The Bath And Its Custom Of Tang And Five Dynasties

Bath is an indispensable part of human life. From the perspective of the body clean, everyone needs to take a bath regularly. However, from ancient times "cleaning" is not only the meaning of the bath. Bathing can remove disasters, cleanses ominous things, cures diseases, and improves one’s health. Thus, many of festivals are closely related to the bath. The vacation system of ancient officials is also synonymous with "Resting Bath". It is also believed that bath can wash and clean not only physically but also mentally and spiritually in accordance with a religious belief.In order to study the bathing and its custom in Tang and Five Dynasties, this paper will be presented in four chapters. The first chapter discusses the bathing before Tang Dynasty. In the ancient days, "Mu", "Yu","Xi" and "Zao" these four words represent the cleaning of different parts of the body. The word of "bathing" in the ancient China is not the same as the "bathing" used nowadays. This chapter interprets the meaning of "bathing" used in this paper and uses it to refer to "body wash". Early in pre-Tang dynasties, bathing has already been very popular and be assigned different meaning on the different levels gradually stating from its initial meaning, which simply means "body wash". This chapter describes the historical development of the bathing before Tang Dynasty.The second chapter discusses the bathing in Tang and Five Dynasties. At that time, the political peace, the economic prosperity and the national unity together constitute a social background which provided a suitable condition for the development of bathing activities. Since the noble officials monopolized the hot springs, ordinary people use various appliances for bathing at home. It is also common to add various herbs and spices in bathing water, which is used to remove diseases and improve skin condition.The third chapter describes the bathing customs of Tang and Five Dynasties. From birth bathing of the newborn child to the death bathing after one’s death, bathing occurs throughout the one’s life. The importance of the bathing is also revealed in bathing time. Choose the correct and avoid the error date to bathing is also an expression of the bathing custom.In addition to the regular shower every few days, people are also fixed several dates which suitable for bathing, and consequently became Shangsi Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. At these festivals, bathing is one of the important activities. In the Tang and Five Dynasties, these festivals have been inherited and developed.The fourth chapter focuses on the bathing and religious in Tang and Five Dynasties. A brief discussion of the main aspects of Taoism and Buddhism will be given. This chapter analyzes the Taoist emphasis on bathing and discusses the relationship between Buddhism and the Tang and Five Dynasties bathing.