中国古代牙刷形制演变考

The textual research on the evolution of the toothbrush shape in ancient China

考古发现表明，古代植毛牙刷最早出现于唐代。根据古代牙刷刷头和柄部形制的演变，古代牙刷的形制演变可分为3个大的发展时期，即唐、五代，辽、宋、金、元和明、清、民国时期。唐及五代时期牙刷的刷头和柄部还没有明显的区分，而辽、宋、金、元时期的牙刷的刷头和柄部在造型上已经有了明显的区分。到了明、清、民国时期，牙刷刷头及柄部的形制进一步细化。近年来，有学者对“植毛牙刷说”提出质疑，认为考古发掘出土的骨柄植毛刷是梳洗时擦拭清水或抹发油的抿子。但从形制与功用来看，并结合古代文献中关于牙刷的记载，考古发掘出土的骨柄植毛刷应该是用于护牙洁齿的古代植毛牙刷。

Archaeological discovery demonstrates that the ancient plant hair brush first appeared in the Tang dynasty. According to the evolution of the shape of the head and handle of the toothbrush in ancient times, we can divide the evolution of the shapes into three major stages of development： （1） the Tang and the Five dynasties; （2） the Liao, Song, Jin, Yuan dynasties; （3） Ming, Qing and the Republic periods. The toothbrush heads and handles had no significant differences during the Tang and the Five dy- nasties. However, the shapes of them in the Liao, Song, Jin, Yuan dynasties are somewhat different. In the Ming and Qing and the republic of China periods, the shape of toothbrush head and handle had further re- finement. Recently, some scholars raised doubts about the ＂plant hair toothbrush doctrine＂. They believe that the archaeological bone graft handle brush was used to wipe hair oil or clean water when washing and dressing. However, according to shape and function and ancient literature records, the archaeological bone graft handle brush should be a plant hair toothbrush used to clean and protect teeth.