Editing Hygiene (section)

====China====
Bathing culture in [[Chinese literature]] can be traced back to the [[Shang dynasty]] ({{BCE|1600–1046}}), when [[Oracle bone]] inscriptions describe people washing their hair and body in a bath. The ''[[Book of Rites]]'', a work regarding [[Zhou dynasty]] ({{BCE|1046–256}}) ritual, politics, and culture compiled during the [[Warring States period]], recommends that people take a hot shower every five days, and wash their hair every three days. It was also considered good manners to take a bath provided by the host before a [[dinner]]. In the [[Han dynasty]], bathing became a regular activity, and for government officials bathing was required every five days.<ref name="woc">{{cite web|url=https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2021/07/bathing-in-ancient-times/ |title=Bathing in Ancient Times |website= theworldofchinese |date=1 July 2021 |first=Jiahui |last=Sun}}</ref>

Ancient bath facilities have been found in ancient Chinese cities, such as Dongzhouyang archaeological site in [[Henan Province]]. Bathrooms were called {{transliteration|zh|Bi}} ({{zh|t=湢}}), and bathtubs were made of bronze or timber.<ref name="vc">{{cite web|author=Awen|url=https://www.viewofchina.com/ancient-chinese-bath-culture/ |title=Ancient Chinese Bath Culture |website=View of China |date=30 April 2019}}</ref> Bath beans – a powdery soap mixture of ground beans, cloves, eaglewood, flowers, and even powdered jade – were recorded in the Han Dynasty. Bath beans were considered luxury toiletries, while common people simply used powdered beans without spices mixed in. Luxurious bathhouses built around hot springs were recorded in [[Tang dynasty]].<ref name="woc"/> While royal bathhouses and bathrooms were common among ancient Chinese nobles and commoners, public bathhouses were a relatively late development. In the [[Song dynasty]] ({{CE|960–1279}}), public bathhouses became popular and people could find them readily.<ref name="vc" /> [[Bathing]] became an essential part of social life and recreation. Bathhouses often provided massage, nail cutting service, rubdown service, [[ear picking|ear cleaning]], food, and beverages.<ref name="vc" /> [[Marco Polo]], who traveled to China during the [[Yuan dynasty]], noted Chinese bathhouses were using [[coal]] to heat the bathhouse, which he had never seen before in Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Golas|first1=Peter J.|last2=Needham|first2=Joseph|year=1999|title=Science and Civilisation in China|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=186–91|isbn=0-521-58000-5}}</ref> Coal was so plentiful that Chinese people of every social class had bathrooms in their houses, and people took showers every day in the winter for enjoyment.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web|url=https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub8/entry-5456.html#chapter-1|title= Marco Polo's Descriptions of China |website=Facts and Details}}
|2={{Cite web|url=https://www.dianewolff.com/marco_polo_s_world_134107.htm|first=Diane|last=Wolff|title=Marco Polo's World|website=www.dianewolff.com}}
}}</ref>

A typical [[Ming dynasty]] bathhouse had slabbed floors and brick domed ceilings. A huge boiler would be installed in the back of the house, connected with the bathing pool through a tunnel. Water could be pumped into the pool by [[Water wheel|turning wheel]]s attended by the staff.<ref name="vc" />