27 replies to this topic

[浪淘音]

from "China's Golden Age: Everyday life during the Tang" by Charles Benn

"There was not much tolerance for body odor in the Tang. In that period, the word for the stench was "Barbarian B.O". The barbarians in question were westerners, mainly Persians, but also Indians and other people living west of the empire. Those people earned such a reputation for their offensive smell that they became synonymous with body odor...The Chinese, at least the upper class, were sensitive to the problem. During the 8th century, a courtesan in Changan was so skilled in applying scents to her body that her fragrance lured butterflies and bees to her. It was also custom for people of high station to attach small cloth bags filled with aromatics to their waist sashes.

Medical authorities had their own solutions to the problem of body odor. They made deodorants made out of lime, frakenscense, cloves and sweet gum. The compound was packed in bags and slung around their armpits. "

[TMPikachu]

Neat info!

What about bathing?

[Yun]

The Chinese elite tried to bathe everyday, unlike the European aristocracy who bathed only a few times a year. The hot springs of Huaqing Palace were precisely for that purpose in serving the imperial court.

[浪淘音]

The Chinese elite tried to bathe everyday, unlike the European aristocracy who bathed only a few times a year. The hot springs of Huaqing Palace were precisely for that purpose in serving the imperial court.

it was more like once every 5 days which is still excellent by ancient standards. there was a point when court officials got a day off once a week just to go wash their hair

[Sephodwyrm]

Washing hair takes a whole day huh.
Fortunately we can cut our hair.

[浪淘音]

Washing hair takes a whole day huh.
Fortunately we can cut our hair.

it took a long time because people didn't wash it everyday so you'd make up for it on on day

so you're saying because you have short hair,you don't shower every day?

[TMPikachu]

I think he means having really long hair just plain took longer.


Was there anything around like shampoo, or soaps? Animal lard extract or something ?

Howabout teeth?

[浪淘音]

I think he means having really long hair just plain took longer.
Was there anything around like shampoo, or soaps? Animal lard extract or something ?

Howabout teeth?

the ancient Chinese toothbrush was made out of horsehair. i'm not sure how many people used it or how frequently

there were MANY soaps and shampoos, i'll type up some quotes from text soon. too tired right now

[TMPikachu]

now, compared to the rest of the world. Did other cultures at this time have soaps, tooth brushes?
Were there public bath houses, like what romans had?

[浪淘音]

now, compared to the rest of the world. Did other cultures at this time have soaps, tooth brushes?
Were there public bath houses, like what romans had?

you just answered your own question.

[Yun]

Actually he was probably asking if the Chinese had public bathhouses. I think the standards of Confucian propriety made that quite impossible, unlike in Japan. Tang Xuanzong had his hot spring, but that was quite different.

[浪淘音]

Actually he was probably asking if the Chinese had public bathhouses. I think the standards of Confucian propriety made that quite impossible, unlike in Japan. Tang Xuanzong had his hot spring, but that was quite different.

Tang China did have public bathhouses if i remember correctly

[xuankong]

Hi All,

My first post here.

From a later time period, but here is what Ming dynasty doctor Zhang Jiebin wrote about dealing with body odor:

Eliminating the root of armpit qi [body odor]: Overall, with armpit qi, first use a sharp knife to cleanly shave off the armpit hair. Then mix good starch powder and water and apply it to the affected site. Six or seven days later, look for a black spot below the armpit. There must be a hole the size of a needle. Some are like the tip of a hairpin. This is the qi [odor] orifice. Apply moxibustion to it with mugwort cones the size of [a grain of] rice. 3 [times] 4 cones will bring recovery. It will never emerge again.

This is from leijing tuyi (Illustrated Supplement to the Classic of Categories), published in 1624.

I am an acupuncturist who translates some medical texts and this was contained in a section I have worked on.

Lorraine

[chikipedia]

eastern empires bathe more then the westerners? in ancient angkor, the chinese document that there are large man made pools fragrance with flowers and even the commoners bathe 3 or more times a day, so do east asians have a strange reaction to the uncleansed?

[Sun_WuKong]

Yeah, I think bathing in pool with flower petals is quite common among the Chinese, just as long as they can afford it.