4 ms·

The intriguing world of medieval Chinese ceramic pillows

32 points by Vigier 5y ago

irrational 5y ago
This reminds me of the stone “pillows” Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures used. https://www.ancientpages.com/2018/06/18/why-did-ancient-egyptians-use-pillows-made-of-stone/ https://www.ancientpages.com/2018/06/18/why-did-ancient-egyp... I rather like my soft pillow and have a hard time imagining using a hard ceramic/stone pillow. But these ancient civilizations did it, some for thousands of years. Maybe there is something to it and it isn’t as uncomfortable as it seems?
- masklinn 5y ago
  There’s also the japanese takamakura (?), it’s not usually considered very comfortable though the padding would help a bit. Do note that in modern terms takamakuras at least are neck braces, they don’t support the head itself. This is coherent with the complex and tight hairstyles of the time which would be impossible to do on your own, and difficult to redo every day even for nobility. So keeping hairdos protected would be important, something a soft western pillow would not achieve easily.
- pope_meat 5y ago
  I don't know about the Egyptian pillows, but in Chinese art it seems like there was another thin layer on top, I presume something soft, and it just hasn't survived after 1000 years, unlike the ceramic base.
  - powerapple 5y ago
    old people use hard pillows, and hard bed. My parents still prefer hard mattress, a soft mattress will hurt their back the next morning. Their pillows are filled with seeds. But my grandparents in rural area in old days, use a hardwood pillow. It is something they are used to I guess. I don't think hard pillows are comfortable, but we humans can get used to anything. I cannot imagine to live without hot showers, but people having been living for thousands of years without hot showers.
ggm 5y ago
Padding would accrue yuk from sweat, dead skin, wouldn't last, but maybe padding was disposable?
- masklinn 5y ago
  The padding would just be laid on top of the pillow, or tied to it with a string (hence the holes I expect).
  - ggm 5y ago
    African cultures include ones with hard pillows. I can't fathom how they work.
    - masklinn 5y ago
      Maybe the goal is mostly to act as braces to keep the spine aligned e.g. keep the neck straight when sleeping on the side, and act as support to avoid the chin "collapsing" on the chest (and the neck over-extending) when sleeping on the back? I believe that's how asian cultures used their hard pillows (also keeping the complicated / tight hair-does elevated to not ruin them during the night). It's certainly how I use my buckwheat (minus the hair-do).
eurasiantiger 5y ago
This reads like a DMT trip report, living a lifetime in minutes.
defen 5y ago
This exact story appears in Gene Wolfe's Peace. Had no idea it was based on an actual legend. The idea of a ceramic pillow seemed so ridiculous that I didn't bother to check if they were real.
klyrs 5y ago
I'm, curious what folks use for pillows while backpacking. I've always just rolled up a pair of pants, maybe with another few bits of clothes, to make a very dense pillow that's the correct height for my neck. With a thin ground pad, I effectively sleep on hard ground with a hard pillow -- just enough padding to not bruise the knobbly bits or crush the cartilage of my ears. I get some of my best sleep like that, but I don't do it at home because romantic partners would never go for that. I feel like a ceramic pillow wouldn't be much of a stretch for me -- does this seem so abnormal for westerners who camp?
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  Rolled up jeans with a sweatshirt or towel on top has always been what I've used in a tent as well. I don't know that I get great sleep that way, but it's definitely very supportive.
beaunative 5y ago
In the past, there is also no internet, wifi, air-conditioning, railways, airplane and people lived.

32 points by Vigier 5y ago

This reminds me of the stone “pillows” Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures used. https://www.ancientpages.com/2018/06/18/why-did-ancient-egyptians-use-pillows-made-of-stone/ https://www.ancientpages.com/2018/06/18/why-did-ancient-egyp... I rather like my soft pillow and have a hard time imagining using a hard ceramic/stone pillow. But these ancient civilizations did it, some for thousands of years. Maybe there is something to it and it isn’t as uncomfortable as it seems?

masklinn 5y ago
There’s also the japanese takamakura (?), it’s not usually considered very comfortable though the padding would help a bit. Do note that in modern terms takamakuras at least are neck braces, they don’t support the head itself. This is coherent with the complex and tight hairstyles of the time which would be impossible to do on your own, and difficult to redo every day even for nobility. So keeping hairdos protected would be important, something a soft western pillow would not achieve easily.
pope_meat 5y ago
I don't know about the Egyptian pillows, but in Chinese art it seems like there was another thin layer on top, I presume something soft, and it just hasn't survived after 1000 years, unlike the ceramic base.
- powerapple 5y ago
  old people use hard pillows, and hard bed. My parents still prefer hard mattress, a soft mattress will hurt their back the next morning. Their pillows are filled with seeds. But my grandparents in rural area in old days, use a hardwood pillow. It is something they are used to I guess. I don't think hard pillows are comfortable, but we humans can get used to anything. I cannot imagine to live without hot showers, but people having been living for thousands of years without hot showers.

ggm 5y ago

Padding would accrue yuk from sweat, dead skin, wouldn't last, but maybe padding was disposable?

masklinn 5y ago
The padding would just be laid on top of the pillow, or tied to it with a string (hence the holes I expect).
- ggm 5y ago
  African cultures include ones with hard pillows. I can't fathom how they work.
  - masklinn 5y ago
    Maybe the goal is mostly to act as braces to keep the spine aligned e.g. keep the neck straight when sleeping on the side, and act as support to avoid the chin "collapsing" on the chest (and the neck over-extending) when sleeping on the back? I believe that's how asian cultures used their hard pillows (also keeping the complicated / tight hair-does elevated to not ruin them during the night). It's certainly how I use my buckwheat (minus the hair-do).

eurasiantiger 5y ago

This reads like a DMT trip report, living a lifetime in minutes.

defen 5y ago

This exact story appears in Gene Wolfe's Peace. Had no idea it was based on an actual legend. The idea of a ceramic pillow seemed so ridiculous that I didn't bother to check if they were real.

klyrs 5y ago

I'm, curious what folks use for pillows while backpacking. I've always just rolled up a pair of pants, maybe with another few bits of clothes, to make a very dense pillow that's the correct height for my neck. With a thin ground pad, I effectively sleep on hard ground with a hard pillow -- just enough padding to not bruise the knobbly bits or crush the cartilage of my ears. I get some of my best sleep like that, but I don't do it at home because romantic partners would never go for that. I feel like a ceramic pillow wouldn't be much of a stretch for me -- does this seem so abnormal for westerners who camp?

mikepurvis 5y ago
Rolled up jeans with a sweatshirt or towel on top has always been what I've used in a tent as well. I don't know that I get great sleep that way, but it's definitely very supportive.

beaunative 5y ago

In the past, there is also no internet, wifi, air-conditioning, railways, airplane and people lived.