Title: Umbrella
Content:  since been recovered from the tomb of Wang Guang at Lelang Commandery in the Korean Peninsula. The Chinese collapsible umbrella may predate Wang's tomb, however. Zhou dynasty bronze castings of complex bronze socketed hinges with locking slides and bolts—which could have been used for parasols and umbrellas—were found in an archeological site of Luoyang, dated to the 6th century BC. A late Song dynasty Chinese divination book, Book of Physiognomical, Astrological and Ornithomantic Divination according to the Three Schools (演禽斗數三世相書) by Yuan Tianwang (袁天網), that was printed in about 1270 AD features a picture of a collapsible umbrella that is exactly like the modern umbrella of today's China.
Title: Umbrella
Content:  when he went out hunting. The umbrella served in this case as a defense against rain rather than sun. The Chinese and Japanese traditional parasol, often used near temples, remains similar to the original ancient Chinese design. The ancient book of Chinese ceremonies, called Zhou Li (The Rites of Zhou), dating some 2,400 years ago, directs that a dais should be placed upon the imperial cars. The figure of this dais contained in Zhou-Li, and the description of it given in the explanatory commentary of Lin-hi-ye, both identify it with an umbrella. The latter describes the dais to be composed of 28 arcs, which are equivalent to the 
Title: Umbrella
Content:   The Chinese character for umbrella is 傘 (sǎn) and is a pictograph resembling the modern umbrella in design. Some investigators have supposed that its invention was first created by tying large leaves to bough-like ribs (the branching out parts of an umbrella). Others assert that the idea was probably derived from the tent, which remains in an unaltered form to the present day. However, the tradition existing in China is that it originated in standards and banners waving in the air, hence the use of the umbrella was often linked to high-ranking (though not necessarily royalty) in China. On at least one occasion, twenty-four umbrellas were carried before the 
Title: Umbrella
Content:  of the modern instrument, and the staff supporting the covering to consist of two parts, the upper being a rod 3/18 of a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube 6/10 in circumference, into which the upper half is capable of sliding and closing. The Book of Han contains a reference to a collapsible umbrella, mentioning its usage in the year 21 AD when Wang Mang (r. 9–23) had one designed for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage. The 2nd-century commentator Fu Qian added that this collapsible umbrella of Wang Mang's carriage had bendable joints which enabled them to be extended or retracted. A 1st century collapsible umbrella 
Title: Umbrella
Content:   The earliest known parasols in Ancient Egyptian art date back to the Fifth Dynasty, around 2450 BC. The parasol is found in various shapes. Typically it is depicted as a flabellum, a fan of palm-leaves or coloured feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind the Pope in processions. Gardiner Wilkinson, in his work on Egypt, has an engraving of an Ethiopian princess travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot; a kind of umbrella fastened to a stout pole rises in the centre, bearing a close affinity to what are now termed chaise umbrellas. According to Wilkinson's account, the umbrella was generally used throughout Egypt, partly as a mark of distinction, but more on account of its useful than its ornamental qualities. In some paintings on a temple wall, a parasol is held over the figure of a god carried in procession.
Title: Umbrella
Content:   Parasols are first attested on pottery shards from the late Mycenaean period (c. 1230–1190 BC). Ancient umbrellas could be opened and shut, but rigid examples may have also existed. The earliest archaeological evidence for a collapsible umbrella was unearthed in Samos in a context from about 700 BC and follows closely the shape of a slightly older Phrygian specimen excavated at Gordion. The sliding mechanism of the two pieces is remarkably similar to those in use today. In Classical Greece, the parasol (skiadeion), was an indispensable adjunct to a lady of fashion in the late 5th century BC. Aristophanes mentions it among the common articles of female use; they could apparently open and 
Title: Ancient furniture
Content:  use beds as dining tables. Rich people would often decorate their beds with screens, curtains, and maybe jewelry to show off their wealth. Couches were smaller than beds and could usually only seat two people. Later, tall furniture would become popular in China. Before this most furniture was below 50 cm or 19 inches. One ancient Chinese chest located in an ancient tomb was painted with mystical patterns and mythical beings such as the god Fuxi. The story of Hou Yi and a diagram of constellations were also carved on the chest. In Ancient China there was a type of chair called a huchaung. The huchaung was a consolable folding chair.
Title: Umbrella
Content:  Thomas Wright, in his Domestic Manners of the English, gives a drawing from the Harleian MS., No. 604, which represents an Anglo-Saxon gentleman walking out attended by his servant, the servant carrying an umbrella with a handle that slopes backwards, so as to bring the umbrella over the head of the person in front. It probably could not be closed, but otherwise it looks like an ordinary umbrella, and the ribs are represented distinctly. The use of the parasol and umbrella in France and England was adopted, probably from China, about the middle of the seventeenth century. At that period, pictorial representations of it are frequently found, some of which exhibit the peculiar 
Title: Umbrella
Content:  The exact date as to when the Ashanti begun using umbrellas is uncertain. However, in the 1800s, the Amanhene(senior chiefs) were using large multicolored umbrellas. Umbrellas were used during festivals as streets of Kumasi were paraded with them. Like the Asantehene's umbrella bearer, the others also spin their umbrellas in tune with the music produced by drummers while accompanying their "Ohene". Umbrellas were also used to provide coolness as well as highlight the importance of the various leaders.
Title: Umbrella
Content:  and deep canopy belonging to the large parasol of the Chinese Government officials, borne by native attendants. John Evelyn, in his Diary for 22 June 1664, mentions a collection of rarities shown to him by "Thompson", a Roman Catholic priest, sent by the Jesuits of Japan and China to France. Among the curiosities were "fans like those our ladies use, but much larger, and with long handles, strangely carved and filled with Chinese characters", which is evidently a description of the parasol. In Thomas Coryat's Crudities, published in 1611, about a century and a half prior to the general introduction of the umbrella into England, is a reference to a custom of riders 

Question: what was the ancient chinese umbrella used for?
Answer: a defense against rain.