Wood Oil Tree 梧桐 wú tóng
Many of us did not really know how our fujian oiled umbrellas were made. We usually complained that they were rather smelly.
Some were lacquered (too expensive), but mostly the paper umbrellas were waterproofed by tung oil.
Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree. Tung oil hardens upon exposure to air, and the resulting coating is transparent and has a deep, almost wet look. Wikipedia
Several trees have been given the general term 同 tòng or tung, including the Parasol tree (Firmiana simplex ➚) and Paulownia imperialis ➚. Because tong also means ‘shared, joint, together’ the tree represents a wish for a shared and peaceful life. As it lives for a long time it also symbolizes longevity. A magpie 喜鹊 xǐ què in a wutong tree symbolizes ‘joy together’ 禧同 xǐtóng.
From a young age, most of us in sibu knew about OIL CLOTH, the way the olden day Chinese water proofed cloth like canvas. Tung oil is used to make oil cloth. It is also used in making linoleum and insulating compounds. It is the only oil in the world that has a Chinese name. It has been accepted in the English language.
Tung oil is also useful in preserving wood.
In China the Tung tree is used to manufacture guqin (a musical instrument). The tree is also associated with the phoenix (people in the past hoped that the auspicious bird would be attracted by the flowers of the tung tree to land on it.)
Interestingly it was the intelligent Marco Polo who brought back tung tree seeds to cultivate in Europe. He mentioned it in his writing.
From a young age, most of us in sibu knew about OIL CLOTH, the way the olden day Chinese water proofed cloth like canvas. Tung oil is used to make oil cloth. It is also used in making linoleum and insulating compounds. It is the only oil in the world that has a Chinese name. It has been accepted in the English language.
Tung oil is also useful in preserving wood.
In China the Tung tree is used to manufacture guqin (a musical instrument). The tree is also associated with the phoenix (people in the past hoped that the auspicious bird would be attracted by the flowers of the tung tree to land on it.)
Interestingly it was the intelligent Marco Polo who brought back tung tree seeds to cultivate in Europe. He mentioned it in his writing.
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