双语夏至 | 那些你不知道的古代消暑神器
2022/06/22
2022 SUMMER
池边蛙声阵阵，烈日下树影婆娑，热气蒸腾，转眼夏至（Summer Solstice）已至。
空调、WiFi、冰西瓜，当代避暑续命三件套，每一样都必不可少。
中国范儿之节气系列——夏至：昼长夜短酷暑将启
“赤日满天地，火云成山岳。草木尽焦卷，川泽皆竭涸。”王维诗里的夏也同样酷热难捱。
但在那个没有电风扇、没有空凋的数千年前，古人又是如何消暑纳凉的呢？
宋·佚名 | 《槐荫消夏图》
古代储冰神器——冰鉴
Ice container
冰淇淋、冷饮是当代消热避暑的一大神器，那你知道古代人也爱“吃冰”吗？
《清明上河图》里就画着汴梁街头的冷饮摊，出售“绿豆冰雪凉水”“甘草冰雪凉水”等加了冰的清凉饮料。最近的热播剧《梦华录》里提到的“紫苏饮子”也有夏季清凉款。
那么古人又是如何制作冷饮的呢？这就依靠古代储冰神器——冰鉴。
《周礼·凌人》记载：“春始治鉴，凡外内饔之膳羞鉴焉，凡酒浆之酒醴亦如之，祭祀共冰鉴。”冰鉴是一个装满冰块的陶器或青铜器，可以看做是古代的冰箱，将食物/饮料放入冰鉴内，盖上盖子，过一会儿食物/饮料就会变凉。
The most commonly used cooling utensil is called "Jian", which is a big container filled with ice. It was made of ceramic in early Chinese history, and was later made of copper. The "Jian" can be seen as an ancient refrigerator, which can be used to make cold drinks. Put the vessel holding food inside the "Jian", close the lid, and the drinks would become cold after a while.
那冰鉴中的冰块又是哪来的呢？据儒家经典《周礼》记载，周王室有一个叫“冰政”的专门机构，工人们在冬天凿取冰块，运到冰窖中储存。
According to the record in the Confucian classic Zhou Rites, the Zhou royal court had a specialized department called the "ice administration" which had 80 employees. The department collected natural ice blocks each December, and then transported them to the ice house for storage.
高端定制“冰枕”——瓷枕
Porcelain Pillow
“玉枕纱厨，半夜凉初透。”
On pillow smooth like jade. Feeling the midnight chill invade.
李清照在《醉花阴》中提到的“玉枕”，指的就是色质如玉的青白瓷枕，这也是一件消暑利器。古代的枕头一开始是由石头制成，后来使用的材料扩展到木头、玉器、青铜、竹子和瓷器。令人惊讶的是，在所有材质中，瓷枕的使用最为广泛。
Chinese ancient pillows were first made of natural stones and later the materials used extended to wood, jade, bronze, bamboo and porcelain. Surprisingly, among all these pillows, porcelain pillows were most widely used.
瓷枕的表面是一层釉面，触感凉爽宜人。据说清朝乾隆皇帝就非常喜欢瓷枕，还特意赋诗一首：“瓷枕通灵气，全胜玳与珊。眠云浑不觉，梦蝶更应安。”
The surface of a porcelain pillow is a layer of glaze, which feels pleasantly cool. It is said that the Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty liked his porcelain pillow a lot and even wrote a poem about it.
湖景“空调房”——凉屋
Cool Architecture
古代，人们还常常在湖水周围建造“凉屋”，在周遭栽种些花草树木以达到湿润空气、遮荫纳凉的目的。
In ancient times, living quarters were often built around artificial lakes and reservoirs, and flowers and plants were added to increase the moisture in the air and provide shade.
据传，南宋时期的皇帝常在“翠寒堂”避暑。那里有夏莲修竹，浓翠蔽日，寒瀑飞空。数十冰盆放置在寝宫内，极为清爽。有史记载，淳熙十二年盛夏，翰林学士洪迈接受宋孝宗召见，竟被冻得浑身打寒颤，宋孝宗因此赐他一件外套御寒。
During the Southern Song dynasty (1127 – 1279), the emperor often spent summers in his "green cold palace" where bamboo, lotus flowers and other plants were cultivated, and a large man-made waterfall ran to reduce the heat. Dozens of gold basins were filled with ice from the imperial ice store, and placed in the palace and the emperor's bedroom. Hong Mai, a scholar, apparently felt so cold in the imperial palace in summer that Emperor Xiaozong had servants fetch him a coat, according to Song records.
明清时期，凉屋变得更为高明。明朝的高濂在《遵生八笺》中写道：“霍都别墅，一堂之中开七井，皆以镂刻之，盘覆之，夏日坐其上，七井生凉，不知暑气。”在堂中开七井，利用井降温，可让人不知暑气。
除了冰鉴，瓷枕和凉屋，井中藏食、饮凉茶、着竹衣等都是古代时兴的消暑方式。夏日炎炎，欲觅清凉，其实最好的办法是积极调整自己的心态。清朝沈复就曾在《浮生六记》中这样写道：
时方七月，绿树阴浓，水面风来，蝉鸣聒耳。邻老又为制鱼竿，与芸垂钓于柳阴深处。
日落时，登土山，观晚霞夕照，随意联吟，有“兽云吞落日，弓月弹流星”之句。
少焉，月印池中，虫声四起，设竹榻于篱下，老妪报酒温饭熟，遂就月光对酌，微醺而饭。
浴罢，则凉鞋蕉扇，或坐或卧，听邻老谈因果报应事。三鼓归卧，周体清凉，几不知身居城市矣。
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