Download - Chinese umbrella
With Chinese traditional music -Erhu
Chinese Umbrellas
China is believed to be the home to umbrellas, which are still widely used
in the country. The earliest umbrellas are known to have existed at least two thousand
years ago, first made of silk and later popularly paper. The Chinese waxed and
lacquered their paper parasols because oil repels water. In ancient times, the frames of
the umbrellas were made of mulberry bark or bamboo. Red and yellow umbrellas were
used by royal families and blue umbrellas, by the common people.
At present, umbrellas in China are made of various materials:
oilpaper,cotton, silk, plastic film and nylon. They are used either against the rain or as
parasols to give shade from the sun. Some are built on straight frames while others are
collapsible.
The prettiest Chinese umbrellas, however, are those covered with silk,
and the silk parasols of Hangzhou are veritable works of art, which also serve a
practical purpose. The silk, as thin as cicada's wing and printed with landscapes, is
also fixed on a bamboo frame.