The history of socks

When I was a child, my family was poor, so I had to wear a pair of socks for a long time, and I had to mend them when they were torn. So, I learned to mend socks at a very young age. Every weekend, I would find all the socks at home and mend them one by one. When I was in the first grade of elementary school, I was already very skilled in mending socks. At that time, I envied other people's families for having sock stretchers. I asked my mother when our family had one, and my mother said that it was possible to mend without taking anything. Really, I can mend well without that stretcher.

I have an indissoluble bond with socks. Since I started studying socks, I like to study the history of socks. Now, based on the collected information, I will talk to you about the historical origins of socks.

Let's talk about the history of socks in China first. According to ancient data, socks appeared in the Xia Dynasty. They first appeared in the upper class and were a symbol of status. In the Western Zhou period, socks were made of tanned leather and cloth. Rich people could wear silk socks. At that time, the finest ones were made of silk yarn and embroidered with patterns.

Do you still remember the cultural relics unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha? Among them were two pairs of silk socks, which were sewn with whole silk, seamless on the bottom, and the socks were open at the back. There were silk ribbons at the opening, and the silk ribbons were made of plain yarn. It can be seen that the handicraft of sewing socks in my country has a history of at least 2,000 years, much earlier than that of European countries. In other words, China is the well-deserved ancestor of socks! !

There was a custom of taking off socks when entering the house during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Socks from the Xia Dynasty to the Western Han Dynasty have always been socks with ribbons. In ancient times, wearing socks was not as popular as it is now, and not everyone could wear them. Don’t think that everyone doesn’t care about buying a pair of socks now. In ancient times, being able to wear socks was the right of the rich and powerful. How could the poor people afford to wear socks made of cloth?

Cao Zhi’s "The Goddess of Luo River" "Walking lightly on the water, the silk socks are covered with dust" can also be judged that there were socks made of silk in the Han Dynasty. Since the Han Dynasty, socks have been recorded in Huainanzi Shuo. Lin Xun, Book of the Later Han. Liyizhi, Leipian, Book of the Later Han. Biography of Li Zhong, Biography of Cai Wenji, Guoshi Bu, Biography of Li Wa, Lingguizhi, Book of Song. Lizhi, and Records of Events.

Next, let's talk about the story of socks abroad

In 1589, a student named William Li from the British Theological Seminary invented a machine for manually sewing socks, which was 6 times faster than manual sewing. This shows that the ancestor of sewing machines was born here. It is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China, or when foreign countries were open, goddesses began to wear socks at this time. I guess at that time, there were too many socks produced, and men couldn't wear them all, so they thought of ways to develop the women's market, and everyone came to wear socks.

In 1860, the most unfortunate year of the Qing Dynasty, everyone knows that the great ancient building Yuanmingyuan was burned down, and the world's industrialized socks began! !

In 1928, DuPont of the United States displayed the first pair of Nylon Socks.

In 1940, high-top nylon socks set a record for the highest sales in history and became common daily necessities.

In the 1960s, pantyhose were born, and the miniskirts designed by British designer Mary Quinn became popular all over the world.

In short, according to incomplete research, the earliest comparison with foreign countries is that in China, it can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor era, with hemp feet wrapped, while in the West it was the Roman era in the fifth century BC. The Roman era is equivalent to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period in China! [The late Spring and Autumn Period (776 BC-476 BC), the early Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC)]