The History of China Packaging Design

As a container, packaging is indispensable for human survival. It is a way to store and protect food and daily necessities. At first, people used leaves, shells, shellfish and other natural materials to wrap things. With the progress of productivity, man has created man-made packaging containers.

According to archaeological research, Peking Man (450000 years ago) was the first group of people in the world to use fire and stone tools. By the time of Upper Caveman (17000 years ago), mankind had learned to make fire artificially and preserve the fire. As a result, this improved man’s ability to dominate nature greatly.

With the help of fire, our ancestors invented pottery for cooking and storage. Man’s basic living conditions became better. As early as the Neolithic age, our ancestors had created pottery. They were the oldest packaging containers. For example, the pottery of Peiligang culture has been around over 8000 years old. They are widely used as storage containers, practical and beautiful.

pottery bowl with decorated finish
Pottery Bowl With Decorated Fish

The story, Buying The Box And Returning The Pearl, happened during the Spring and Autumn Period of China. In the story, a man planned to buy a pearl in a jewelry store. But the beautiful appearance of the pearl box attracted him deeply. Surprisingly, after the purchase, he returned the pearl and only kept the gift box. To some extent, we can know from the story that the craft level of the packaging then was very high.

BUY THE BOX AND RETURN THE PEARL
Buy the case and return the pearl

In ancient China, some package were made from the wood, bamboo and other natural materials. While some other package were artificial pottery and bronze ware. These containers were simple, elegant, practical and beautiful.

paper printed box
Paper Printed Box With China Elements

The first paper packaging appeared probably in the Tang Dynasty. Then, China was prosperous in politics, economy and culture. The paper was widely used for the packaging of tea and food.  By the time of Song Dynasty, people began to use the copper plate to print the paper package. The various paper printed box appeared. They were very pretty. In the China History Museum, you can see a copper plate from the Song Dynasty. The image pattern is a white rabbit.

Shanghai DE Printed Box is a leading China paper box supplier and manufacturer. It provides the packaging solutions to the various industries world wide.

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