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Preface
In ancient times, hairstyles were much stricter than we imagined, and perhaps the reason why both men and women had long hair, a little messy, it would be very sloppy.
In ancient times, a woman's sideburns in front of her ears were slightly broken, which was regarded as a "hook bar style" of debauchery, and a man who went out to meet guests without tying his hair was also regarded as an act of impoliteness.
In order to make the hair tidy, ancient people often used something called "head oil" to apply to their hair, as the name suggests, hair oil is made from animal fat, and the effect is similar to modern hairspray and gel.
Even if you don't wipe anything on your hair, it will be dirty in two or three days, let alone rub oil on your head, and in ancient times, when there was no shampoo, what did the ancients rely on to wash their greasy hair? How often did they wash their hair?
Ancient people were particular about washing their hair
What we now call "bathing" and "bathing" both mean the same thing, but in ancient times there was a strict distinction between them.
In Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jie Zi", it is written: "Wash, sprinkle feet" and "Wash, sprinkle hands", the only word that really represents bathing is "bath", and "Mu" is the meaning of "washing hair" in ancient Chinese.
Therefore, in ancient times, officials generally had a "holiday", and there was a special record in the "Yongle Canon": "Han law, officials have a rest for five days." ”
That is, in the Han Dynasty, the "civil servants" of the imperial court would have a special 1-day holiday to wash their hair and possibly take a bath for every 5 days of work.
This Xi continued until the Tang Dynasty, when it changed.
In "Tang Hui Yao", it is written: "On February 11 of the third year of Yonghui, the world is safe, and the affairs of the hundred divisions are simple. ”
During this period, the emperor changed the 5-day holiday to 10 days off for 1 day on the grounds that "the world is peaceful now, and there are not many things", and this Xi continued until the Song Dynasty.
However, there are some special circumstances in which the ancients could not obey this law.
Traditionally, hair plays a very important role in all parts of the body, so it is important to wash your hair when you are about to attend a major event or to participate in some solemn occasions to show respect and attention.
For example, when some ministers met the Son of Heaven, there was such a record in the "Historical Records: The Biography of Tian Xilie": "Heng Xie envoy said, 'When the ministers see the Son of Heaven, they should wash and bathe.'" ’”
But when there is a funeral at home, in order to fulfill filial piety, according to the rules of etiquette, the filial son can only wash his hair after 3 months of mourning.
In history, there are also many filial sons who insist on washing their hair and bathing after three years, and there is such a thing written in the "New Tang Book": "Liu Gong lived in mourning and ruined, and bathed for three years." ”
In the eyes of the ancients, washing hair was symbolic, and after washing hair, there may be a clean hand and incense to show solemnity.
Therefore, in ancient times, men, especially officials, washed their hair at an interval of about 5 to 10 days, and there were special circumstances, which could not follow this rule.
And there is no literature to study for civilian men, it is just that the rich people wash it more often, and the people who don't have money wash it less often.
After all, in ancient times, it took a lot of materials to wash one's hair to clean up greasy hair, and it was difficult for civilians to fill their stomachs, let alone wash their hair.
So, do you know what materials were used to clean hair in ancient times?
The ancient version of "shampoo"
Plants have become the first choice for ancient people to wash their hair.
In ancient books, it is recorded that there is a flower called Lingzhi that can wash hair, and it is written in the "Historical Records of the Zhao Family" that this flower can be used as "dyeing silk" and "boiling hair", that is, dyeing and washing hair.
After being identified by traditional Chinese medicine, this so-called Lingzhi is what we often call Lingxiao flower now, which does have the effect of curing itchy scalp and promoting hair growth.
In addition to Lingxiao flowers, soaphorn is also a common choice.
The use of soaphorn to wash oneself and clothes has a history of many years, dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties, and many commoners also planted soaphorn trees in their homes.
When using, first crush the whole soap, and then soak it in water and stir, and after the soaphorn water foams, you can apply it to the head and rub it, and the alkaline substance in the soap can dissolve the hair oil.
What if there are no plants such as Lingxiao flowers and soaphorns around? The black firewood ash burned in the stove also has a good cleaning function, and the trona contained in it can also clean the oil on the head.
Not only that, plant ash also has the effect of sterilization and poisoning, so it is often sewn into the menstrual belt by ancient women to deal with emergencies during the menstrual period.
The above three are all commonly used by ordinary people to wash their hair, because these materials are available everywhere and are easy to pick, and the "shampoo" used by some dignitaries is more refined.
We all know that watering flowers with rice water can raise flowers to bloom more brightly and beautifully, in addition, rice washing water is also a very common ancient "shampoo and hair essence".
There is a record in "Zuo Biography": "Chen's Fang Mu made him sick, and left Pan Mu." The "Pan" here refers to the rice washing water.
Of course, it is not necessary to wash the rice every time you want to wash your hair, but to store the water in a jar and seal it after each time, and after a few days, the rice washing water is fermented in the jar to become viscous, and then mixed with sesame seeds, paulownia leaves, etc.
It is said that washing your hair in this way will make your hair smoother and shinier.
In addition to washing rice water, egg whites are also used by large families to wash their hair, and in "Dream of Red Mansions", Fang Guan was given some "flower oil, some eggs, and soap".
Egg whites are rich in nutrients and can be used to nourish hair, but you can't use too hot water when washing, otherwise your head will be full of "white flowers".
In addition, after washing your hair with eggs, you should also apply it with "flower oil", otherwise it will smell weird.
Because rice water and egg whites are not easy to get for ordinary people, only high-ranking officials and nobles dare to use these things to wash their hair.
In fact, for the ancients, it was not so difficult to wash their hair, the difficult thing was how to dry their hair, after all, their hair was thick and long, so the ancients passed on some taboos in the matter of washing their hair, what are they?
Contraindications to washing hair
First of all, people with eye diseases should "be careful".
The Northern Song Dynasty Fang Lao told a story in "Bo Zhai Edition", a man named Yanliang suffered from red eyes every year since he was a child, and later someone persuaded him to "bath", but not "bath", and since then, Yanliang has never had eye disease.
This is because although the ancient "shampoo" is a pure natural product, it has not undergone sterilization and disinfection, if the dirty water gets into the eyes when washing the hair, the eye sting is small, and if the eye disease is more serious and causes blindness, it is not good.
After the ancients washed their hair, there were also some things that needed attention, such as several precautions recorded in the "Sanyuan Life Extension Reference Book": "New hair, don't let the wind, don't wet your hair, don't wet your head."
There are similar words in the "Yellow Emperor's Neijing": "If the new Mu has a stroke, it is the first wind." ”
The meaning here is that you don't blow the wind just after washing your hair, and don't lie in bed with wet hair, which is easy to get migraines, which coincides with some of our current health concepts.
epilogue
In ancient times, because of low productivity, it was easy not to wash one's hair, so the ancients were very solemn when washing their hair, and there were even special rituals.
In "The Book of Rites: Yuzao", it is recorded that a high-ranking official and nobleman shampooed their hair:
Mu Ji, and the beam, the ctenophore with the ctenophore, the hair with the elephant ctenophore, into the shy, the work is the song.
This means that after washing your hair with rice washing water, you should also clean your beard with it, use a comb made of wood to clean up the dirt, and wait for your hair to dry a little, and then comb it with a comb made of ivory.
Not only that, but when you dry your hair, you can also drink some wine, eat some side dishes, and listen to the little tunes played by the musicians.
It's so pleasant!