In ancient times, there were no electric fans and no air conditioners. What did they do in such hot weather?

In ancient times, only the court and the rich had a way. In the feudal court, the summer resort was very luxurious. In the Tang Dynasty, the emperor built a cool hall dedicated to summer in the palace, in which mechanical transmission refrigeration equipment was installed. This equipment adopts the way of cold water circulation, and generates wind power through the vibration of the fan wheel to send cold air to the temple. At the same time, cold water is sent to the roof by machinery, so that it can go straight down the eaves, forming an artificial water curtain to arouse the chill, thus achieving the purpose of cooling off the heat. According to Volume IV of Tang Yulin, "When Xuanzong ascended to the temple, ... was extremely toxic. On the cool hall, behind the seat, water-powered car, wind hunting skirt. ..... The four corners of the water curtain flew and the seat was frozen. " It can be seen that this kind of refrigeration equipment adopts natural water cooling and has high refrigeration capacity. Zhang's poem "Music in the Palace" says: "Ganquan will escape the heat, and the water in the temple will condense", which is a praise for the cool temple to cool off the heat.

This kind of equipment was also found in the cool halls of the emperors in the Song Dynasty, but it was more luxurious than that in the Tang Dynasty. "Old Wulin Stories" was published for three years: "In the summer forbidden country, retro is more important. Choose Deloitte Hall and Trident Hall to enjoy the cool. Long pine and bamboo, thick green covering the sky, strange mountains and strange caves, quiet and deep. The cold waterfall flies empty, and you can bet ten acres of land. There are 10,000 red and white dogwoods in the pool, and gardeners cover them with different kinds of tiles, and spend hundreds of pots in the courtyard, such as Jasminum giraldii, Moran, Zhu Jin, Yugui and red banana. The wind wheel drum, the incense is full of temples ... Wen Hongjing, Lu, can't stand for a long time, ask it, and send the nobles to the north with half an arm, then the realm can be imagined. " It can be seen that the cool hall in the Song Dynasty not only used wind wheels to send cold water, but also decorated various flowers on the reservoir and around the hall to make the air-conditioning fragrant. Its good cold air effect has made people feel unbearable cold.

In addition to mechanical refrigeration equipment, there is a lot of ice in the palace. Every winter, full-time officials are responsible for collecting natural ice cubes, storing them in the ice room and taking them out for the royal family in hot summer.

Some senior officials and dignitaries in the Tang Dynasty also set up private summer facilities, which are not as large as the palace, but they are also extremely exquisite. Among them, the Shuige dedicated to enjoying the cool is a summer building set up by court officials in the Tang Dynasty. Volume 5 of Tang Yulin records that there is a rain pavilion in Wang's house, and four sounds fly on the eaves. In summer, autumn is high. " Liu Yuxi's poem "Liu Fu Mashuiting Summer" also describes the characteristics of the water pavilion: "Thousands of bamboos and violets are red, and the water pavilion is empty and cool. Amber red is suspected of leaking rain, and crystal curtains are more breathable. " This kind of water pavilion uses machinery to transport cold water to the water tank at the top of the pavilion for storage, and then let the water flow down around the eaves to form a rain curtain, thus achieving the effect of cooling in summer. Of course, this semi-automatic refrigeration facility is expensive, which is beyond the construction ability of ordinary people.

Yang, a great official in the Tang Dynasty, also built icebergs to escape the heat, which is extremely rare in history. "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" recorded in the volume: "Young's children, everywhere they go, take big ice to make craftsmen chisel mountains and surround the banquet room. Although the guest has his own cool color, he also has a back, so arrogant. " Natural ice storage was a rare thing in the Tang Dynasty. "Yunxian Miscellanies" said: "Chang 'an is snowy and snowy, and the summer is like gold. "The Yang family can cool down and escape the heat by melting huge ice cubes, which shows its wealth and arrogance.

There is also a summer conference in Chang 'an, Tang Dou. This is a temporary organization for rich children to spend the summer. This luxurious summer resort was once a romantic thing at that time and was passed down as a much-told story.

Song people had the custom of enjoying the cool by pavilions and flooding the lake in midsummer. Whenever the hot summer comes, people are boating, swinging in the lake, or looking for the wind pavilion, waterside pavilion and willow bank shade. This valley of learning has spread from Kaifeng, Tokyo to Hangzhou, Du Nan. "Dream in Tokyo" has been published for eight years: "Everyone is the heaviest, and there is no season in June. There are often wind pavilions and waterside pavilions, high-rise buildings in Yujun, ice trays with snow sills, floating melons and sinking plums, flowing cups and swamps, new lotus buds and singing in the distance. " After the Southern Song Dynasty established Hangzhou as its capital, the beautiful West Lake became the only summer resort. Every midsummer, people go boating with their companions and flock to the lake. "Or drinking crazy songs, or fishing with Go, the meaning of travel is endless."

It can be seen that urbanites in the Song Dynasty attached importance to summer vacation, which added interest with rich entertainment activities.