History of glasses: when did glasses appear and popularized among the people?
Mountains multiply, streams double back I doubt there’s even a road;’ willows cluster darkly, blossoms shine another village ahead!
Bright moonlight before bed, doubt is frost on the ground.
How can moonlight turn into frost? How can the road behind the mountain be invisible? Is it difficult that Li Bai and Lu You are both myopic? Li Bai and Lu You have yet to be verified, but Ouyang Xiu, one of the eight masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, is a well-documented myopia. Ye mengde, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, once recorded that Ouyang Xiu had difficulty in reading. Because of his myopia, he could only listen to children read aloud, sometimes even affecting his office.
Ancient glasses
What is different from today is that in ancient times, myopia was called an aristocratic disease. In addition to some large families with tens of thousands of books, most people are very few and hard to be short-sighted. During the Yuan Dynasty, the price of glasses remained high, because they were imported from the western regions and made of high-grade crystals. Apart from Princes and nobles, ordinary people can hardly afford to spend. When did glasses become popular?
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person’s eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or temple pieces) that rest over the ears.
At that time, the price of a pair of glasses was almost the same as that of a horse. It was sun Yunqiu, an optical instrument enthusiast, who really made glasses into thousands of homes. Born in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, unlike most scholars, he only liked to study western physics and geometry. When he was a teenager, he went to Hangzhou to learn mirror making technology. After continuous exploration and efforts, he finally mastered the technology of grinding crystal materials into lenses. After that, the price of glasses plummeted. During the Shunzhi period, the price of a pair of glasses was less than ten Wen.
Glasses are not only popular among the people, but also in the palace. Such as Kangxi Yongzheng and Ji Xiaolan are all myopic. However, Emperor Qianlong held the opposite view. In his life, he wrote more than 40000 poems, two of which mentioned glasses. However, he was a firm “mirror school” and a stubborn old man. In his opinion, wearing glasses was to see the world through other things. He did not like this untrue and self deceptive approach.
However, his father Yongzheng is an out and out fashion person. For him, glasses are more like a fashion dress. Yongzheng’s pursuit of glasses has gone beyond the scope of practicality. According to historical records, Yongzheng always had various glasses. A total of 35 pairs of Antong hook crystal glasses, glasses worn on the car, anbie hairpin crystal glasses, Niujiao hairpin crystal glasses, Niujiao hook tea crystal glasses, hawksbill ring tea crystal glasses, etc. These glasses were placed in places where he used to go.
If you don’t wear glasses, some people with severe myopia can’t see who is opposite. In the official circles of the Qing Dynasty, it was considered impolite to wear glasses when talking with superiors. A low-level official didn’t see the leader who greeted him clearly because he didn’t wear glasses. After being criticized by the leader, he was depressed and finally chose to commit suicide, thus causing a human life.
It is said that the last emperor Puyi was a patient with 450 ° myopia. He spent his whole life with glasses, in the puppet Manchukuo, in the deep palace, in the Great Hall of the people in Beijing, and in the reform camp in Liaoning. He was not only the last emperor, but also the “last emperor with glasses”.
In modern times, there are many people with myopia. Therefore, it is particularly important to protect both eyes.
Post time: Sep-02-2022