7 minutes into the history of food packaging

Just like the history of human development, packaging has also undergone a long development process. Initially, the purpose was to facilitate carrying, but over time it evolved into today’s set of display, carrying, and publicity in one of modern packaging, which has experienced a long evolution over the years.

From a broad perspective, all packaging used to wrap items can be considered packaging. From a small perspective, the term “packaging” refers to the process of packaging goods. Over the course of five thousand years of change in China the end of packaging underwent a transformation that allowed us to gradually uncover the truth.

In primitive societies, the production skills of the degree of mastery were very low. All packaging from natural rough processing, such as bone needles to protect primitive society sewing needles and selected hollow bone tubes, in order to facilitate the carrying of rattan from nature, leaves, and water from a gourd dipper. In short, this stage of the packaging is mainly a natural occurrence.

Because this packaging is simple, and easy to take, and it has been used in many applications, such as Dragon Boat Festival dumplings. The packaging embodies modern society.

The inventions of ancient forefathers have continued to this day

Dumpling leaves for the Dragon Boat Festival are the beginning of the packaging

Bamboo tubes were also an important packaging in ancient times

Shell oil in shells is still inherited from ancient times.

By the late Neolithic period, as human productivity had greatly increased, the art of pottery making became more advanced by firing with earth appeared in this period, and this simple and easy way of manufacturing made the original reliance on nature into self-sufficiency, and the packaging was greatly developed, leading to an initial aesthetic design. This period is represented by a variety of rope packages made from hewn vines and clay for processing earthenware pots.

Until now, we can still see many real-life examples, such as twine-bound bowls and vintage twine wraps.

Rope packaging using nature’s materials

Neolithic pottery, the prototype of packaging design

During the late Neolithic period, with the development of the social division of labor, the development of metallurgical technology and the emergence of merchants, the bronze on the stage, the most prominent form of this era is the meat tripod and drinking wine jugs, and at the same time, due to the emergence of merchants, so there is a real significance of the packaging, the story of the child: “buy a box and return the pearls”. This was the best example of packaging during that era. Due to the invention of bronze weapons, simple lacquerware could already be produced, which is the casket in the story.

Technological advancements led to the development of bronze and lacquerware.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun invented papermaking, making the paper used by later generations of brilliant packaging materials for the first time in front of the world, coupled with the maturity of the iron smelting technology, so there are a variety of natural raw materials for the processing of packaging, such as the emergence of the use of bamboo as the raw material for the production of a variety of bamboo baskets, due to the skills of this kind of packaging has a certain degree of skill, has appeared in the professional model of a certain degree of the bamboo maker, Gomer and other ancestors in this period, which also contains a lot of paper packaging, the paper is still mainly used as a convenient point of view to apply, such as the paper for medicine, wrapped meat paper, which we can often see in the TV series.

Until now we can still see some of the representative products of this industry, the family used for many years of bamboo baskets, wooden barrels. All of them can be regarded as products of this stage of development.

Many of today’s bamboo products are based on previous developments.

Some simple ancient tea cakes and herbal medicine packaging

As China began to raise silkworms to make silk a long time ago, before papermaking, silk satin was commonly used as packaging materials popular among ancient nobles, while due to rarity, some valuable jewellery and jade began to become a favourite among nobles. At the same time the development of iron refining technology, also led to the development of iron, due to the scarcity of ancient times, so until modern times, although the price of silk satin has been very low, in the packaging industry, he is still a symbol of high-grade.

Some simple tea cakes and Chinese medicine packaging in ancient times

Due to China’s early start in raising silkworms for silk production, silk satin was widely used as packaging materials, loved by the ancient aristocracy, and due to its scarcity of precious jewelry and jade, it also became a popular choice among the aristocracy. At the same time, the development of iron refining technology led to the development of iron, due to the scarcity of ancient times. Until modern times, even though the price of satin was very low, it was still a symbol of high-grade in the packaging industry.

Various food Packaging in Modern China

As a product of social development, packaging is more and more able to influence people’s purchasing behaviour, modern society is a society of advertising, a good food packaging can make your products have a better persuasion.

The future of packaging will have a more diverse development, let’s wait and see!