15. Who invented the umbrella?There are many different opinions. Some people say that the people of ancient Egypt invented it, some say the Romans invented it and some say Luban's wife invented it in ancient China. There's even an interesting story about its invention in China.
Luban was the most famous craftsman (工匠) in ancient China. One day, Luban and his wife were taking a walk and enjoying the beautiful view. Suddenly it began to rain. Both of them were soaked when they got back home. Luban's wife said, " If there is something that can protect people from the rain when they are walking outdoors, it will be wonderful." Then Luban said, "That's easy. I will build many pavilions (亭子). His wife replied, "That's a good idea, but it is not convenient. Is it possible to make a movable (可移动的) pavilions, which could always follow the people?" She thought all day and all night. One day, she saw some kids playing in the rain, and each kid held a big lotus leaf (荷叶) over the head to protect themselves from getting wet. That gave her a great idea. Then, she made the first umbrella in ancient China.
Since the umbrella was invented, it has been part of people's life in every corner of the world. Right now, there are many kinds of umbrellas, such as beach umbrellas, kids umbrellas and market umbrellas.
How many umbrellas are made every year in the world?Maybe millions or even more. One interesting thing is that most umbrellas in the world are made in China. Shangyu in Zhejiang Province alone has more than 1. 000 umbrella factories and it is called "China Umbrella City"