Furnishing Knowledge

Excavated materials such as inscribed stones and etched illustrations on bricks show that early Chinese home comforts added up to little more than a mat culture. Ancient Chinese knelt or sat cross-legged on woven mats, surrounded by furnishings which included arm-rests (as op-posed to full-scale chairs), low tables and screens.

Examples of excavated lacquer furniture from the ancient kingdom of Chu (circa 500 BC) demonstrate the aesthetic of minimalism and simplicity, though some pieces are decorated with colorful patterns and finely executed carvings in relief and open-work. The blending of artistic form with practical functionalism can be seen as a common thread running throughout the long history of Chinese furniture.

Developments toward high seating were influenced by foreign customs and the migration of Buddhism. During the second century AD, Han emperor Lingdi is recorded to have had a fascination for foreign artifacts, including so-called barbariansÕ seats (huchuang). This term referred to the folding stool, which during Lingdi's time was commonly used by nomadic tribes in China's more remote northern and western regions. Easily carried over the shoulder, these seats quickly became popular with travelers and hunters.

Low platforms were another early form of raised seating, reserved as honorific seats for high officials and religious dignitaries during ceremonial and sacrificial ceremonies. Records from the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) indicate that this platform seating was called ta; while the lengthier chuang (bed) was used both for sitting and reclining.

With the eastward migration of Buddhism from India, chairs and raised platforms began to appear with more frequency as the status-enhancing seats of great masters, along with the custom of disciples gathered around seated on stools. Hourglass-shaped stools made of straw and basketwork also began to appear during the Northern and Southern dynasties (AD386-586). Similarly shaped stools of rattan are still found throughout modern China.

During the transitional mat-to-chair period, kneeling and cross-legged positions on seating platforms was common. Raised platforms also began to function as tables for dining. By the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907), stools and chairs were common among the elite and those of rank. Prototypes of yoke- and round-back chairs appear in contemporary artworks and on wall murals, most depicting the sitter with legs both pendant and crossed.

By the Northern and Southern Song (960-1279) periods, many types of "high" furniture had developed and were commonly used in all circles. Contemporary paintings as well as archeological finds show that tables, chairs, stools and benches with recessed legs were widely used.

Many basic patterns established during the Song dynasties continued to mature throughout the Yuan and Ming periods into beautiful, well-rounded and robust forms that were smoothly finished in thick lacquer coatings, and finely detailed painted decorations. During the late Ming and early Qing periods, furniture in minimal classical style was abundantly produced in durable tropical hardwoods after a ban on imports was lifted in 1567.

The use of these hard, dense woods spawned advancement in joinery techniques, encouraging the creation of open, elegant forms previously unattainable in softer woods. The popularity of this furniture, which often reflected the restrained, elegant tastes of scholars and officials, also spread among the emerging nouveau-riche merchant class.

China again flourished under the benevolent rule of the early Qing emperors. While this dynasty's early furniture makers generally held to classic patterns, a tendency towards refinement emerged, correlating to that which permeated all of the decorative arts. Qianlong's fascination with antiquity stimulated archaistic decoration and styles in furniture design. Qing-style furniture is more angular in form, and the surfaces often elaborately decorated.

Construction

An understanding of joinery and construction makes even the layman more appreciative of Chinese hardwood furniture, as a visit to Beijing's famous red sandalwood museum confirms. To the aesthetically inclined observer, the study of joinery may seem at first an unusual approach, yet the techniques employed play an important part in the overall effect. The animation and harmony experienced when viewing masterpieces is often the result of a unity that lies beneath the surface.

The most widely utilized furniture-making techniques in China include frame-and-panel, recessed-leg, corner-leg and bamboo-style. Timbers used include:

Indigenous Hardwoods and Softwoods	Tropical Hardwoods
Boxwood Burl Camphor Cypress Huaiu(Chinese Locust) Jumu(Zelkova, Southern Elm) Nanmu Oak Walnut Yumu(Northern Elm) Zhazhen	Hongmu Huanghuali Jichimu Tielimu Wumu Zitan
	Miscellaneous
	Decorative Stone Paktong Woven Cane