Origin of Raincoat

Raincoat originated in China. During the Zhou Dynasty, people used the herb “ficus pumila” to make raincoats to protect against rain, snow, wind and sun. Such kind of raincoat is usually called “coir raincoat”. The outdated rain gear has completely disappeared in the contemporary countryside, and has become the permanent memory with the development of the times. The memory is indelible, which will appear in a particular occasion to touch your emotions, and you will remember it involuntarily and clearly. The memory gets more precious with years.

In the rural areas of the 1960s and 1970s, the coir raincoat was an indispensable tool for going out and doing farm work for every family. On rainy days, people needed to look after the water in the paddy fields, unclog the waterways around the house and plug the leaks on the roof...... No matter how heavy the rain was, people always put on the rainhat, wore the coir raincoat and head into the storm. At that time, the focus of people was on the flow of water, while the coir raincoat silently helped people block the rain from the sky. The rain got heavier or lighter, like sharp arrows, and the coir raincoat was like a shield blocking the rain arrows from shooting again and again. Several hours passed, the coir raincoat on the back was soaked by rain, and the person wearing the rainhat and the coir raincoat stood as a statue in the field in the wind and rain.

It turned sunny after rain, people hung the rain-drenched coir raincoat on the sunny side of the wall, so that the sun could shine it repeatedly, until the coir raincoat dried out and the grass or palm fiber became fluffy. When next rainstorm came, people could wear the dry and warm coir raincoat to go into the wind and rain.

“Indigo rainhats and green coir raincoats”, in the busy farming season of spring, people wearing rainhats and coir raincoats could be seen everywhere in the fields. The coir raincoat protected farmers from the wind and rain. Year after year, the farmers gained fruitful harvests.

Now, the coir raincoat is rare and is replaced by a lighter and more practical raincoat. Perhaps, it can still be found in farm yards in remote mountain areas or museums in cities, evoking your deep memory and allowing you to relive the frugality and simplicity of previous generations.