Collection reveal is about a month away, which means that assignments are due in about three weeks.
I hope the writing/drawing/creating is going well for everyone!
But if, by some chance, it isn’t, please reach out to me as soon as possible, preferably before the deadline (please see the pinned post on this blog for a “what time is that for me?” link), so either a pinch hitter can be assigned or an extension can be granted if reasonable.
Hi, I have a question that's kind of underwear related. I've read that women used menstrual cloths but hanfu trousers underwear doesn't look tight fitting enough to hold a cloth against the body? Do you have any information on how ancient han women managed their monthly business?
Hi, thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (x)
Yes, Han women in ancient and imperial China used menstrual cloths called “yuejing dai/月经带” (lit. “menstrual belt”) when they had their periods.
This so-called belt was composed of a rectangular strip of cloth, with materials for absorption in the middle, and two strings sewn at both ends. These two strings would be tied around the waist. Women could continue to move and work as usual when they wore this belt.
Below - a menstrual belt found in the Tomb of Huang Sheng (黄升墓) of the Southern Song dynasty (x):
The materials used in the menstrual belt depended on the wealth of the wearer. If the woman’s family was wealthy, the belt would be sewn from cotton and silk, and the middle layer would be filled with cotton or soft paper. If the woman was from an ordinary family, the belt would be sewn from linen or old clothes, and the middle layer would be filled with grass and plant/wood ash.
Plant ash was commonly used for the middle layer because of its strong absorbency and perceived sterilization and disinfection benefits. During the Tang and Song dynasties, paper-making improved, and ordinary women could use paper to replace plant ash.
Below - a menstrual belt from the 1970s, and several historical components such as grass/hay, plant/wood ash, and paper (x):
Over time, women started to decorate the menstrual belt, so that it had aesthetic value as well as functional and practical use.
Below - an embroidered menstrual belt from the Republican era (x):
Menstrual belts were commonly worn up until the 1980s in China, especially in rural areas, and can still be bought today.
Below - depiction of how to wear a traditional-style menstrual belt available on Taobao (x):
If anyone else has more information, please share!
Since a lot of neiyi is depicted as being white, how would they have dealt with accidents/stains? Or did people also wear darker inner clothes, and we just don’t see that as much in modern ads/depictions?
Good question! I haven’t been able to find more information on this, but I think your assumption is correct - that people also wore dark neiyi, and we just don’t see that as much in modern depictions. I think it’s also likely that women wore old pants/skirts under their regular clothing during their periods to prevent stains.
Okay that looks pretty dang comfortable, but also I’m noticing something interesting…
So, I knit, right? And one of the the problems that I often have teaching people to knit is coming up with a good starter project. Your options are pretty much potholders-type shapes and scarves, because you need a small rectangular thing that can be made all in one color.
You see where I’m going with this! A shape like the one above would be a *perfect* beginner project in just about any fibercraft. And they’re so useful, you can keep making them throughout your life! I love it!
one fun thing about being a teacher in march 2023 is that chess is a literal epidemic among teens. we are starting to have meetings about how we can STOP teenagers from playing too much chess which is like if we were trying to figure out how to stop them from reading for fun. When i was in high school five years ago chess was nerd shit only but now it is transcending every social and language barrier and is absolutely rampant. kids aren’t on their phone texting in class anymore it’s ONLY chess.com. kids are playing chess on their phones while playing chess in real life. this is still better than tiktok because at least the kids are developing an attention span from this
the worst part of this is that they’re on chess dot com instead of getting an education. but the BEST part of this is watching high schoolers develop the weirdest goddamn strategies I’ve ever seen. One of my students invented something he calls the “evil advisor gambit” where he gets a third person to give out constant terrible advice to both teams hoping that his opponent falls for it straight-up or that his opponent thinks HE fell for it and will act accordingly thus worsening their own strategy. he has won every game he has been able to pull off a coordinated evil advisor gambit in. this is chess innovation never before seen in its 700 years on earth
Not even remotely kidding when I say that if you don’t fuck with the LGBTQIA+ community, I do not and will not fuck with you. Big ass love to all the queer folks out there. If you’re on my blog, you’re in a safe place.
To everyone voting for the first option: I bet you think dinosaurs didn’t have feathers because incorporating new findings into research hurts your feelings.
This is the stupidest addition I’ve ever seen.
People say Pluto is “not a planet” because in 2006, 5% of the International Astronomical Union, a grand total of 424 people, voted to give “planet” a formal astronomical definition. Why did they do this? As far as anyone can tell, the only apparent reason for why they needed to come up with such a conservative definition of “planet” is because at that time, dozens of new, planet-sized objects (such as Eris) that were round and orbited the Sun were being discovered to exist beyond Neptune. This made it challenging to justify labeling Pluto as the “ninth planet” when there were so many satellites that were similar to Pluto that were arbitrarily called “not-planets”. So the astronomers that were able to attend the vote (again, 424 out of a possible 9000 people) decided on the final definition that some astronomers use today.
The above addition acts as if the definition of “planet” is something objective that science has “discovered”; like dinosaurs having feathers. But obviously that’s ridiculous. It’s an argument over (ultimately inconsequential) terminology, and furthermore, the IAU definition has its fair share of criticisms by other astronomers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet#Ongoing_controversies
I want to especially highlight this paragraph: “Many astronomers, claiming that the definition of planet was of little scientific importance, preferred to recognise Pluto’s historical identity as a planet by ‘grandfathering” it into the planet list.“ Basically, why do we need to restrict the definition of "planet” to 8 bodies in the first place? Is it because schoolchildren need to learn them, and so you need a short list? Why is that something schoolchildren need to learn? Isn’t it simpler to just say “the number of planets is undetermined, but here are the 9 most famous/important ones” for your memory"?
It is remarkable that the discovery of Eris, the goddess of chaos/discord, kicked off this astronomical controversy
“… You’re a capture,” Nita said.
It was a guess, but an educated one, and the shadow-veiled head bowed in assent. “Insofar as any capture is ever nonconsensual at such a level,” he said. “I knew what I was being captured by.” A glint of very dark eyes, more felt than seen. “Or rather, whom.”
And when he agreed, that clinched it. “Then I know who you are.”
“Do you indeed,” the darkness said, sounding not so much surprised as interested.
“Yes,” Nita said. “Yes I do. And I just want you to know one thing.”
“That being?”
“You’ll always be a planet to me.”
The dark shape looked at her in astonishment. Then slowly it bowed, and its shadows flared outward around it, almost winglike.
“I’m so sorry about what happened,” Nita said. “I sure wasn’t consulted.”
The darkness shrugged, though it was a most understated, fractional shrug. “It was merely a shift in terminology,” Pluto said. “A classification issue. Ontologically it’s not particularly significant: I bear no one ill will for it.”
“Still,” Nita said. “I feel like you were robbed of something. Status, or …” She paused. “I don’t know. And though I understood the reasons for it when it happened, it made me sad.”
Again one of those bows, though not quite as deep this time. “I appreciate your concern.” The darkness straightened. “At a time when you surely have much else on your mind …”
Nita’s glance slid sideways to the spot across the room where she’d left Kit.
“Relationship,” that regal darkness murmured. “So often an issue.”
Hey guys! The WGA is asking for people to sign a petition aimed against Universal. Treegate isn’t the first union busting tactic Universal has tried.
They started a construction project that “just so happens” to block some of the sidewalks and forces picketers to walk in the street. The government told Universal they need to install safety rails to replace the sidewalks. A demand Universal has so far ignored.
Please sign the petition for Universal to install the safety rails and reblog.
