When were gloves introduced to China?

Leather gloves of the Warring States period unearthed from Chu TombNo. Tengdian 1 Jiangling, Hubei Province

Gloves sewn with silk in ancient times were unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha. There are three gloves in the nine-son lacquer casket buried in the tomb. A pair of "red diamond gloves" is 26.5 cm long, with a straight tube showing fingers and a split thumb sleeve. The palm of the hand is a red diamond, and the lower two sides of the palm are decorated with a "thousand catties tapestry" on which the words "thousand catties" are written in white.

Textile gloves of Han Dynasty unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province

Jiuzi lacquer unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province

Brocade gloves from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty were also unearthed in Xinjiang. For example, a pair of gloves unearthed from Tomb No.3 of Minfeng Niya 1 Cemetery, with the words "Beautiful in the world, suitable for two generations" woven on it, is 35.5 cm long. Its shape is similar to that seen in Mawangdui Han Tomb, with four fingers combined, thumb forked and fingers exposed.

Brocade gloves unearthed in Xinjiang during the Han and Jin Dynasties

In Mawangdui Han Tomb, we have the opportunity to know that gloves were called "Wei" in the Han Dynasty because all the funerary objects in the tomb were registered in the simplified books.

Wei, according to "Popular Literature", "Fire Fighting Wei". The fire bucket is an iron, and the captain is ironing clothes. When I saw this word, I already felt warm. Gloves named Wei are closely related to this fire bucket.

The name glove, obviously, has only recently appeared. Modern southerners commonly call gloves "hand cages" or "hand cages". The name hand cage existed in the Qing Dynasty and also in the Ming Dynasty. Today, descendants of Ming immigrants in Tunpu, Anshun, Guizhou still use hand cages, which was a fashion 600 years ago. Hand cage also refers to a tubular hand guard, or hand tube and hand warmer. Both hands can be kept warm in the tube, but it is not as convenient as the deacon wearing gloves.

The hand cage is used like this.

Besides diamond gloves and leather gloves, ancient jade gloves were also found in archaeology. In the tombs of Han Dynasty princes discovered by archaeology, it is common to find jade clothes with corpses, which are divided into covers, coats, gloves, pants and shoes. Of course, this kind of jade gloves is a part of jade clothes, which is different from gloves used alone.

Jade gloves related to jade clothes in Han Dynasty

Later, gloves were also found in Liao tombs, or woven with silver or copper wires, with five fingers separated and not used for hand protection alone.

Liao dynasty silver gloves

Gloves used in modern times have different styles of closed fingers and divided fingers, and there are also differences between exposed fingers and non-exposed fingers. These styles have a historical tradition of not less than 2000 years.

What do gloves look like today?

Photography: Marty Corbin, National Geographic, your lens.

Of course, the history of gloves will not be limited to these 2000 or 3000 years, and earlier evidence should be found in the future. On the painted pottery unearthed in Huoshaogou, Yumen, Gansu Province, the painted hand shape may be gloves. In the cold northwest, the invention of gloves will not be too late.

Hand patterns on painted pottery unearthed in Huoshaogou, Yumen, Gansu Province

On the pottery spinning wheel of Songze culture unearthed near Hangzhou, I saw the image of suspected gloves, with five fingers separated, carving a clear sense of weaving.

Hand-shaped depiction on the pottery wheel of Songze culture unearthed near Hangzhou

Hand protection is also needed in winter in the south, and gloves may have appeared during the Songze culture period in 5500.