In ancient times, why did every household put two large water tanks in front of the door?
In ancient times, there was no running water. If ancient people didn't dig wells and put a big water tank at home, it would be extremely inconvenient to use water. People who are close to the water source are fine, while those who live far away from the water source have to go several miles or even farther to get water. Adults always like to tell the story of "three monks have no water to drink" to warn children not to shirk their work and learn to cooperate. However, it also shows that water was scarce in ancient times, and even they needed to transport water from far away places.
There are always fragments of Buddhists praying for rain in TV series, because successive years of drought have made the people miserable, and the son of heaven is very distressed to come up with a way to comfort the people. Drought also led to a large-scale plague, and historical records recorded: "Great Drought. The people in Hengshan, Hedong and Yunzhong counties are plagued by epidemic diseases. Old books in the Tang Dynasty recorded: "Fujian and other provinces were dry, Jing Quan was dry, people were thirsty, and many people were sick. "
Lack of water not only hinders the growth of crops, but also makes people thirsty. It is not difficult to imagine that extreme water shortage in human body will reduce immunity and lead to diseases and plagues.
Therefore, putting a water tank in the yard is also an emergency. It is not necessary to carry water from a distance every time you want to drink water. The water tank greatly facilitated the daily life of the ancients.
Besides quenching thirst, water is also used to put out fires. Placing water tanks in conspicuous places and placing a large number of water tanks in the royal family have their functions, and historically, these water tanks have played a great role in the event of a fire.
Most of the ancient buildings in China are made of wood, which makes fires. The Forbidden City is a treasure of China and a symbol of the status and power of emperors in past dynasties. Even so, it has been burned beyond recognition by many fires.
According to records, there were four "skyfires" and one man-made fire in the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty. The first fire broke out in the second year after its completion, and Jinxitang was burned to rubble by "skyfire". This incident made Ming Chengzu, who was in power at that time, very angry, because it took hundreds of thousands of labor and a lot of materials to build the Forbidden City. I don't know how much it will cost to rebuild. The fire not only destroyed the magnificent palace, but also lost the face of the son of heaven. After that, it took nearly 20 years to rebuild the three halls in 144 1 year1October.
The second fire broke out in 1557, and "three temples in Fengtian, Shenen and Gai Hua were affected". The fire caused great losses. The emperor in power at that time believed in Taoism. Not only did he not listen to the officials' persuasion to retreat from Taoism, but he also raised funds for large-scale reconstruction and recruitment. There were also two notorious treacherous court officials in this period-Yan Song and Zhao Wenhua.
Yan Song made a fortune by selling officials, and officials who wanted to buy officials looked for money to bribe him everywhere, and so on. Zhao Wenhua was so greedy that he even used materials and manpower to build his own private house. This fire not only destroyed people's homes, but also made political corruption white-hot, corrupt officials were rampant, and the people were miserable and saddened. Later, in 1562, these three halls were rebuilt and renamed as Huangji, Zhongji and Jianji.
There is only one year between the third fire and the fourth fire. The third fire destroyed Gan Qing Palace and Kunning Palace, and the fourth fire also destroyed the imperial pole, the middle pole and the rapier. At this time, the economy of the Ming Dynasty was declining. It was not until 1626 that the Forbidden City was built. In the second year, the base and the sharp bottom were built. These two fires also caused national disasters.
Man-made fire in Ming Dynasty happened on the Shangyuan Festival in 15 14, and the palace lantern hanging in Gan Qing Palace burned the carpet. As a result, all the magnificent Gan Qing Palace and Kunning Palace were burned down.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were many fires in the Forbidden City, but none of them caused particularly serious losses. The reason is not difficult to guess. There are so many lessons ahead that our ancestors learned to plan ahead. They not only put a lot of water tanks in the yard, but also pay attention to their placement.
In the eyes of the Emperor of Heaven, these urns are auspicious and safe, so they are also called auspicious urns or Taiping urns. Moreover, these urns are divided into iron urns, bronze burning urns and gold-plated urns according to the materials they are made of. In the palace, different tanks will be placed in different places. In order to better prevent fire and show the wealth and rights of the royal family, as the most important and largest line of the Forbidden City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe, the Hall of Baohe and Gan Qing Palace have all placed gold-plated jars that can hold the most water and make the best.
According to the records in "Playing and Selling File" in Qianlong period, each gold-plated copper cylinder weighs about 1696 kg. Just making these tanks cost more than 500 taels of silver, plus 120 taels of gold wrapped outside the tanks, * * * needs at least 1520 taels of silver. In addition, the handyman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is particularly laborious and particular when looking after these cylinders.
In summer, these water tanks need handyman to take care of them every day, and add water to change water in time. In winter, the weather becomes dry and cold, and the emperor is worried about a fire. So, he asked the eunuchs to cover these cylinders and put them away next year. Moreover, in order to prevent the water in the tank and the tank from freezing, a small stone furnace was placed at the bottom of each tank and lit up day and night.
Our ancestors were wise, and putting a jar can play such a big role. It is not only an ornament in the courtyard, but also a great convenience in daily life, which can quench thirst and prevent fire. Therefore, there are still many people who have water tanks at home, no matter what purpose they use, it is always good. Therefore, as long as we make good use of many things in life, we can make the best use of them.