抽水马桶的前世今生

在科技发达的今天，抽水马桶早已司空见惯。然而，抽水马桶并非自古有之，最初的马桶也不是如今这般模样。那么，是谁发明了第一个马桶？马桶又经历过哪些蜕变呢？让我们跟随本文一起了解抽水马桶漫长而艰难的“进化”过程吧。

Here is a bold statement. The water closet（WC）has been described as “one of the most important inventions of the last 1000 years”. The London Times said this in its Millennium Edition. It compared the invention of the toilet with， among others， the development of the Gutenberg printing press in 1400s， the atomic bomb， and the moon landing of 1969.

Heres another bold statement. The Independent said that “the WC is one of the most successful designs ever. It doesnt only improve lives； it saves them”.

And finally， there is one more bold statement. “It has done more to improve the health of the people of the world than any pills or potions.” The origin of this statement is due entirely to the author of this piece. It is true that the toilet is an important invention. But in the whole history of mankind the toilet is relatively recent， and as we shall see we had to wait for the great entrepreneurs of the Victorian times for it to be developed into what we know and love today.

Primitive Sanitation

Early primitives knew the rules and learned them the hard way. They knew that they must keep their sewage away from their cooking. They knew that they had to keep their kitchen upstream and their toilet downstream. If they reversed this layout there would be terrible consequences. Death would follow. Typhoid， cholera， and dysentery were just a few of the terrible diseases which thrive on poor sanitation. It is this fundamental principle that we work with today. The toilet is part of the process of separating excreta from drinking water.

Roman Latrines

The Romans were excellent sanitarians. They regarded ablutions as extremely important and built elaborate latrines in their towns and forts. Users sat on marble slabs. Each slab， with its hole， was supported above gushing water to take away excreta. Fresh water channels in front of the slabs allowed users to wash themselves using a natural sponge tied to the end of a twig or stick. Of course the invention of toilet tissue was years ahead and was not available to the Romans. The Romans left Britain in 450 AD， and their civilization and legacy of sanitary science went with them. Their heritage disappeared and Britain plunged into the dark ages. 1000 years unwashed.

The First WC

We had to wait till 1592 before the next milestone in sanitary science was achieved. This is when the rather well-to-do godson of Queen Elizabeth I， Harington， got terribly bored with his lifestyle （he was a poet） and set about designing what we now know to be the first ever， fully functioning and self-contained WC. His invention was something we can now all recognize， but not many people of his time did. It was a major breakthrough in sanitary science and toilet design. It was an efficient and reasonably hygienic means of disposal of human waste. It had a cistern containing water. It had a seat and a bowl to receive the deposit. It had a means of flushing away that deposit using a sudden rush of the water.

It was a brilliant invention years ahead of its time. And， like all great new products， devices， and gizmos， it was very expensive. It came in at around 1000 in todays money. Regrettably， it didnt catch on. No one could afford it， and only two were ever constructed. Harington made one for himself for use at his home in Kelston Manor in Bath， Somerset， England and the other for use by his godmother， Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace， on the River Thames. We had to wait another 200 years before the next glimpse of the sanitary future came along. This was when Alexander Cumming invented the first valve closet.

The Valve Closet

Cumming was a watchmaker from London， and he applied his knowledge of mechanics to inventing“the sliding valve closet”. It was a genuine machine for the disposal of human waste and a major breakthrough in design. It was a major success， but not for long. The trouble was that the sliding valve the mechanism relied on fouled up soon. The slider rusted and stuck fast. Muck and filth contributed to its downfall. So， it was not so brilliant an idea after all. Regrettably it didnt catch on！

But just three years later （in1778） we saw another breakthrough. Joseph Bramah from Yorkshire， working as a cabinet-maker and locksmith， took Cummings sliding valve and converted it to a“hinged valve”. This didnt stick—the mechanism would not allow it to stick. Now this really was a success as an effective device. Thousands were sold. Every grand English country house simply had to have one， and both engineers and potters were able to make a living constructing the clever device.

The Royal Doulton Company displayed them proudly in their catalogues well into the 20th century， long after the development of the freestanding ceramic marvel we know today. The hinged valve closet was expensive and complicated and for the likes of you and me it was well out of our reach. So most people still relied on the humble privy—a plank and a bucket in a draughty hovel at the bottom of the garden. We still needed a design breakthrough that was cheap and cheerful， clean and decent， and it came at the height of the Victorian Era when great entrepreneurs set about changing the way we lived.

The Arrival of the Modern Toilet

The middle of the 1800s was the time of the“Great Stink”when the Thames was an open sewer and people like George Jennings， Edward Johns， and Thomas Twyford started the race to develop the“modern” toilet. What was needed was a freestanding， ceramic affair which required no mechanism and was relatively cheap. Many designs were produced， and the bathroom industry was born.

有这样一种大胆的说法：有人认为抽水马桶是“过去一千年中最重要的发明之一”。《伦敦时报》在其千禧年专版不仅给出了如上评论，还将马桶这项发明和其他一些成就相提并论，诸如15世纪的古登堡印刷机、原子弹以及1969年的人类登月。

还有另外一种大胆的说法：《独立报》宣称“抽水马桶是有史以来最成功的设计之一。它不仅改善了我们的生活，而且还拯救了我们的生命”。

最后，还有一种更为大胆的说法：“对于改善世界人民的健康状况来说，抽水马桶的作用大过任何药品或药剂。”这种说法完全出自本文作者之口。诚然，抽水马桶是很重要的一项发明，但在人类整个历史长河中，这项发明相对较新，从后文中我们也可以看到，我们一直等到了维多利亚时代，才有伟大的创业家们将抽水马桶改进成了我们今天熟悉又喜爱的样子。

原始的卫生状况

早期的原始人类知道一些卫生规则，而且费了很大劲才掌握这些规则。他们知道污水必须远离饭菜。他们知道厨房必需设在上游，厕所必须设在下游。如果二者的布局颠倒了，后果会很严重，死亡会接踵而至，而伤寒、霍乱、痢疾只不过是恶劣卫生条件下会滋生的诸多可怕疾病中的一小部分而已。我们今天遵循的也是这个基本原则。厕所正是人类分离排泄物和饮用水这一进程中的一部分。

罗马人的公厕

罗马人都是优秀的卫生学家。他们认为保持个人清洁是至关重要的事情，便在他们的城镇和城堡内建造了精心设计的公共厕所。使用者坐在大理石石板上，每块石板上有一个洞，洞下方会有水流涌出将排泄物冲走。石板前方有清水管道，使用者如厕后可以用绑在树枝或棍子一端的天然海绵蘸着这水清洗一下。当然了，厕纸在多年之后才发明出来，那时的罗马人自然没的用。公元450年，罗马人离开了不列颠，也带走了他们的文明和卫生科学方面的传统。随着这个传统的消失，不列颠一下子陷入了黑暗时代，此后的一千年都过着不卫生的日子。

首个抽水马桶的诞生

我们不得不一直等到1592年，卫生科学史上的下一个里程碑才出现。当时，女王伊丽莎白一世那非常富裕的教子哈林顿极度讨厌自己的生活方式（他是一位诗人），便开始着手设计我们现在所知的有史以来第一个功能完善的一体化抽水马桶。我们现在都能认出他的发明，但在他那个时代却没有多少人能认出来。他的发明是卫生科学和厕所设计史上的一个重大突破，是处理人类排泄物的一种有效且相当卫生的方式。这种马桶有一个储水的水箱、一个座位以及用来接收排泄物的桶身。它可以用一股突然涌出的水流将排泄物冲走。

这种厕所在当时是一项非常超前的杰出发明，当然，它也像所有那些了不起的新产品、设备和机械装置一样非常昂贵——它刚问世时的价格相当于现在的1000英镑。遗憾的是，它并没有流行起来，因为没有人能买得起。这种抽水马桶当时只造了两个。一个是哈林顿给自己造的，安放在他位于英国萨摩赛特郡巴斯城凯尔斯特庄园的家里，另外一个是给他的教母女王伊丽莎白一世用的，安放在泰晤士河边的里士满宫里。我们只得又等了200年，才迎来人类卫生事业的下一道曙光——亚历山大·卡明发明了第一个阀冲水马桶。

阀冲水马桶的发明

卡明是伦敦的一个钟表匠，他运用自己的机械学知识发明了“滑动阀马桶”。这是一个名副其实的处理人类排泄物的机器，它在设计上也有重大突破。滑动阀马桶获得了极大的成功，但是好景却不长。它的问题在于，这个装置赖以运作的滑动阀门用不了多久就会被弄脏，滑块很快就会生锈、卡住，而粪便和污物正是罪魁祸首。所以说，这个设计理念终究也不是那么完美。很遗憾，它也没有流行起来！

但仅在三年之后（1778年）我们就看到了另外一个突破。来自约克郡的家具木工、锁匠约瑟夫·布喇马接手了卡明的滑动阀门并将它改造成了一个“带铰链的阀门”。这个阀门不卡了——这个机械装置不会让它卡住的。此时的抽水马桶才真正成为一种有效的器具，因而大获成功，卖出了好几千个。英国每一幢豪华的乡村别墅都必备一个，工程师和制陶工们也都可以靠生产这种精妙的器具谋生。

一直到20世纪，皇家道尔顿公司还十分自豪地在其产品目录上列出铰链阀门马桶，而那时我们今天熟知的独立式陶瓷马桶早已出现了。铰链阀门马桶昂贵又复杂，像你我这种人根本消费不起。所以大多数人还是依赖简陋的无冲洗设备的厕所，就是那种在花园尽头的通风茅舍中用一块厚木板和一只桶搭建成的马桶。我们仍需要马桶设计上的一个突破：便宜、舒适、卫生、得体。这个突破直到维多利亚鼎盛时期，伟大的创业家们开始着手改变我们的生活方式时才出现。

现代马桶的出现

19世纪中期是英国的“大恶臭”时期，那时的泰晤士河成了露天的下水道。像乔治·詹宁斯、爱德华·约翰斯和托马斯·特怀福德等人开始竞相制造“现代”马桶。当时所需的是一个不需要机械装置的、独立式的、价格低廉的陶瓷设备。许多设计随之涌现出来，卫浴产业就这样应运而生了。