Walking on the street, people are passing by gracefully or striding, and the carefully crafted advertising slogans on red, yellow and blue professional umbrella are also moving forward: “Confucius Mansion Banquet Wine is mellow and crispy”, “A taste of Huangshan is high and cloudless”, “Green Card accompanies you around the world”… This flowing scenery is no worse than the TV screen. It is so gentle that passers-by can easily remember the products, the manufacturers, and the many benefits of the products. Therefore, umbrellas promote economic development. Isn’t this the “market love” of umbrellas?
Prediction
According to legend, professional umbrella can also predict a person’s luck. If an umbrella falls on the ground, do not pick it up yourself, otherwise bad luck will come. If you open it on a sunny day, it will be a bad omen. Do not open it indoors. It is best to open it indoors.
Code words
The UK began using umbrellas only in the 18th century. The Bernas umbrella was once a special item for women, which expressed women’s attitude towards love. Holding the umbrella upright means being faithful to love; holding the open umbrella in the left hand means holding the umbrella tightly. Slowly shaking the umbrella means lack of confidence or distrust; leaning the umbrella on the right shoulder means not wanting to see you again.
Social significance
In ancient China, umbrellas symbolized power for emperors, generals, and dignitaries, as clearly recorded in the “Book of Jin” and “Yufuzhi” in Zuo Zhuan. The records show a strict hierarchy associated with their use. The materials, colors, and sizes of umbrellas are like the black gauze on the head and the court dress on the body, which also distinguish the official positions. For example, in the Han Dynasty, it was stipulated that the nine ministers and three officials who ate more than 2,000 stones of millet used black. The officials who were not allowed to wear black clothes were all allowed to wear blue. Therefore, in ancient times, the sedan chairs or cars that the emperors or high officials rode on when they went on tours all had umbrella covers to show that they “shaded the people.” Therefore, this kind of umbrella is also called “cool umbrella”, “Luo umbrella”, “all people’s umbrella”, and “Huagai” in written language.
Two-fold umbrellas
T151 Bronze Chariot and Horses in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, and the “Huagai” in T131 A Thousand Miles Alone, are both symbols of the identity of the umbrella user. The most magnificent and fully expressed use of umbrellas in ceremonials may be the “Ming People Going Out on Police and Entering the Imperial Court” issued by Taiwan Province. Two five-piece sheets also have partial enlarged pictures. In the second stamp of the imperial court, there are five “Luo umbrellas” in red, green, yellow, blue and white, which are colorful. In the third and fifth stamps of the “Police Outing”, there are some symmetrical left and right temporarily closed and carried on the shoulders, and some are open in the middle and marching, which are bustling and magnificent. Because umbrellas symbolize wealth and honor, there is also a custom of holding umbrellas in folk weddings in the East. This is vividly depicted in the folk wedding stamps issued in Macau and North Korea.
The umbrella is not only a decoration for government ceremonies, but also a common prop in opera, singing and dancing, and acrobatics. The first stamp of the “Legend of the White Snake” issued by Taiwan Province in 1983 reflects the scene of “borrowing an umbrella from West Lake”, which is this umbrella. The imperial court also used umbrellas as props. Many Chinese and foreign stamps reflect national folk art that features umbrellas as central props.
Fabric classification
Manufacturers use four main types of fabrics for umbrellas, ranked from low to high cost: polyester, PG cloth, nylon, and transparent plastic.
The characteristics of polyester fabric are:
the color is brighter, and after rubbing the umbrella fabric in your hand, the creases are obvious and not easy to restore. When rubbing the fabric, you will feel resistance and there will be a rustling sound when rubbing. Applying a layer of silver glue on polyester is what we usually call silver glue. It is easy to fold the folded part, but after a long time of use, the silver glue is easy to fall off. Applying a layer of silver powder on polyester is what we usually call pearlescent cloth. It is very popular among ladies, but the effect of protecting against the sun’s ultraviolet rays is not ideal.
PG cloth is also called impact cloth. High-density impact cloth is a new type of cloth. PG has the following characteristics: matte and dark color. The cloth feels like cotton and has good light blocking properties. The cost of PG cloth is relatively high, but its UV protection function, quality stability, and color grade are ideal. It is a better umbrella cloth. Manufacturers generally use PG cloth only in high-end umbrellas.
Nylon cloth is also a high-end variety of umbrella fabrics. This kind of rain cloth has bright colors and feels like silk in the hand. When you rub it back and forth with your hands, there is little resistance. But this kind of cloth has a weakness. Air humidity greatly affects the umbrella cloth, causing it to shrink more seriously and sometimes even disrupting the normal opening and closing of the umbrella.Therefore, it is not very common in the umbrella fabrics we commonly use.
Transparent plastics have become popular in recent years. Manufacturers make them from PVC or PE plastics, and some feature various patterns and colors.
Compared with other umbrella fabrics, black glue coated fabric has the following advantages:
1. Not easy to age, silver glue fabric is prone to aging and peeling after long-term use;
2. Cooling, parasols made of black glue coated fabric can effectively cool down by 3-5℃ in the sun;
3. Super strong UV protection, parasols on the market have different real UV protection performance due to different black glue coating processes or fabric quality. A more convenient inspection method is: use the flashlight on the mobile phone, use the parasol fabric close to the flashlight in the dark to see if there is any light leakage.
Umbrella types
Oil-paper umbrella
Oil-paper professional umbrella are a kind of Chinese paper. They were first introduced to Taiwan, North Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and other places, and developed into oil-paper umbrellas with local characteristics in various places. As some Hakka people moved to Taiwan and settled there, Chinese oil-paper umbrellas also developed in Taiwan. In addition to being daily necessities for sun protection and rain protection, oil-paper umbrellas are also indispensable items in wedding customs and etiquette. Japanese traditional dances use oil-paper umbrellas as props, and tea ceremony performances feature “banning umbrellas.”
In early Hakka villages, Hakka women often gave two paper umbrellas as dowries when they got married because “paper” and “son” are homophones. One of them means “early birth of a son”, and the word “umbrella” has four “人” characters, which also symbolizes many children and grandchildren. When the paper umbrella is opened, it forms a circle, and “oil” and “have” are homophones, which means blessing the newlyweds a happy and complete life. For the same reason, a pair of paper umbrellas are also given to men at their 16-year-old coming-of-age ceremony.
In religious ceremonies, people commonly use oil-paper umbrellas as shelters on sedan chairs. This is to take the meaning of perfection, as a symbol of people’s shelter from the sun and rain, and to ward off evil and evil.
Most of the umbrellas used in daily life are foreign.
Transparent umbrellas
Transparent professional umbrella are fashionable and personalized umbrellas that women love. In addition, there are other colors. Designers print personalized and fashionable patterns on some transparent umbrellas, adding a sense of fashion and fun. The styles include straight poles, folding, etc. Manufacturers make these umbrellas mostly from thin plastic, which makes them easy to damage and inexpensive. Most of the people who use transparent umbrellas are women.
Sun umbrella
Manufacturers customize Fangchenggang umbrellas specifically for sun protection. They can protect against ultraviolet rays.
Choosing an anti-ultraviolet professional umbrella mainly depends on the fabric of the umbrella. Studies have shown that thicker fabrics have better anti-ultraviolet performance than thinner ones. Generally speaking, cotton, silk, nylon, viscose and other fabrics have poor anti-ultraviolet effects, while polyester has better effects. Some consumers believe that the thicker the umbrella, the better the anti-ultraviolet performance. In fact, this is not the case. For example, the Paradise Umbrella series has developed a thin but very tight fabric, which has much better protection performance than ordinary fabrics. In addition, the darker the color, the better the anti-ultraviolet performance. Satin fabric is the best, followed by twill and plain weave.
Experts also remind consumers to recognize the UV protection performance label. Domestic and foreign standards generally use UPF values, or UV protection factor values, to evaluate the UV protection performance of textiles. The UPF value is the ratio of the average radiation of ultraviolet rays to unprotected skin. The larger the UPF value, the better the UV protection performance. The new national standard will classify a product as anti-ultraviolet only if it meets the criteria of UPF > 30 and UVA transmittance below 5%, marking its protection level as UPF30+. A product that achieves UPF > 50 will demonstrate exceptional UV protection performance and will be labeled with a protection level of UPF50+ by professional umbrella manufacturers.
There are many manufacturers specializing in the production of umbrellas. If you want to customize mid-to-high-end umbrellas, please contact Sishun Umbrella Factory.
