What did beds look like in ancient times

The earliest sitting and lying utensils that appeared in ancient times were beds. As early as in the matrilineal clan society stage of the half-slope culture period, there has been the prototype of the bed - the earth platform, similar to today's kang. By the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the shape of the bed was gradually established.

The bed was the bedding used by the ancients to sleep at night, while the ancients also needed to sit, lie down and lie down during the day, so they invented the daytime bed, the couch. Today we often say bed couch, in ancient times is two kinds of appliances. "On the side of the couch, will not allow others to sleep soundly", many people understand the couch in this sentence as a bed, in fact, this is not true. A bed is a bed, a couch is a couch, and there is a difference between the two.

The origin of the bed is the earthen platform, and the origin of the couch is the mat. In ancient times, there were no chairs and stools, and the people who lived, sat and slept on the mats laid on the ground were called "mat dwellers". Grass mats were used in the north and bamboo mats in the south. To the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the aristocrats feel that sitting on the mat is not enough to show their noble status, but also may be afraid of hemorrhoids, so they invented a slightly higher than the ground of the wooden sitting. This is a smaller than the bed, easy to move, sit with the move, generally in the living room or hall. This is the couch, but the name "couch" appeared in the Western Han Dynasty. Later on, there was a larger couch on which people could lie down, the sofa mentioned earlier.

In summary, the difference between beds and couches are mainly three: from the shape, beds are bigger, couches are smaller; from the use, beds are used to sleep at night, couches are used to sit, lie down, lie down during the day; from the location, beds are generally placed in the bedroom, while couches are generally placed in the living room or living room.

Despite the fact that the couch appeared very early in China, most people continued to live on a mat, except for a few aristocrats who used the couch. However, the mats were gradually thickened to form the so-called "feasts". Feasts were generally made of straw: the rougher material was laid on the lower layer, called a feast; the softer material was laid on the upper layer, called a mat. Zheng Xuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty in the "Zhouli Note" on: "spreading said feast, by the said mat." Ancient people often held wine banquets on the feast, so the word "feast" later became synonymous with wine banquets. Feast later spread to Japan, the Japanese people also indoor spread feast, slowly evolved into the later "tatami".

During the era of the matju system, people sat on the ground and knelt. In the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, beds became higher and higher, and people began to sit on them with their feet hanging down. The Tang Dynasty was an era of open-minded absorption of foreign cultures, especially the culture of the northern Hu people. The living habits of the Hu people also greatly influenced the Central Plains, the most representative event is the popularity of Hu beds. Although the Hu bed was called a bed, it was so small that it could only accommodate one person, more like today's chairs. The Hu bed is the origin of the Chinese chair, and the word "chair" only began to appear in the Tang Dynasty. Li Bai wrote in "Silent Night Thoughts" that "the moon is bright before the bed", and it is very likely that the "bed" here is this kind of Hu bed. Because the bed could be placed in the courtyard, Li Bai was able to look up at the moon from his bed. If it was a traditional bed, it would have been placed in the bedroom, where he could not look at the moon in the sky because the ancient windows did not have glass.

Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, by the Hu bed evolved from the chair in our country unprecedented popularity, and the emergence of the popularity of the later generations of the tai shi chair. It is said that the invention of the tai shi chair has a connection with Qin Hui, who was also known as Qin Tai Shi, so it was called the tai shi chair. It was also during this period that the ancients completely said goodbye to the seat living system. At that time, the aristocratic circle also popularized a three sides around the bed, "Han Xizai Night Banquet" inside the bed is this kind.

The Ming and Qing dynasties popular shelf beds and beds, beds became closed, like a small room. Chairs, on the other hand, became popular and very common. This period there is a between the bed and couch "Luohan bed", its shape is characterized by the couch with a short enclosure, the shape of the larger, can sit, can lie down can lie down, the function is very similar to today's sofa. Today's Ming and Qing dynasty themes in film and television drama often have Luohan bed.

In ancient times, the use of sitting and lying utensils can also reflect the ritual function. In the Han Dynasty, the use of the couch are generally people of status, sitting alone on a couch is more honorable. Therefore, to be invited to sit with the couch is a very honorable courtesy to the guests. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, there was a governor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chen Fan, who loved talent very much. At that time, there was a man named Xu Zhi, known as the "Gao Shi of Nanzhou", who was very learned, and Chen Fan had a close relationship with him. Chen Fan set up a couch for Xu Zhi at home, which was usually hung on the wall, and when Xu Zhi came, he put the couch down, and when Xu Zhi left, he hung the couch up again. This is the origin of today's word "couch". In today's northeastern region, if a guest comes to the house, the host will usually greet the guest warmly, "sit on the bed", and this etiquette is also quite ancient. Therefore, in ancient times, the highest courtesy of the host to the guests is to invite you to sit with the couch, "please go to bed".