《VI-4：邱仲麟《消暑與解渴：冰與明清北京的日常生活》》.docVIP

Refreshing and Thirst-Quenching: Ice in the everyday life of Ming-Qing Peking Jong-lin Chiou Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica Abstract I China has a long tradition of storing ice in cellars from as early as the 10th century BC. Many accounts had been recorded in the Pre-Qin classics. This method had been practiced by most governments since the Zhou dynasty (1050-211 B.C.)Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties were no different. This is how people in Peking stored ice in cellars in the Ming dynasty: in the twelfth month of a lunar year, when the rivers and lakes were frozen, the minister of Ministry of Rites would request the emperor for the permission to store ice each year. Once the emperor approved, the ice cellars would be opened and the Ministry of Works or the Embroidered Uniform Guard would send people to clean them up. Then the Ministry of Revenue would be requested to supply dried straws and reeds to cover the floors and walls of the cellars. When the rivers were frozen solidly, labors would remove ice blocks from where the water was clean, and haul the blocks into the cellars. After all had been done, the cellars would be locked and guarded by soldiers for the coming year. Many offices were involved in the operation of ice cellars, which included the Ministries of Rites, Works (or the Embroidered Uniform Guard), Revenue and War. According to middle Ming records, there was still much unused ice in the tenth month. The ice storage then was indeed amazing. The exact amount of ice stored is not known now. Since the Qing dynasty imitated its predecessor’s techniques, however, the amount of Ming dynasty’s ice storage could be not much different from what was stored in 1644, the year that Qing dynasty was found. The officially approved ice storage in 1644 was 208,621 blocks. That number was supposedly copied from the Ming dynasty’s system. In 1716 and 1728 the ice storage were reduced. In the end it was once reduced to 90,000 blocks. Af