What methods did ancient people use for contraception?

Nowadays people are still very concerned about the issue of contraception. In fact, in ancient times, contraceptive measures had already been used during sexual intercourse to prevent the inconvenience and trouble caused by pregnancy. However, in general, ancient people used some folk remedies or secret recipes for contraception, or used some methods that were harmful to human health. These were not scientifically reasonable, so the chance of contraceptive failure was also very high.

In the past, there was a "traditional way" of contraception, which was to jump up and down. It was believed that this method could make semen and even the fetus jump out. I remember there was a plot in the TV series "The Passionate Years" where the heroine went to bed with a man and was worried about getting pregnant, so she kept jumping around. This was a method of contraception, but the success rate was obviously very low.

There is also a folk remedy, which is said to be to use tiles to dry the persimmon stems and eat them, seven at a time, for seven days in a row, which can keep you infertile for a year. If you want to get pregnant, eat two more persimmon stems. It sounds weird. I really don't understand why it is necessary to eat seven and not eight, and why you can get pregnant by eating two more.

There is another method, which is the "acupoint" contraceptive technique. It is said that after the emperor of the Qing Dynasty had sex with his concubines, he would massage a certain acupoint on the concubine's lower body to make her infertile. I think this method is just like "tearing the Japanese apart with bare hands", which is definitely unreliable. If this method is really effective, it should have been applied for World Heritage status earlier.

The ancients may have other contraceptive methods, but because there are too few records, it is difficult to verify. However, there are records of cases where contraceptives led to infertility and caused unrest in the imperial palace. One example is the story of Zhao Feiyan.

Zhao Feiyan was the second empress of Emperor Cheng of Han. She was once a prostitute, but later became empress, writing an unprecedented legend. However, Zhao Feiyan never gave birth. Some people said that the reason she did not give birth was to maintain her beautiful appearance and graceful figure in order to be favored by the harem. She always used the secret contraceptive method of sticking musk on her navel.

Through the above introduction, everyone has a clear understanding of the contraceptive methods used by ancient people. Of course, there are other common methods, but because the contraceptive effect is not very ideal, unexpected pregnancies often occur. Improper use of medication may even seriously threaten women’s health and life safety.