Editing Umbrella (section)

=== Asia ===

==== Ancient Near East ====

[[File:Relief of Xerxes at Doorway of his Palace, Persepolis, Iran.jpg|thumb|upright|Bas-relief of the Persian king [[Xerxes I]] (485–465 BC) at [[Persepolis]]]]

The oldest extant example of a parasols appears in the archaeological record around 2310 BC, in a victory stele of  [[Sargon of Akkad]].<ref name="White Muscarella 1999, 1" /><ref>Simpson, Elizabeth (2014): "A Parasol from Tumulus P at Gordion", in: Engin, Atilla; Helwing, Barbara;  Uysal, Bora (eds.): "Armizzi. Engin Özgen'e Armağan / Studies in Honor of Engin Özgen", Ankara, pp.&nbsp;237–246 (239), {{ISBN|978-605-5487-59-1}}</ref> In later sculptures at [[Nineveh]], the parasol appears frequently.<ref name="sangster">Sangster, William, 1808–1888. ''Umbrellas and Their History''. London: Cassell, Petter, and Galpin [1871]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6674 Available online as Gutenberg etext 6674, retrieved March 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923064749/https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6674/ |date=23 September 2020 }}.</ref> [[Austen Henry Layard]] gives a picture of a [[bas-relief]] representing a king in his chariot, with an attendant holding a parasol over his head, dating from c. 710 BC.<ref name="sangster" /> It has a curtain hanging down behind, but is otherwise exactly like those in use today.<ref name="sangster" /> It is reserved exclusively for the monarch (who was bald), and is never carried over any other person.<ref name="sangster" />

In [[Persian Empire|Persia]], the parasol is repeatedly found in the carved work of [[Persepolis]], and Sir [[John Malcolm]] has an article on the subject in his 1815 "History of Persia."<ref name="sangster" /> In some sculptures, the figure of a king appears attended by a servant, who carries over his head an umbrella, complete with stretchers and runner.<ref name="sangster" /> In other sculptures on the rock at [[Taq-e Bostan|Taghe-Bostan]], supposed to be not less than twelve centuries old, a deer-hunt is represented, at which a king looks on, seated on a horse, and having an umbrella borne over his head by an attendant.<ref name="sangster" />

==== China ====
{{See also|Oil-paper umbrella}}[[File:TERRACOTTA ARMY @ Gdynia 2006 - 01 ubt.jpeg|thumb|A [[Terracotta Army]] carriage with an umbrella securely fixed to the side, from [[Qin Shihuang]]'s tomb, c. 210 BC]]

The creation of the umbrella is attributed to the wife of [[Lu Ban]], who invented it during the [[Warring States period|Warring State Period]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite conference |chapter=Human Factors Engineering Research on Folding Umbrellas Design |author=Xiaohan Zhou |author2=Xiaoping Hu |title=Advances in Ergonomics in Design |conference=AHFE 2019 International Conference on Ergonomics in Design, July 24–28, 2019, Washington D.C., USA |date=2020 |editor=Francisco Rebelo |editor2=Marcelo Marcio Soares |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-20227-9 |location=Cham |oclc=1104083491 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-20227-9_14}}</ref>{{Rp|page=147}} Some investigators have supposed that its invention was first created by tying large leaves to bough-like ribs (the branching out parts of an umbrella). Others assert that the idea was probably derived from the [[tent]], which remains in an unaltered form to the present day. However, the tradition existing in China is that it originated in standards and banners waving in the air, hence the use of the umbrella was often linked to high-ranking (though not necessarily royalty) in China. The use of umbrella as a [[social marker]] indicating and classifying the identities and social class of its users started by the post-[[Northern Wei|Wei]] period and continued up to the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=148}} On at least one occasion, twenty-four umbrellas were carried before the emperor when he went out hunting. The umbrella served in this case as a defence against rain rather than sun. The Chinese and Japanese traditional parasol, often used near temples, remains similar to the original ancient Chinese design.

The ancient book of Chinese ceremonies, called ''Zhou Li'' (''The [[Rites of Zhou]]''), dating some 2,400 years ago, directs that a dais should be placed upon the imperial cars. The figure of this dais contained in ''Zhou Li'', and the description of it given in the explanatory commentary of Lin-hi-ye, both identify it with an umbrella. The latter describes the dais to be composed of 28 arcs, which are equivalent to the ribs of the modern instrument, and the staff supporting the covering to consist of two parts, the upper being a rod 3/18 of a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube 6/10 in circumference, into which the upper half is capable of sliding and closing.

The ''[[Book of Han]]'' contains a reference to a collapsible umbrella, mentioning its usage in the year 21 AD when [[Wang Mang]] (r. 9–23) had one designed for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 70">Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 70.</ref> The 2nd-century commentator [[Fu Qian]] added that this collapsible umbrella of Wang Mang's carriage had bendable joints which enabled them to be extended or retracted.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 70 71">Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 70–71.</ref> A 1st century collapsible umbrella has since been recovered from the tomb of Wang Guang at [[Lelang Commandery]] in the [[Korean Peninsula]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 71">Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 71.</ref> The Chinese collapsible umbrella may predate Wang's tomb, however. [[Zhou dynasty]] bronze castings of complex bronze socketed hinges with locking slides and bolts—which could have been used for parasols and umbrellas—were found in an archeological site of [[Luoyang]], dated to the 6th century BC.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 71" />

A late [[Song dynasty]] Chinese divination book, ''Book of Physiognomical, Astrological and Ornithomantic Divination according to the Three Schools'' ({{Lang-zh|c=演禽斗數三世相書|labels=no}}) by Yuan Tianwang ({{Lang-zh|c=袁天網|labels=no}}), that was printed in about 1270 AD features a picture of a collapsible umbrella that is exactly like the modern umbrella of today's China.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 71" />

The [[oil-paper umbrella]] also originated in China and was spread among the common people after the [[Han dynasty|Eastern Han dynasty]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=148}} It started to be introduced in other countries in the [[Tang dynasty]]<ref name=":1" />[[Tang dynasty|{{Rp|page=148}}]] and eventually spread across several East, South and Southeast Asian countries such as [[Japan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Myanmar]], [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]] and [[Vietnam]], where it has been further developed with different characteristics.

[[File:A handcoloured photo of a woman in Shanghai wearing a qipao and holding an octagon shape parasol, c.1930s.jpg|thumb|A handcoloured photo of a woman in Shanghai wearing a qipao and holding an octagon shape parasol, c.1930s]]

[[File:Umbrella-C7068.jpg|thumb|320px|A Japanese oil-paper parasol for [[Japanese tea ceremony]] in Kyoto]]
{{Clear}}

==== Ancient India ====
{{See also|Chatra (umbrella)}}

[[File:Ajanta Paintings.jpg|thumb|upright|Woman holding an umbrella [[Gupta Empire]] AD 320]]

The [[Sanskrit]] epic [[Mahabharata]] relates the following legend: [[Jamadagni]] was a skilled bow shooter, and his devoted wife [[Renuka]] would always recover each of his arrows immediately. One time however, it took her a whole day to fetch the arrow, and she later blamed the heat of the sun for the delay. The angry Jamadagni shot an arrow at the sun. The sun begged for mercy and offered Renuka an umbrella.<ref>{{Cite book
| isbn = 0-89281-870-0
| page = 16
| last = Pattanaik
| first = Devdutt
| title = Indian Mythology
| year = 2003
| publisher = Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zdkswFlJtjQC&q=Yellamma+Renuka&pg=PA1
}}</ref>

[[Jean Baptiste Tavernier]], in his 17th century book "Voyage to the East", says that on each side of the [[Mughal Empire|Mogul]]'s throne were two umbrellas, and also describes the hall of the King of [[Inwa|Ava]] was decorated with an umbrella. The chháta of the Indian and [[Bamar|Burmese]] princes is large and heavy, and requires a special attendant, who has a regular position in the royal household. In Ava it seems to have been part of the king's title, that he was "King of the white elephant, and Lord of the twenty-four umbrellas."

==== Southeast Asia ====

Simon de la Loubère, who was Envoy Extraordinary from the French King to the King of [[Siam]] in 1687 and 1688, wrote an account entitled a "New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam", which was translated in 1693 into English. According to his account, the use of the umbrella was granted to only some of the subjects by the king. An umbrella with several circles, as if two or three umbrellas were fastened on the same stick, was permitted to the king alone; the nobles carried a single umbrella with painted cloths hanging from it. The Talapoins (who seem to have been a sort of Siamese monks) had umbrellas made of a palm-leaf cut and folded, so that the stem formed a handle.

In 1855 the [[Mindon Min|King of Burma]] directed a letter to the [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Marquis of Dalhousie]] in which he styles himself "His great, glorious, and most excellent Majesty, who reigns over the kingdoms of Thunaparanta, Tampadipa, and all the great umbrella-wearing chiefs of the Eastern countries".

The [[Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella]] is one of the royal regalia of Thailand.