History of bathing

Author: (French) Vigarello / Xu Ningshu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In 1450, the plague spread in Paris. Water caused the pores of the skin to open, leading to the spread of the plague. People avoided baths and used wipes to stay clean. In 1832, cholera broke out in Paris. Water opened the pores of the skin, helped remove dirt, and kept people clean. Did water bring harm or protection? This is a thought-provoking history of the relationship between body hygiene and water. Throughout the progress of human civilization, bathing was not the only way to keep the body clean. During certain periods, when diseases were prevalent, people believed that water could introduce germs into the body and thus avoided baths, frequently changing undergarments and wearing decorative outer garments to stay clean. In other periods, people believed that cold water had healing and health benefits, such as Spartan children growing up by bathing in cold water to strengthen their bodies, but not for cleanliness. It wasn't until modern times, with the widespread use of water in cities, that people gradually associated body hygiene with water, and bathing became an essential part of daily life. The process of body hygiene evolved from wiping, localized cleaning, to bathing. Using extensive historical records and vivid examples from literary works, the author describes the "process of civilized behavior" in Westerners, revealing the history of bathing as a "history of social and civilizational development."