy to break and is not afraid of moisture, the paper window is quite good.
(Traditional wooden window)
Modern people usually use glass windows, many people think that the ancients did not have glass windows because there is no glass, in fact, such a view is very wrong, the pre-Qin era, glass has appeared in the Central Plains, but the glass at that time is not transparent, and the cost is extremely high, is a very precious material, can not be used to make windows.
According to the current archaeological excavations, the earliest glassware in China appeared in the Warring States Period, and the legendary Dragonfly Eye Era was earlier, which is also a kind of glassware.
During the Han Dynasty, glassware began to be common, and glass windows had already appeared at that time, and it was recorded in the "New Language of the World" that the palace of Emperor Wu of Jinwu used green glass windows, and in the "Miscellaneous Records of Xijing", zhao feiyan's sister Zhao Hede lived in the Zhaoyang Hall, the windows were also green glass.
In the tomb of the King of Nanyue, turquoise flat glass from the Western Han Dynasty has indeed been excavated, which also proves that although there are few glass windows in ancient China, they are not without them.
(Han tomb unearthed cyan flat glass)
From the Han and Jin Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, glass windows have always existed, before the introduction of Western glass in the Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, there are also glass screens and glass windows in various paintings, but in most cases, glass windows can be used, not rich or expensive, and domestic glass light transmittance is not good, more for decoration.
During the Qing Dynasty, after the introduction of the Western colorless transparent glass process, it was first used in the court, and the local glass windows that were not used much were naturally forgotten by people.
As for the maintenance of privacy, the ancients actually have their own considerations, incivility do not see, do not listen, the ancients want to fundamentally prevent people from violating the "etiquette" peeping behavior from the aspect of people's hearts, of course, they will also find ways in hardware.
The ancient people's house layout and construction were usually circuitous, and in the house near the window, a screen was often placed, so that even if the window had a hole, it was difficult to see everywhere in the house.