The Spread Of Western Eyeglasses In China During The Ming And Qing

It was revealed that earlier eyeglasses were put into use in China during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Actually, they were magnifying glasses, which were used to read the text clearly. Strictly speaking, due to the limit of scientific theory and technologies, they were not the real eyeglasses in the modern sense at that time. Europeans invented the presbyopic glasses in the 13th century, which used to help people to rectify their vision. Subsequently, they invented the myopia glasses. And the western glasses were spread to China by the merchants and missionaries. Up to the Qing dynasty, the emperor often gave the western glasses to the ministers as the treasures, and it was popular that the superior classes always presented the glasses to each other. On the other hand, the western glasses became to be the symbol of nobleness in the intellectual classes. As a result, the western glasses were to be popularized gradually. Firstly, the imitated western glasses came into being in Fujian and Guangdong. And then, there were some small handcraft workshops in Guangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou. At the same time, the court of Qing established the special glasses workshop. As the western optical theory and technologies was introduced to China, Chinese eyeglasses manufacturing had made a great progress. The eyeglasses were not the treasures anymore, but to be the necessaries of the common people.