Packaging is very closely related to people's production and life. Its emergence is mainly due to the needs of human survival and life. In ancient times, due to the extremely low level of productivity, the ancients only relied on their hands or simple tools to obtain necessary living materials. During this long process, they gained a certain understanding of natural things. Perhaps inspired by natural things, they gradually They learned to use plant rattan to bundle the obtained items (mainly food), and also learned to use plant leaves, fruit shells, animal skins, etc. to contain and transfer the obtained items. Strictly speaking, although this cannot be regarded as real packaging, from the perspective of materialist development, they should be the most primitive form of packaging. Since the emergence of packaging, in the long history of development and evolution, the functions of packaging have been continuously expanded, from the initial bundling, wrapping, wrapping, and dressing, to facilitating storage and protecting goods, to beautifying goods, promoting sales, etc. Function. It needs to be emphasized that the expansion of the above-mentioned functions of packaging is closely related to social development and the increase of material products. It is also closely related to the discovery and utilization of materials, and the invention and improvement of technology. The former is a manifestation of social needs and becomes The source of the expansion of packaging functions, and the latter has become an important driving force for packaging development. 1. The role of scientific and technological progress in promoting packaging. Materials are one of the most important factors in any creation activity. Without materials, no creation activity is possible. Materials are the basis of creation activities. Technology is one of the most critical factors in creation activities, and it is the guarantee for the realization of creation activities. Looking at the development history of ancient packaging in my country, it is not difficult to find that scientific and technological progress has greatly promoted the continuous development of ancient packaging. Here I will try to explain a little from the aspects of ceramics, bronze, gold and silver, lacquerware, papermaking and printing: From the historical data of archaeological excavations, before the emergence of pottery, human creation was limited to simple production tools, such as wood, Bone tools, stone tools, etc., but there were no tools for packaging. At that time, natural things were mainly used for extremely simple wrapping or packaging. With the improvement of primitive human cognitive abilities, the enhancement of modeling concepts and the advancement of design art abilities, ancient people creatively transformed clay into pottery, and packaging containers with functions such as packaging, protection, storage, and transportation gradually appeared, such as pots. , cans, etc., not only that, in terms of shape, these packaging containers have gradually realized the transformation from single to diverse, and in terms of function, they have become more practical and functional. It can be said that this is a qualitative leap in the history of ancient packaging development. As a descendant of pottery but more advanced, porcelain has been characterized by its fine and hard texture, good density, weak water absorption and other good packaging suitability since the original porcelain - "green glaze ware" appeared in the Shang Dynasty. , have been applied to packaging one after another. More importantly, with the advancement of porcelain making technology and craftsmanship, porcelain packaging has become one of the most extensive and important categories in ancient packaging with its good surface decoration properties. It can be said that this It is a new leap in the history of ancient packaging development. Bronze is a great invention in the history of human science and technology, and it is also a symbol of mankind entering the metal age. Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and lead. In terms of physical properties, compared with pottery, bronze has the characteristics of low melting point, easy to shape, high hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and not easily broken. The above features not only enrich the selection of packaging materials, but also greatly expand the design space for packaging container modeling and decoration. According to archaeological data, bronze wares that appeared at the end of my country's primitive society gradually replaced pottery and became the main wares after entering class society. [1] In terms of packaging containers, the practicality of bronze packaging has been improved to a certain extent, such as sealing, stability and decoration, and its artistry is unmatched by previous packaging. In addition, in terms of decoration, they are richer in strong spirituality and ideology, integrating political, ideological and cultural concepts into them. In this way, ancient packaging has appeared man-made objects that integrate functionality and spirituality. To a large extent, It promoted the way of creation and talisman creation that integrated the external decoration of ancient packaging with the internal culture.

According to archaeological data, precious metal gold and silver products appeared in my country's Shang Dynasty. By the Western Han Dynasty, gold and silver utensils began to appear, which marked that ancient my country's creation technology entered a higher stage.

For ancient packaging, rare gold and silver provided the material possibility for the palace luxury style of packaging. In addition, the good ductility, metallic luster and increasingly sophisticated processing technology of gold and silver made ancient packaging containers unique in terms of shape and decoration. It provides a broader space for expression, and at the same time makes the expression forms of ancient packaging more diversified and artistic. Its artistic value is beyond the reach of previous packaging. For example, the eight-fold treasure letter unearthed from the underground palace of Famen Temple not only has an extremely complex production process , the decoration process is quite complicated and extremely luxurious, and it perfectly interprets the ancient "serialized packaging". [2] In terms of the invention and improvement of technology, papermaking and printing were extremely important for the development of ancient packaging and played a profound role in promoting it. Since the invention of papermaking and with the improvement of manufacturing technology, papers with different properties have been invented one after another, some of which are used in packaging, such as waterproof paper, insect-proof paper, etc. The role of papermaking in promoting ancient packaging is mainly reflected in the following aspects. First, it greatly enriched the modeling forms of packaging containers. In ancient times, some papers had good flexibility and folding resistance, and could be processed into packaging containers of different shapes, such as paper bags, cartons, etc. Lu Yu's "The Book of Tea" has relevant records about paper bags: "Paper bags are made of white and thick rattan paper and are slit to store the roasted tea so that its fragrance does not leak out."; "Paper bags are used to absorb heat and store them. Therefore, the essence of Qi has nothing to disperse, and it will be at the end of the cold period." [3] The bag is also called a bag. According to the "New Tang Book", thick cardboard began to be used to make paper cups, cartons and other packaging containers in the Tang Dynasty. Secondly, it has extensively expanded the scope of packaging, making packaging more folk-oriented and life-oriented, and expanding the convenience functions of packaging. According to historical records, ancient people often used paper packaging to store and transport some daily items, such as tea, medicines, fruits, etc. As another important scientific and technological invention in ancient times, printing has greatly expanded the beautification and promotional functions of packaging, and improved the components of packaging. At the same time, it has also made packaging and decoration an independent individual serving packaging. This This point has been particularly obvious since the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, the "Liu Family Trademark" now preserved in the History Museum is engraved with the title "Jinan Liu Family Kung Fu Acupuncture Shop", with a pattern of a white rabbit pounding medicine in the middle, and the words "Recognize the white rabbit in front of the door as a mark" on the left and right of the pattern. ", and below is engraved advertising text explaining the quality of the product and the sales method: "Purchase high-quality steel bars, make fine needles, do not cut corners, people can use it, if you are trafficked, please note. "The whole page is full of pictures and texts. The white rabbit pounding medicine is equivalent to the logo of the store. The text promotion highlights the quality and sales method of the needle. 2. The relationship between traditional economic structure and packaging. Since the emergence of primitive society, packaging has developed very slowly during the long historical years of slave society and feudal society. There has been no qualitative leap. The reason lies in the traditional economic structure. . Since the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, our country has entered a slave society. The economy under the conditions of slavery is basically a self-sufficient natural economy. Slave owners completely possess the means of social production, thus forcing countless slaves to engage in production for them. They mainly provide various luxury goods to meet the production and living needs of slave owners. Therefore, the production of their material means is not for the needs of society and the market. , which makes the possibility of product exchange extremely slim. In other words, it is difficult for social products to enter the circulation field to realize their value. Under the slavery system, the production and distribution of material materials follow the use value of the product, not the value of the product. [4] This self-sufficient natural economy seriously hinders the development of product packaging. On the one hand, slave owners completely occupy the means of social production, which to a large extent inhibits the existence of different consumer groups and the emergence of market exchange scale, thereby restricting The emergence of diversified packaging styles. On the other hand, social production does not take social and market needs as the starting point, which hinders the development and formation of the social market, makes it difficult for products to enter the circulation field, and hinders the expansion of packaging functions. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, our country's society underwent a revolutionary transformation, gradually transitioning from a slave society to a feudal society. From then until 1840, the economic structure of our country's feudal society was a combination of the natural economy and the commodity economy, with the natural economy taking the dominant position. . With the occurrence of the third social division of labor in feudal society, commerce separated from industry and formed an independent industry. Compared with slavery society, commerce in feudal society has made great progress. However, under the suppression of the traditional "emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce" policy, the commodity economy has never been able to break away from the natural economy and become the dominant force in society.

Although the commodity economy in feudal society was once developed during a certain period, commercial capital became very active, commerce was prosperous, and even the germination of capitalism appeared. For example, since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the market system collapsed and the market was once diversified. ,liberalization. However, since commodity production has not developed accordingly, it is commerce that turns products into commodities, rather than commodities forming commerce through their own movement. [5] Furthermore, the vast lower class has low consumption power and very limited market demand, which cannot stimulate the development of commodity production areas. The above two aspects make the production and consumption links of the economic operation chain very weak, which greatly limits the diversified production of products and the formation of diversified markets, thereby indirectly hindering the development of diversified commodity packaging.