As the saying goes, after autumn, mosquitoes are as fierce as tigers.
Since ancient times, repelling mosquitoes has been an essential part of people's daily life.
In ancient times, repelling mosquitoes was dominated by traditional methods.
The Forbidden City, which is over 600 years old, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in history, and is a master of ancient Chinese skills and culture.
There are various methods of repelling mosquitoes used in the Forbidden City, mainly including incense, mosquito nets, and summer incense beads.
Incense is a type of smoking, the main method of repelling mosquitoes in the Forbidden City.
Smoked mosquito repellent has a long history in my country.
For example, in the thirty-seventh volume of "Book of Rites of Zhou": "Jian's palm removes beetles, attacks them, and smokes them with wild grass." The mango grass.
Song Dynasty official Lu Dian wrote "Piya", and the eleventh volume of the book "Release Insects" contains: "Mosquito smoke is evil, and it will collapse if smoked with mugwort", which shows that mugwort fumigation can repel mosquitoes.
Li Guangdi, an official of the Qing Dynasty, wrote "The Collection of the Imperial Order of the Moon". Volume 10 of the book quoted the "Qianjin Yueling" which stated: "In May, take duckweed and dry it in the shade, with a little realgar, and burn the smoke to get rid of mosquitoes", that is, the dried duckweed and the Mix a small amount of realgar to repel mosquitoes after burning tobacco.
The smoked mosquito repellent materials in the Forbidden City are mainly dragon hanging incense (also known as Chuien incense).
In the twenty-fifth volume of the Ming Dynasty document "Xiang Cheng", the formula of the dragon hanging incense (yellow) is recorded: "Six liang of sandalwood, two liang of Shen (agarwood) incense, six liang of quick incense, one liang of clove, and three liang of black incense. , 2 taels of yellow rouge, 1 tael of frankincense, 1 tael of woody incense, 5 taels of sannai, 5 taels of lang moss, 1 tael of musk, 5 taels of Suhe, 5 fen of Pian Nao, 2 taels of nitrate, and 4 taels of charcoal powder.”
By analyzing the functions of various formulas, it is not difficult to find that nitrate and charcoal powder play a role in combustion, and most of the other spices can emit fragrant aromas, which are not liked by mosquitoes, so they can produce mosquito repellent effects.
Not only that, these spices can play a role in releasing stress, disinfecting bacteria and promoting sleep.
Mosquito nets, also known as mosquito nets and mosquito nets, are mosquito repellent supplies on the bed, and the materials can be gauze, cloth, etc.
Mosquitoes can be blocked from entering by placing a mosquito net around the bed.
According to the fourth volume of "Jinlouzi" written by Xiao Yi, Emperor Yuan of Liang, Duke Huan of Qi was worried that the mosquitoes would be hungry, so he "opened the veil of green gauze and entered the mosquitoes".
This sentence shows that our country has mosquito nets at least in the Spring and Autumn Period.
The archives about the production of mosquito nets (racks) in the Forbidden City are rich.
For example, "Wooden Works" in "Wooden Works in the Four Years of Yongzheng": On June 13, the fourth year of Yongzheng (1726), "one piece of bamboo mosquito net was made"; The "Bronze Works" of "Working and Clearing Archives" contains: On January 29, the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729), Yongzheng issued an decree "to remove the mosquito net cover in the Qingyan Xinuan Pavilion in Kyushu, and then move the bed cover to the hanging mosquito net. place, open a door behind the mosquito net,” etc.
Not only that, there is also a kind of "extra-large mosquito net" in the Forbidden City, also known as the ceiling, which is used to repel mosquitoes in summer.
The palace maid He Rong'er once served the Empress Dowager Cixi, and in the "Palace Maid Talks to the Past" section "Jade Hall Spring Wealth", she recalled the ceiling method adopted in the Yueshou Hall of the Summer Palace.
Cixi's daily life from the beginning of May to the end of August was inseparable from the ceiling.
The ceiling of the Leshoutang is made of cedar, which supports the huge space. The skeletons are connected by curtains, covering the whole building;
There are ventilation windows on all four sides of the canopy, and there are window screens inside.
The Palace Museum has a hot sample of the Changchun Palace in the Forbidden City. It is not difficult to find from the tall ceiling style of its courtyard. This kind of ceiling can play an excellent role in repelling mosquitoes, as well as lighting and ventilation.
Summer incense beads were used in the Qing court to repel mosquitoes and avoid summer heat.
Its fragrance is overflowing, it can not only repel mosquitoes and remove filth, but also has the effect of refreshing the spleen and clearing the heat.
The "Lamp Cuts" on May 7th in "Qianlong Thirty-Seven Years of the Works and Works" records the ingredients of the summer fragrant beads, including: one tael of incense buds, two taels of chamomile flowers, five coins of Chuanlian, five coins of liana One tael of Alice, one tael of Vitex, seven dollars of Angelica, five dollars of Cork, five dollars of cinnabar, five dollars of realgar, one tael of Baiji, one tael of sandalwood, one tael of stamen, one tael of Chuanxiong, and one tael of Hanshui stone, One tael of plum blossom slices, one coin of styrax oil, one coin of balsa wood oil, and one tael of rose flower, a total of 18 kinds of medicines.
"The Collection of Medical Records of the Qing Palace", the "Loose Fragrance Prescription" section of the book provides the specific preparation method of summer fragrant beads: combine the above-mentioned drugs, grind them into fine powder, mix them with medicinal juice, stir evenly, and make large bracelets after coagulation. .
If the concoction is insufficient, add egg whites.
The above formulas are classified according to their specific functions and can be divided into aromatic, summer-clearing and detoxifying.
Among them, the aromatic formulas include sandalwood, styrax oil, balsa wood oil, rose, and Vitex; the summer-clearing formulas include Xiangshu, Chuanlian, chamomile, Chuanxiong, Hanshuishi, and plum blossom tablets; the detoxification formulas include Angelica, Realgar, Cinnabar, Baiji, Forsythia, Stamen, Treats.
In addition, there are also incense bags that can be carried around with mosquito repellents similar to summer incense beads.
Putting all kinds of medicines that can detoxify and relieve summer heat and have mosquito repellent aroma in the incense bag can make the incense bag play a better mosquito repellent effect.
The mosquito repellent methods in the Forbidden City are very rich, and the effect is good. The mosquito repellent materials used in the palace do not contain any chemical agents, and have the advantages of relieving summer heat, and having a pleasant fragrance. It is the scientific application of ancient Chinese medicine knowledge in the palace. It reflects the profound Chinese medicine culture.
(The author is a research librarian at the Palace Museum)