How much do you know about the historical evolution of doors and windows in China?

The evolution history of windows, before the Song Dynasty, was vertical lattice, then horizontal lattice appeared, and then a lot of carvings were made on diagonal lattice. Its function not only has the earliest lighting function, but also increases the decorative function, which is the most important part of the ancient doors and windows in Ming and Qing Dynasties that we can see today.

Mingchao doors and windows

The doors and windows we can see today had a problem in the early days, that is, there was no glass.

When there is no glass, if the window is made too big, it will break when the wind blows, so we need to add window sills, and the spacing between window sills is to ensure the strength of the window. Although we had paper before the Tang Dynasty, that kind of paper could not be used as enough paper in a large area, so most ancient books were replaced by silk, but its cost was high, and its light transmittance was not very good compared with paper.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, paper was widely used in windows. This application solves many problems, for example, its interval can be increased appropriately. There are relatively large window grilles in the north, and the paper has good tension. In this way, it can be changed constantly, which is an application of windows in practical functions.