TCM Unearthed: Ming Dynasty Ice Dish with Bagua Pattern

This large dish with a flared mouth and circular foot served as a clever "natural refrigerator" in the Ming Dynasty. Fired at the Cizhou Kiln, it is adorned with the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and floral patterns, blending practicality with aesthetic appeal. During the height of summer, people would place ice in the dish and then put medicinal herbs or food on top of the ice. This not only provided a cooling effect but also prevented the herbs from spoiling in the intense heat. In an age without electrical appliances, this ice dish ingeniously utilized natural physical principles, demonstrating the ancient Chinese ingenuity in preserving medicinal materials and finding relief from the summer heat. It is now housed in the Beijing Yushengtang Museum of TCM.