The history of toys in China (part two)
9. The earliest kite was "wooden hawk" of the Warring States Period (a hawk-like kite made by wood and bamboo). Kites were introduced to Europe in the 14th century, and in the nearly 1,000 years since then, kites have brought tremendous changes to human society. Kites have been used in a wide range of applications, such as religious use, fishing, fitness, recreation, competition, and even military communications. Some people once used kites as carriers to fly, which is now considered to be the earliest prototype of the aircraft. Since the 16th century, kites have officially become a kind of children's toys in Europe and have been passed down to the present day.
10. Chess games, mainly Go, were famous during the Han Dynasty for the purpose of training brain and patience. In the Song Dynasty, Chinese chess was invented and became one of the most popular games of the time.
11. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Fu described toys as "tools for amusing babies and kids" in his The Theory from a Hermit (Qian Fu Lun) - "Merchants used clay carriages, pottery dogs, horsemen, actors, and so forth, as tools for amusing babies and kids so as to deceitfully sell them goods." In his view, toys were one of the symbols of extravagance and swindle. A large number of cultural relics from Han Dynasty such as the above-mentioned "clay carriages, pottery dogs, horsemen, actors" were the goods that merchants produced and sold at that time. Their molding and the kneading processes had reached a quite delicate level, indicating that the toy has a fairly clear market at the time, and the demand for toys had also presented a multi-faceted situation.
Children's toys from the Han Dynasty were mostly unearthed in central China, including toy puppies, chickens, piglets, lambs, etc., mostly made from clay and pottery, with simple yet vigorous shapes.
In Han Portrait Stone Hall, Nanyang, Henan Province, there is a portrait of Xu Aqu, which vividly shows a view of three children playing - One child holds a bird-shaped toy, another child drags a small wooden turtledove cart. And the one behind them is pretending like he is riding a horse and chasing them. The wooden toys of the Han Dynasty can no longer be seen, but the wooden cart in the bird shape appearing in the Han Dynasty stone has left a lifelike portrayal for future generations.
12. There are many small pottery toy geese, chickens, and dogs as funerary objects in a tomb of a child surnamed Li from the Sui Dynasty, which unearthed in Shaanxi. Toys using for funerary objects, on the one hand, shows that people in the Sui Dynasty still retained the ancient custom which objects were buried with the dead. On the other hand, it reflects that people at that time adored entertainment and wanted to bring entertainment to another world.
13. Xun County, Henan Province is rich in clay and wooden toys. So far, there are many horse-riding toy soldiers made by clay while most of the wooden toys are knives, stick, and swords, which are related to legends, frequent wars and peasant rebel armies at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance recorded that in the Sui Dynasty, the rebel armies and the troops of the dominator had competed for a place called Liyang. So it is speculated that this type of military toys is abundant at the end of the Sui Dynasty.
10. Chess games, mainly Go, were famous during the Han Dynasty for the purpose of training brain and patience. In the Song Dynasty, Chinese chess was invented and became one of the most popular games of the time.
11. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Fu described toys as "tools for amusing babies and kids" in his The Theory from a Hermit (Qian Fu Lun) - "Merchants used clay carriages, pottery dogs, horsemen, actors, and so forth, as tools for amusing babies and kids so as to deceitfully sell them goods." In his view, toys were one of the symbols of extravagance and swindle. A large number of cultural relics from Han Dynasty such as the above-mentioned "clay carriages, pottery dogs, horsemen, actors" were the goods that merchants produced and sold at that time. Their molding and the kneading processes had reached a quite delicate level, indicating that the toy has a fairly clear market at the time, and the demand for toys had also presented a multi-faceted situation.
Children's toys from the Han Dynasty were mostly unearthed in central China, including toy puppies, chickens, piglets, lambs, etc., mostly made from clay and pottery, with simple yet vigorous shapes.
In Han Portrait Stone Hall, Nanyang, Henan Province, there is a portrait of Xu Aqu, which vividly shows a view of three children playing - One child holds a bird-shaped toy, another child drags a small wooden turtledove cart. And the one behind them is pretending like he is riding a horse and chasing them. The wooden toys of the Han Dynasty can no longer be seen, but the wooden cart in the bird shape appearing in the Han Dynasty stone has left a lifelike portrayal for future generations.
12. There are many small pottery toy geese, chickens, and dogs as funerary objects in a tomb of a child surnamed Li from the Sui Dynasty, which unearthed in Shaanxi. Toys using for funerary objects, on the one hand, shows that people in the Sui Dynasty still retained the ancient custom which objects were buried with the dead. On the other hand, it reflects that people at that time adored entertainment and wanted to bring entertainment to another world.
13. Xun County, Henan Province is rich in clay and wooden toys. So far, there are many horse-riding toy soldiers made by clay while most of the wooden toys are knives, stick, and swords, which are related to legends, frequent wars and peasant rebel armies at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance recorded that in the Sui Dynasty, the rebel armies and the troops of the dominator had competed for a place called Liyang. So it is speculated that this type of military toys is abundant at the end of the Sui Dynasty.