The history of toys in China (part one)

The history of toys in China (part one)


In China, the word "wanju" (toy) was first documented in A Dream of Sorghum, written by Wu Zimu in Song Dynasty: "Every minute, there is at least one bargain going on on the street of Hangcheng... fresh fruit, meat, painting, paper fan, and toy...", and has been used ever since.

1. A girl from Longgu (Dragon Bone) Mountain invented the first bone toy in China.
2. The earliest toy balls in China can be traced back to the Neolithic Age and even earlier periods. The relevant research materials show that the pottery balls and stone balls were unearthed in the Banpo Village, a suburb of Shaanxi in 1958, which were scattered around the remains of children in the tombs and considered to be children's toys at the time.
3. The first set of jade toys, as well as geometric toys, is "Paomaling trapezoidal stone" from 5000 years ago unearthed in Dahankou. The famous Sanxingdui bronze mask is the first bronze mask toy in China.
4. The first set of Chinese house toys with the structure of tenon were unearthed from Hemudu.
5. A 6-cm pottery pig and an 11-cm wooden fish were unearthed at the Hemudu Ruins in Yuyao, Zhejiang. At that time there was no ironware, so the wooden fish must be carved with a bone knife. Such difficulty can be imagined. Another small pottery pig was unearthed at the Dawenkou Site in Shandong, with a shallow bowl placed on the back of the pig. According to the local customs of Shandong, it may be a toy lamp.
6. "Xun" is a kind of wind instrument with a shape that resembles a pear (about 4 to 7 cm long), used for leading herds during prehistoric times, which has been found in the ruins of Xi'an Banpo, Zhejiang Yuyao Hemudu Site, Henan Huixian Yin Tomb and Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty ruins. According to Record of Heretofore Lost Works (Shi Yi Ji) from the Eastern Jin period, "Fuxi used baked clay to make xun." This ancient pottery instrument still exists in Huaiyang, Henan and Yanggu County, Shandong as folk toys, and the shape and sound (3 holes and 5 holes) remain almost the same as the unearthed pottery ones. In these two places, apart from xun instrument, there are also a variety of whistles, such as porcelain bird-shaped water whistle (a whistle that contains water), wooden whistle, bamboo whistle and so on.
7. There was an exquisite toy, called jade rings appeared in the Warring States Period, which can be seen as the predecessor of the ring puzzle toys that are still popular among folks in China. Of which, the most famous toy of the same type, nine linked rings, was spread to other countries in the 15th century.
8. During the Spring and Autumn Period, according to Mozi·Luwen, "Lu Ban cut bamboo and wood then sculpted a magpie that can stay in the sky for three days." This is the earliest recorded flying toy in China as well as the prototype and the origin of kites.

the-history-of-toys-in-china-part-one