How was ancient ice stored?

In the pre-Qin era, people used natural ice to store, preserve food and make cold drinks.

According to Zhou Li, at that time, in order to ensure the use of ice cubes in summer, the Zhou royal family set up a corresponding organization to manage the "ice policy", and the person in charge called it "Lingren". The establishment of this department is not small, with 80 "employees". Generally speaking, from 65438+February every winter, workers begin to take natural ice cubes and transport them to the freezer named Lingyin for storage.

According to archaeological findings, having an ice storage room at home is a symbol of ancient people's status and identity. Liu Wu, Liang Xiaowang of the Western Han Dynasty, was buried in Mangdang Mountain, Yongcheng County, Henan Province. Its tomb is quite luxurious, with a "toilet" and an ice room. Probably Liu Wu was afraid of heat, so he got used to it before his death and wanted to "have a cold drink" after his death.