Chapter 2

I. The shameless trend of complete nudity!

However, before you can fully appreciate the myriad charms of ancient Egypt, dear time travelers, you must first discard your sense of shame!

Huh? Why must you discard your sense of shame?

Because the climate in ancient Egypt was extremely hot and dry, making it impossible to feel cold. Moreover, the textile and dyeing techniques of the time were primitive and backward, with production being tragically low, which made fabric extremely expensive. Dyed fabric, in particular, became a luxury item for the nobility.

Therefore, to be frugal, the ancient Egyptians generally wore very little clothing, or even nothing at all, and they never considered nudity to be shameful. Children in ancient Egypt, regardless of gender, ran around naked on the streets. It wasn't until they reached their teens or got married that they would acquire a linen garment, even in wealthy noble families.

In the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, children should be naked, and those who wore clothes were considered freaks.

Alright, brave young women who want to travel back to ancient Egypt to find romantic love, are you prepared to live naked in broad daylight for at least a decade? — If you are all naturist camp enthusiasts, then consider this a non-issue.

But even so, it would be best to study in advance how to prevent your breasts from sagging during development without any clothes, how to use natural herbs from ancient Egypt to make sunscreen, and how to weave simple menstrual belts from the reeds that grow abundantly along the Nile. I'm sure this will be very useful once you get there — in ancient Egypt, there were no sanitary pads or toilet paper. Papyrus, which was more like thin plywood than paper, was too expensive for anyone to use for wiping.

Even if you travel back as an adult, the clothing of ancient Egypt would still be difficult for modern people, especially Chinese, to accept.

— From the reliefs and murals, it is clear that the revered Egyptian pharaohs only wore a short skirt or loincloth called a "nugab," with their upper bodies bare, their heads wrapped in headscarves, and necklaces around their necks, and they even wore sandals or flip-flops... Hmm? The appearance of the pharaoh always reminds me of the bare-chested watermelon vendor downstairs who wraps a towel around his head.

As for the typical attire of Egyptian women, it was a modern-looking "chiton" — a sleeveless, tight-fitting, low-cut, shoulder-baring dress, either long or short, sometimes with one or two shoulder straps, similar to a simplified version of the low-cut dresses worn by modern bar dancers.

From the upper nobility to the common people, the clothing of the Egyptians basically came in two styles: men wore loincloths and short skirts, and women wore low-cut, shoulder-baring tube dresses. The styles were not very different, with the only distinctions being in the dyeing, patterns, fabric quality, and gold and silver decorations.

Shoes in ancient Egypt were also very expensive, so most people chose to walk barefoot, and only the wealthy could afford sandals. As for socks, bras, and underwear... they had not been invented yet, not even pants — pants were an invention of nomadic horsemen, and agricultural peoples initially did not wear them. Even the conservative Chinese only started wearing pants under their robes after King Wuling of Zhao introduced "Hu-style riding and archery."

(You can imagine Confucius reciting "A gentleman is open and aboveboard, while a petty person is always fretting and fussing" while accidentally exposing himself in public...)

Therefore, if you were to strictly adhere to the background of ancient Egypt to write a romance novel, it would turn into a story of two shameless naked children playing in the mud and falling in love along the Nile... It seems rather unromantic!

Additionally, even after reaching adulthood, Egyptians often went naked at home — there were no air conditioners in those days, and the indoor environment was stiflingly hot. Wearing clothes would quickly make them sweat. The quality of dyes was also poor, and colored fabrics would easily fade if worn for too long.

Thus, clothing in ancient Egypt was more like modern formal wear or uniforms, worn in public to display one's status. As for casual wear and undergarments... the price of fabric was astronomically high, and even a simple loincloth (similar to a modern sumo wrestler's loincloth) was considered a valuable possession. Women's tube dresses, which required more fabric, were essential and valuable dowry items, similar to the "three major items" for marriage in modern times. Most ordinary families were lucky to have one good piece of clothing — hence, people usually went naked.

Remember, in the minds of the ancient Egyptians, clothing was seen more as an accessory than a daily necessity.

As a result, in ancient Egyptian society, it was common to see people running naked in the streets, trading naked in the market, and even attending banquets naked, without any sense of shame — although clothing could be dispensed with, amulets were a must, or one would be mocked.

Therefore, the reason why ancient Egyptian nobles did not like to go out naked was not due to a sense of shame, but to maintain their dignity — just as modern wealthy people insist on driving luxury cars when traveling and wearing high-end fashion to parties.

Of course, if you were to be born into an ancient Egyptian noble family as a man, you might be in for a treat — to avoid damaging their expensive clothes, the servant girls in noble households usually worked naked, only putting on clothes for formal occasions like going out, festivals, or banquets. They often only covered their waists, leaving their chests exposed — to save fabric, some women wore only short skirts or loincloths, just like men. For example, several famous female pharaohs in history often went bare-chested and exposed their breasts while scolding their ministers in grand halls.

Thus, in the households of the powerful in ancient Egypt, it was common to see groups of young naked women moving about freely and chatting without a hint of shame, much like scenes from an adult magazine.

Moreover, perhaps due to the underdeveloped clothing industry, the makeup and body painting arts in ancient Egypt were quite advanced — using ink to draw eyebrows and eyeliner; using malachite and aluminum ore to create greenish-gray eye makeup; using red ochre and ointment to make lipstick; using henna to dye nails, palms, and soles; and the most fashionable noblewomen and ladies would even paint their breasts gold and their nipples blue — it's easy to imagine that they would attend banquets with their chests exposed or even completely naked.

Additionally, because many people were accustomed to going naked, the ancient Egyptian court even invented the profession of "genital beautician."

So, when a philandering male protagonist has a secret affair with an ancient Egyptian noblewoman, he must remember to have her take a good bath first. Otherwise, he might end up tasting a mouthful of pure, natural, and harmful minerals during intimate moments, which would not be a pleasant experience.

As for the low-status Egyptian slave girls, dancers, and prostitutes, they were usually completely naked, with the only difference being that dancers and prostitutes might have some gold and silver decorations — in a sense, ancient Egypt was a giant naturist camp.

As for the idea of Egyptian dancers wearing sheer, colorful veils and performing belly dances with their faces veiled... that didn't happen until at least the Roman Empire era, or even later, after the Arab invasion.

So, dear time travelers who respect ancient Egyptian traditions, it's time to discard your sense of propriety along with your clothes!

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