Beds

 

 

 

 

 

Before the Ming dynasty, most fine furniture was made of lacquered softwoods. In the Ming hardwood furniture became more and more fashionable. Most of the highly desired wood for furniture came from South East Asia. As hardwood furniture was more durable, most of the examples of classical Chinese furniture that now exist come from the Ming period or later.

How does this canopy bed differ from the one seen below?

 

A woodblock print from a Ming dynasty novel showing a woman relaxing in her bed.

SOURCE:  Chang Bide, ed. Mingdai banhua xuan (Taibei: Guoli zhongyang tushuguan, 1969), vol. 2, plate 146.  Woodblock print from Wusao ji.

 

 

How would sleeping in this bed differ from sleeping on a kang?

 

To see a bed of this sort still in use in a peasant household in the 1980s, click here.  [In the guide, below]

Ming bed with table

SOURCE:  Wang, Shixiang, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, gong gui meishu pian, vol. 11. (Beijing: Xinhua, 1987), 169.
A bed in the 1980s:
SOURCE:  China Reconstructs 33.7 (July 1984), p. 9. Their caption: Herbal broth for a patient. Photo by Zhou Youma.

Below is a picture of a Ming Dynasty "Luohan bed." This piece of furniture might be placed in a reception hall or in a studio for relaxation during the day. A kang table could be used on top of it for enjoying refreshments.

Why are the back and sides carved in an open-work pattern?

ANSWER:  Carving allows air to circulate (particularly warm air if it faces away from a kang). It also has aesthetic appeal, since the carving makes this bench appear lighter than if it were a solid piece of wood.

Ming dynasty luohan bed

SOURCE:  Wang, Shixiang, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, gong gui meishu pian, vol. 11 (Beijing: Xinhua, 1987), 164, plate 196.

 

 

Certain kinds of beds such as the one seen to the right resemble platforms more than beds.



What would be the advantage
of such a piece of furniture?

A Ming Dynasty woodblock print showing a man on a daybed

SOURCE:  Chang Bide, ed. Mingdai banhua xuan (Taibei: Guoli zhongyang tushuguan, 1969), vol. 1, no plate #.  Woodblock print from Wu Yan tangshi huapu.