[smile]
History

Barbie – From dress-up doll to 20th century legend
Barbie is the modern version of a dress-up or fashion doll
from centuries past. History has shown that small
figurines did exist even in the ancient world; it has, however,
not been established whether they were used as toys in the
traditional sense. More likely, they served as cult and ritual
objects. Medieval dolls, called “Docken” in their time,
were reflections of the adult world, and continued to be
until the end of the 19th century. This is particularly evident
in the German and French porcelain head dolls.
Baby dolls did not become popular until the early 20th
century. The original purpose of these dolls, however, was
not mere child’s play, but playful teaching – preparing the
child for the grown-up task of raising children and
keeping house.

芭比娃娃——从打扮娃娃到20世纪之传奇

芭比娃娃是由数个世纪以前的打扮娃娃或时装玩偶演变而来的现代版本。据史料记载，小人雕像在古时候已经存在；然而，他们的用途是否为传统意义上的玩具则尚无定论。更大程度上，他们被用作宗教仪式中的物品。中世纪的玩偶在当时被称作“Docken”，是成人世界的缩影，这种用途一直延续至19世纪末期，这在德国和法国的瓷脑袋娃娃身上可见一斑。直到20世纪初玩偶才流行起来。然而，这些娃娃的最初用途却远不止是儿童玩具，而是一种寓教于乐——为孩子打好基础，以便承担养育子女和持家的重任。