2022-6-25
咱們大清故宮博物院的數字文物庫內，有六把歷代尿壺，和叄個其貌不揚的錫便盆。尿壺大家都知道，那是男人撒尿用的虎子，材質從戰國的錯金銀到漢代的青銅器再在到隋唐的青瓷，應有盡有。可是到了錫便盆（故00205963、故00205445、故00205962），就沒文字介紹了。但明眼人都會想到那是誰用過的，以及當時那人干那事的時候，前呼後擁，會有多大的排場。
那麽同時期的英國女王出恭或小解的時候，是什麽個陣仗呢？記得當年去白德福公爵家參觀的時候，見過伊麗莎白一世的畫像和維多利亞女王曾經下榻過的房間，也是明黃的床帳，公爵和公爵夫人的藏品中有一雙大清皇室進貢的黃緞子面的叄寸金蓮的鞋子，印象中還有一個乾隆外銷漆的茶葉盒和一個景德鎮燒制的康熙五彩馬桶。
可惜的是當時沒有照相，僅憑記憶和感覺。最近在網上看到兩位歷史愛好者寫的博客，講述了十八十九世紀英國上流社會女士們最時髦用的馬子，馬子的發明史和馬子的用法，以及英國紳士，是如何解決小便問題的。
1、英國馬子，女士專用：
Oval chamber pots such as these ones have been known since the 1700s as bourdaloues. With its curious shape, it looks like a gravy boat. However, makes no mistake, the Bourdaloue is nothing else than a chamber pot exclusively designed for women.
2、英國馬子的用法：
This image by Francois Boucher says it all. A fully dressed lady is relieving herself into an object called the bourdaloue or bourdalou, careful not to soil her skirts. Her maid, no doubt, stands nearby, waiting to receive the small chamber pot in order to empty it. The lady (or woman of ill repute) is in a public place – a theatre or tavern, perhaps – but certainly not a church. Wherever she is, the place has no public toilet. And so she must relieve herself standing up, taking care not to soil her skirt and petticoats.
這種小便器，嬌小可愛，非常方便和隱秘，於是就非常的時髦，在西方上流社會，推廣開來了。而這種小便器，也被叫做了幫她漏（Bourdaloue），翻譯成中文，就是清國傳統文化中馬子的意思了。
Bourdaloues were chamber pots designed specifically for women wearing such garments. With the assistance of a lady’s maid, they could be slipped beneath skirts and petticoats, employed while standing, and then discretely carried away. Some versions were more practical and fashioned of tin or leather. Many included a lid, perfect for use during a long journey by carriage. Even when skirts shrank in size towards the end of 18th c., the bourdaloue was deemed too practical an item to abandon. They remained in use throughout the Victorian era.
3、英國馬子的發明人，是個法國人。
他是法國皇帝路易十四的牧師 - 路易斯幫她漏（Louis Bourdaloue,1632-1704)。歷史上的幫她漏，是一位天才的演說家，講道的時候滔滔不絕口若懸河，可以帶功說法經天經夜，不吃不喝不休息，原因是他有獨門秘訣。
Portrait of French Jesuit Louis Bourdaloue, 大英博物館藏
法國和英國的皇親國戚，和上流社會的女眷們，為了一字不拉地聽幫大師擺龍門陣，就群起效尤幫她漏，事先也為每人都準備了一個小巧玲瓏的馬子，由女傭和僕人端着，只要喊一聲幫她漏，就可以隨時隨地，解決女士們內急和小便的問題了。
The origins of this unconventionally shaped chamber pot bear connection to the figure of the renowned French preacher, Jesuit Louis Bourdaloue (1632–1704). In the second half of the 17th century, Bourdaloue was recognized as one of the greatest orators who delivered sermons also at the court of Louis XIV de Bourbon (1638–1715, King of France 1643–1715) in Versailles. They were said to be extremely interesting, but also very long, which confronted the audience with problems of physiological nature. In order to avoid skipping the sermons, ladies began to bring sauce boats which allowed them to ease themselves unnoticed without going out of the chapel. Legend has it that these objects were named after the Jesuit priest Père Louis Bourdaloue, who preached at the court of Louis XIV. Bourdaloue's sermons were apparently so long that the ladies at court asked their maids to supply them with chamber pots so that they would not be forced to leave and miss any of his wisdom. Others guess that Bourdoloue himself needed the vessel during his own sermons as he suffered from the disease hypospadias.
需要是發明之母，有了小便盆，就演化出來了大便盆。有了女便盆，自然也就出來了男便盆，順理成章。中國歷代的改革之所以功虧一簣，就是因為反其道而行，重男輕女。假如歷史上先有馬子，後有虎子，馬馬虎虎，廁所革命，就不至於虎頭馬尾，不了了之了，算是一個題外話。
The idea gained popularity and faience manufacturers soon launched the production of small women’s chamber pots – pot de Chambre ovale, also known as bourdaloue. They differed from sauce boats in their edge folded inside with no spout and the lack of base. Owing to their properly designed shape, which guaranteed discreet use, chamber pots proved extremely useful and convenient during lengthy journeys, which is why they are also known as coach pots in England. In the 18th century, they gained popularity all across Europe, including in Warsaw.
4、那麽英國的紳士，是如何解決小便問題呢？
先別急，在英國發達之前，紳士是不存在的，大小便的問題，也是隨時隨地解決，這也有漫畫，可以作證。
一個後遺症，就是英國的殖民地新德里，現在還有人當街大小便，幾十年不治。
在這一幅油畫中喝多了隨地撒尿的那位先生手裡拿的，就是男士和孩子們日常用的便桶，也叫幫她漏，只不過是體積更大，形狀更圓，男女通用，是解大便用的。稱作馬桶，是沒有錯的。
在這幾幅作品中，右下角的那個幫她漏，也都是馬桶，和大清國的痰盂功能相似，是隨處可見，朝廷開會、接見外賓和日常工作必備。
上面這幾件，就是收藏在白金漢宮裡面，女王和女王的媽媽，曾經用過的馬桶。而且那件白瓷的，標明就是擺在女王的臥室裡面的。另外兩件貴金屬的，是女王媽媽用過的。
其它的，都是成套成套訂製，批量生產、帶皇家徽章的瓷便桶。
而在瓷器技術傳到歐洲之前，即便是貴如女王，也只能用這種瓦罐的便盆。
5、中式馬桶
然後就是西風東漸，第一批留學西方的童男童女和西方傳教士們，把西洋馬桶這玩意兒，又帶到了中國，並和咱大清國的革命實踐相結合，就地取材，產生了這又中又西，也不中不西的怪胎：茅坑。
所謂上得了書房（卷缸、魚缸），下得了茅房（馬桶、化糞池）。
北京故宮博物院藏漢代陶茅房兼豬圈#新00055846
上至皇帝老兒，下至鄉野村夫，雖說是繁簡有別，尊卑有序，但都是一樣的造型，一樣的蹲位，一樣的光腚。
關鍵的關鍵，是一旦爬上去坐下來了，就利益均攤，只顧一人方便，死活也不願意下來。古時候南宋的夢粱錄則說：
（註：文中用圖，除個別外，都取自網絡和世界各大博物館）。
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