Sleeping in Ancient Times

Sleeping in Ancient Times



Sleeplessness has become a major health concern for Chinese millennials, whose digital distractions often prevent them from their recommended seven hours of shut-eye per night (though plenty of tired workers recharge by napping during the day, even in public).To get more news about ancient chinese bedroom, you can visit shine news official website.

Their ancestors knew better. A proverb goes, “A full night’s sleep is better than taking ginseng ,” showing that sleep was historically considered important for one’s health. Many different tools and methods were developed to help the ancient Chinese catch their forty winks.

Fine wood carvings are a common feature of the shelf beds that have been in use in Chinese homes since the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046 BCE), when the precursor of the character 床 appeared in oracle bones. However, they were not originally used for sleeping. As the Analytical Dictionary of Characters , written by the linguist Xu Shen , explained during the Western Han dynasty (202 BCE – 8 CE), “Beds are used for sitting (床，安身之坐者).” At the time, beds were formally known as “mattresses ,” a flax-woven one-person mat on which a host may sit to receive guests.

Toward the end of the Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220 CE), beds became used for sleep. A language book from that time declared, “Beds are used for sitting and sleeping .” A popular type of bed from the time was the ta (榻), a low couch with a handrail on either side. An end table was usually placed in the middle, so the host and guest could sit one person on each side. This type of bed is similar to the kang (炕), a heated brick bed frequently used in northeast Chinese, which come with a removable end-table where the family may sit and eat.

The legs of the ta were low, as people originally sat on the ground in their homes. From the end of the Han dynasty to the Jin dynasties (220 – 420 CE), poor families still sat on the ground, while the rich took pride in being able to sit on slightly more elevated furniture.

The ta persisted for a number of centuries, and can be found depicted in many ancient paintings such as the Night Revels of Han Xizai , which showed officials reading scripture and playing with trinkets on the couch. Throughout history, couches were associated with literati who would play the zither, draw pictures, write poems, and play chess on the end table, or enjoy the smell of spices placed on it.
Another type of ancient bed was the “arhat bed ,” which has one open side and three enclosed sides so that the sleeper will not easily fall out. After the arhat and the “upright stool” appeared around the 10th century, beds became the furniture where the family’s most honored guests would sit, whereas the couch and mattress were for hosting less formal visitors.

During the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644), the shelf bed became common. It resembled a Western four-poster bed, with four bed supports, occasionally two or three sides enclosed by exquisitely carved wooden lattices, and a “roof” at the top. Curtains hanging from the supports repel mosquitoes during the summer and keep the sleeper warm on winter nights. In southern China, known for humid weather, the wooden framework could dispel the moisture in the air.

Lighting incense before sleeping was a fashion enjoyed by some aristocratic families, as well as the imperial palace. Not only did incense make it easier for one to fall asleep, it was also believed to have positive health effects like relieving heart conditions and stress. Good spices can also replace unsavory smells in the rooms and make one’s clothing smell nice.

The practice of lighting incense dates back all the way to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 446 BCE), when the Persian kingdom paid spices as tribute to the Yan state. After the introduction of Buddhism, spices were also used during meditation, which was practiced by many literati, officials and emperors.