As the temperature continues going down recently, people talk about how to keep warm all the time. Whether you are in northern China with the sharp wind, or confronted with chilling humidity in southern China, a down jacket can save you. So, how did the down jacket originate? Today, let's trace the origin story of this amazing "thermal gear".

Actually, in ancient China, people began to use fine and soft feathers to make clothing.

In the Zhou Dynasty, there was the 毳衣 (cuì yī, a kind of clothing) made from feathers and furs of animals.

In the Tang Dynasty, a primitive version of down jacket emerged——夹衣(jiā yī).

During the Tang Dynasty, nobles would stuff their "down jacket" with feathers from chickens, ducks, and geese, or with silk, while the common people would use hemp, leather, or reed fluff as filling.Nowadays, when purchasing down jackets, it is important to pay attention to the ratio of down, the weight of down, and fluffiness, as these are the three key factors to keep the warmth, and the down itself is the core.

Down jackets are typically filled with duck down and goose down. Ducks and geese live in water and are born with down to cope with the cold environment. Their uropygial gland also secretes oil, which helps keep them warm and isolate the water.

一件长款羽绒服需要大约20只鸭的胸腹部毛才能完成填充，保暖性极高，绝对是冬季抗寒的王者。

It takes the chest and belly down from about 20 ducks to fill a long down jacket, thus providing great warmth, making it the ultimate "thermal gear" in winter.