The lifebuoy originated from the gourd. The lifebuoy is a tool for people to survive when they are in distress on the water. For swimming in the summer, people often like to wear a lifebuoy. Newcomers like to swim with it. Seafarers who are familiar with water always have to keep a few lifebuoys on each boat when they go to sea. In the past, some people thought that the lifebuoy was introduced from Europe and the United States. In fact, the lifebuoy was created by us.

As early as two to three thousand years ago, there was a "life buoy", which was dried gourd. According to Mr. Guo Moruo’s explanation, it is “to cross the river with gourds and melons”. The “Book of Songs” also says that “there are bitter leaves, "There is a lot of deep involvement", Mr. Wen Yiduo translated this record in the "Book of Songs" as: "The leaves are slapped, and the gourd is also dried. You can choose to use it as a waist boat." We think the meaning of these two poems It means that holding the dried gourd can make the body float on the water surface without drowning. This gourd is the original life-saving equipment. Later, most ships sailing on the sea carried gourds to prevent accidents. It can be seen that the ancient people used dried gourd gourd floating water to cross the river, which was a primitive life preserver.

In the Song Dynasty, the method of making lifebuoys took a big step forward. Some people began to weave soft woods, reeds, etc. into a ring object so that people could go in and make the ring support the body. This ring lifebuoy was better than Gourd melon is much more convenient, and it has become a veritable life-saving "ring". Song people called it a "floating ring." According to the book "Song Barnyard Collection", Han Shizhong, a famous anti-jin general in the Song Dynasty, once sent his royal power to Jinshan to resist The enemy, before leaving, Han Shizhong ordered him not to cross the river by boat, so as not to be discovered by the enemy. So the king issued a round floating ring made of cork to each native soldier, and asked them to tie the floating ring around their waists to cross the river. The soldiers crossed the river quietly under the leadership of the king. The Jinren didn't know it at all, and they were raided and wiped out. The floating ring used by the royal power at that time was the predecessor of the modern lifebuoy.

In modern times, with the application of new technologies and new materials, various life-saving equipment have appeared: lifeboats, life jackets, everything is complete. However, the traditional equipment of lifebuoy is still reserved and used by people, and it is still a simple life-saving tool. When sailing, the seafarers still put the lifebuoy on conspicuous places such as the deck of a ship, and painted the lifebuoy in two colors of red and white. Some of the lifebuoys are also equipped with self-illuminating floating lights, so whether it is day or night , The location of the person who fell into the water is easy to identify, and the rescued ship can track the signs, rush to the accident location, and rescue the person who is struggling with the waves.