An important part of the Japanese cabinet is named after Cixi's toilet.
Everyone has three urgent needs, no matter they are big or small. In the past, when there was no flush toilet, everyone would use the toilet when it was convenient. The palace was no exception, but it was given an elegant name, called "Guanfang".
There were no toilets in the Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty, and they were all used as official rooms. The official rooms of the emperor and concubines were generally kept separately by the eunuch who was in charge of daily life, and would be taken out only when used. They are generally rectangular or oval in shape, and are made of wood, tin or porcelain. In summer, tin or porcelain is used to keep it cool; in winter, wooden ones are naturally used.
" Palace Maids' Talks in the Past" (Jin Yi and Shen Yiling: Forbidden City Press , 2010) has a detailed description of the official room. It contains: "The old queen said, 'The official room means that you need a bedpan and relieve yourself. "...", the eunuchs and palace maids quickly put the "official room" wrapped in the Huang Yun dragon set on their heads respectfully and sent it to the door of the palace. Please kneel down, then quickly opened the Huang Yun dragon set and asked to come out of the "official room" , carried into the inner room by the palace maid... When Cixi was finished, the palace maid took the official room out of the palace and presented it respectfully to the eunuch. The eunuch took the "official room" with his hands, put it in a suit with Huang Yunlong, and put it back on his head.
The origin of the name of the official room is important. There are two kinds. One is that it is opposite to the latrine, which is used by the people, and the palace is naturally the official room; the other is that it is related to "Guanfang". In Qing Dynasty , the word "Guanfang" was derived from the meaning of defense and guard. The meaning of outsiders of the opposite sex avoiding aristocratic women and aristocratic women. In the old days, there was the so-called "avoidance and prevention", which gradually derived the meaning of toilet.
Interestingly, the Japanese cabinet has an important administrative agency that is responsible for sorting out cabinet meeting matters, cabinet affairs, and other matters. The department that makes overall adjustments to the policies of various departments is also called the official cabinet. Recently, the Japanese cabinet has made a series of decisions on important events such as the COVID-19 epidemic and the assassination of Shinzo Abe.
But I don’t know that the Japanese cabinet understands that the “official cabinet” is in China. How will you react after reading the original meaning? #新知真综合#
