Primary school students’ “Buddhist style of skewers”, do you get it?

Review expert: Zhu Guangsi, member of Beijing Science Writers Association

“Have you ever played with bracelets?”

"Of course I have!"

Before the new favorite of primary school students, "radish knife", became popular, "hand strings" were also very popular among primary school students in many places.

Although not as obsessed as the rumored "everyone has one", it is undeniable that the number of primary school students playing with bracelets is increasing. Not to mention the stationery stores at the school gate, many e-commerce platforms can also see that the online sales of related products are very hot, and some stores even sell thousands of pieces per month.

Speaking of "Pan bracelets", I believe that most readers, like me, first think of the image of middle-aged or elderly people sitting in the study reading books and drinking tea, which has nothing to do with the sunny and lively primary school students carrying schoolbags.

This makes people think deeply: Why do primary school students love skewers?

“The ancients were really good at playing with bracelets!”

In China, the history of beading is very old. It can be traced back to ancient times, especially in the late stage of the middle Paleolithic period . Unique materials such as animal bones and teeth, shells, stone beads, etc., after being perforated and strung together, became the earliest beads of our ancestors, and those worn on the hands naturally became bracelets. Later, with the continuous improvement of social productivity and the continuous development of human society, the materials available for people to choose gradually became richer. Not only teeth and stone beads, but also jade of various materials have become important materials for people to beautify themselves.

In addition to the material, the shape of the string ornaments is also unique to the times. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, people liked to string together different ornaments into complex jade pendants, which were usually worn, mainly on the neck, chest, shoulders or waist. We can see that the six-huang linked beads jade pendant below is mainly composed of green beads and red agate beads. In fact, behind these gorgeous and large jade pendants is an important symbol of the status of the princes and nobles of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The six-huang linked-bead jade pendant was unearthed from the Jinhou Tomb M31 in Quwo, Shanxi Province

Source: Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

So, when did we start to play with bracelets? This can be traced back to the introduction and prosperity of Buddhism.

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China from India. In the Jin Dynasty, Buddhism became more prosperous. It was in this context that Buddhist beads, as props used by monks to chant sutras and convenient counters, began to enter people's lives as a cultural product after continuous development and localization.

There are three types of Buddhist beads: hanging beads, wearing beads, and holding beads. What are hanging beads? They are hung around the neck; what are wearing beads? They are worn on the wrists and arms; what are holding beads? They are held in the palms. I believe that readers can find out at a glance that the wearing beads are what we now commonly call "bracelets"!

Amber bracelet source丨Wikipedia/Raulfj

Today, bracelets have gone beyond religious connotations and have become part of the lives of ordinary people. Not only that, they have also been given more value and meaning, such as decoration, collection, and playing, becoming a popular item.

Why are small bracelets so popular among primary school students?

So what is the reason why primary school students are so fascinated by it? First of all, the beautifully colored beads worn on the wrist are themselves decorations . The colorful imitation Bodhi and imitation jade bracelets are a great attraction and temptation in the eyes of children. Coupled with the vigorous publicity of merchants and the cheap price of the bracelets themselves, the threshold for primary school students to obtain bracelets has been lowered. In fact, the price of these bracelets is usually only a few yuan, and the more expensive ones are only more than ten yuan. The requirements for consumption ability are not very high, so it can be said that it is very easy for primary school students to get a bracelet.

Source: News Photo

Secondly, the sound produced when the bracelet is played will give some children a comfortable feeling of decompression. There are many ways to decompress, and for a special group like primary school students, the more novel the way, the more likely they are to attract their attention. Finally, it should be noted that this is also a concrete manifestation of primary school students' social activities and meeting their social needs! Another point is that in the subconscious of many parents, they may not think that bracelets are a toy, and their positioning is closer to decorations. This makes parents not oppose bracelets as much as they oppose toys, and even some more stubborn and strict parents will "turn a blind eye" to bracelets.

Tips for the correct way to cook skewers!

But this small action may have some health risks that we can't imagine! According to Chen Guoting, chief surgeon of Shanghai Oriental Hospital, "Rolling strings is just a movement of the fingers. If primary school students do it improperly for a long time, it will also cause some inflammation of the hands, such as tenosynovitis ."

Source: News Photo

Tendon sheaths are mainly found in parts of the body such as the wrist, ankle, fingers and toes. These parts have one thing in common, which is that they are highly mobile and have to withstand greater friction. The tendon sheath is a sheath tube that covers the surface of the long tendon. A small amount of synovial fluid in the tendon sheath can restrain the tendon, reduce friction, and play a good protective role for our fingers. However, due to long-term excessive friction, the tendon sheath may be accidentally damaged, causing pain, stiffness and other adverse symptoms.

In fact, looking through the phenomenon to the essence, we can find that behind the primary school students' addiction to "playing with bracelets" is that in the current learning environment, students still have some difficult-to-relieve pressure. As teachers and parents, we should look at children's "playing with bracelets" objectively, and must recognize that due to the young age and immaturity of their minds, we should reasonably guide students to establish correct values ​​and release pressure correctly.

For primary school students, "skewering" may just be a trend, or it may really help relieve stress. In short, it is not a problem that needs to be taken seriously. "Small dishes can make you happy", it is not a bad idea to eat a plate, but you need to pay attention to your health and not be too addicted~