The ancients in TV series washed clothes very simply. How did real ancient people wash clothes?

In my impression, the ancients in TV series washed their faces very simply. When they wash their faces with clean water, they gargle with salt water at most. Even a lady from a big family will sprinkle some petals in the bath bucket when she takes a bath. In fact, the life of the ancients was far more exquisite than we thought.

Let's talk about the pre-Qin period of brushing teeth. People have begun to pay attention to the cleaning of teeth. "The Book of Rites" records that "the first crow of a chicken makes it salty to wash it", which shows that people have begun to have the habit of gargling.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people not only gargled, but also brushed their teeth, that is, cleaned their teeth with clean fingers or cloth. In the Dunhuang fresco "Icon of Old Du Fork Head", there is a monk squatting on the ground, holding a mouthwash bottle in his left hand and wiping his front teeth with his middle finger in his right hand.

Figure Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes frescoes monks brush their teeth.

Lin Daiyu in a Dream of Red Mansions wiped her teeth with a towel, but she actually wiped her teeth with a cloth!

In the late Tang Dynasty, Yang Liuzhi was soaked in water, then Yang Liuzhi was bitten open, and the fiber inside was used to brush his teeth with green salt. This is how the so-called "morning chewing wood" came about. "Taiwan Secret" records that "every time Yang Liuzhi bites his head soft, he takes medicine to wipe his teeth, which is fragrant and slippery." I just don't know if this will lead to bleeding gums.

The earliest toothpaste was invented in Song Dynasty. The main formula of this toothpaste is willow ginger juice, which has certain curative effect on dental caries (Q incarnation) and gingival bleeding. During the Southern Song Dynasty, there were also shops selling dental instruments.

Various brands of toothbrushes appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, the very popular toothbrush in Ji Liang, Guangdong Province had a slogan "Ji Liang toothbrush, no money". However, toothbrushes are mostly used for dignitaries, and people use dental ash, that is, white ash burned from rice chaff shells, which was still sold in some places after liberation.

What is the earliest way to wash your face in China? "Book of Rites Neize" says: "Dirty face, fire (tán) Pan please (Hu)." If your face is dirty, wash it with warm water. Taomi water contains alkaloids, which can well separate oil stains. I'm afraid it should be the earliest and simplest cleaning product.

Later, a facial product commonly used by ordinary people was made of plant Gleditsia sinensis, pig pancreas and trona, which was called "pancreas" by the people, which is what we usually call soap.

In the Song Dynasty, the development of bath products was quite mature, and the embryonic form of soap appeared. At that time, it was called "soap ball", which was made by mashing natural Gleditsia sinensis and adding spices to make orange-sized balls for washing face and bathing.

The soap box unearthed in Ming Dingling contains both soap and essential oil.

Yang Shiying, a poet in the Song Dynasty, recorded the secret recipe of soap balls in detail in his Renzhai Zhi Zhi, involving nearly 20 kinds of spices and Chinese medicines. Zhou Mi also described the vendors selling soap balls in Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, in The Legend of Wulin Volume VI: Little Brokers Everywhere.

Real soap appeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it was a necessary toiletries for big families at that time. Li Shizhen recorded the specific production method of soap in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Picking pods in October, boiling and pounding, white flour fragrant pills, bathing the body, removing dirt and greasy, is better than Gleditsia sinensis."

Moreover, a very disgusting facial cleanser called Yurongsan appeared in the court of Qing Dynasty, which is said to be dedicated to the Cixi Lafayette.

Why is it disgusting? Look at the ingredients, white lilacs, eagle stripes and pigeon stripes, that is, the droppings of sparrows, eagles and pigeons. Don't underestimate these animal droppings, they have the magical effect of eliminating accumulation and wrinkles.

What did the ancients use to wash their hair? As mentioned above, Taomi water and Gleditsia sinensis can be used not only for washing face, but also for washing hair and body, which can be said to be a comprehensive product of shampoo, shower gel and facial cleanser.

In addition to bathing and skin care, people at that time also began to care for their hair.

In the Ming Dynasty, Guo Sheng recorded that "fat leaves are soaked in soup, and women comb their hair to remove lice".

The "sesame leaf" mentioned here is now sesame leaf, which is recorded in some medical classics, saying that sesame leaf can make hair black and moist and prevent hair loss. So the effect of sesame leaves is more like today's conditioner.

In terms of nursing, lip balm also appeared in the Tang Dynasty, which was called oral fat at that time. In Du Fu's La Ri, there is a poem "Oral powder medicine with grace, jade tube with silver".