Introduction to Old-Time Mobile Toilets
Old-time mobile toilets varied in form and function depending on the region and era.
In old Europe, there was a type of mobile toilet at vintage fairs. It was made of a wooden box with wheels, and a piece of worn-out burlap curtain was hung outside the box. It was a facility specifically for people to relieve themselves during fairs. However, this kind of toilet had many flaws. There was no proper feces storage pit, the burlap curtain could not block the odor at all, and privacy was very poor. With people coming and going outside, any slight movement inside could be clearly heard outside.
Mobile toilets in Han Dynasty China presented a rich variety of forms. For the nobility, archaeological discoveries have revealed portable sanitary appliances used by the Han nobility. At the archaeological site of the Eastern Zhou tomb in Lizhouao, Jing'an, Jiangxi, a lacquered wooden box with a layered design was unearthed. The mysterious square box with a lid on the lower layer is believed to be an ancient "mobile toilet". The bronze "tiger-shaped vessel" unearthed from the tomb of Liu He, the Marquis of Haihun, had a shape resembling a crouching tiger with an upward-curving opening. Made of bronze, which is less prone to leakage, and with a tiger shape that was easy to grip, it was a "standard accessory" for nobles on long journeys. For the common people, a ceramic toilet ring was unearthed from the Han tomb in Yangfutou, Sichuan. It had a roof on top and a feces pit below and could be moved as a whole. A mobile toilet house with an axle, similar to a modern RV bathroom, was also found in a Han tomb in Inner Mongolia. The development of mobile toilets in the Han Dynasty had its specific reasons. At that time, urban construction led to dense populations. For example, as recorded in the Sanfu Huangtu, Chang'an City had "nine markets and sixteen bridges". The government issued the Household Law stipulating fines for indiscriminate dumping of sewage, so every household had to be equipped with waste collection appliances, forming the earliest concept of "dry-wet separation".
By the mid-19th century, the Industrial Revolution had driven rapid urban development, and there was a surge in demand for temporary sanitary facilities in densely populated areas. Early mobile toilets were extremely simple, mostly wooden boxes with simple toilets, mainly used at construction sites and fairs to solve temporary toilet needs.
