Furniture

 

 
During the Ming dynasty, Chinese furniture received much greater attention than in previous times. Interior design became a sophisticated practice in which furniture was intended to complement a home. The aesthetic value of tables and chairs was part of the development of specific designs corresponding to specific functions. In addition, construction techniques and materials used were as appreciated as the design of furniture.

What different shapes and sizes of tables can you find in the images on this page? What functions do you think might be specific to different designs?

 

 

 

A Ming dynasty woodblock print

SOURCE:  Fu Xihua, ed. Zhongguo gudian wenxue banhua xuanji. (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1981), vol. 1, p. 207.  Woodblock print from the Ming novel Hong Fu ji.

  Wood block print                                           

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

Notice that in the woodblock prints above, the furniture is bare.

 

The material of these tables is huanghua li or "yellow rosewood."

Why do you think this type of wood was highly favored by Chinese carpenters and homeowners?

 

ANSWER:  Yellow rosewood is very strong and has a clear grain and vivid color.

                                            A Ming dynasty table                                        

SOURCE:  Wang, Shixiang, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, gong gui meishu pian, vol. 11. (Beijing: Xinhua, 1987), 146, plate 73.

Why might the table below be so short?

                                                   A Ming period kang table

SOURCE:  Wang, Shixiang, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, gong gui meishu pian, vol. 11. (Beijing: Xinhua, 1987), 136, plate 159.
ANSWER:  Many such tables with short legs could be picked up and moved onto the high beds typical in Chinese homes. These high beds, called kang, were heated below and so people spent a lot of day time hours on them.

          

If you haven't already looked at the kang and its furniture, click here.
An important feature of much classical Chinese furniture is that it is made without nails. 

If nails were not used, how do you think these tables and chairs might have been constructed?

 

 

                                       Ming dynasty armchairs

SOURCE:  Classical Chinese Furniture. (San Francisco: San Francisco Craft and Folk Museum, 1992), p. 27.  Armchair, huanghuali wood, ca. 17th c. Dimensions: height, 106.5 cm.; length of seat, 55.2 cm.; width of seat, 43.5cm.
ANSWER:  By the Ming period, Chinese furniture makers had developed a highly sophisticated system of joinery, or interlocking wood pieces, such as tongue and groove. Many different kinds of joints evolved that allowed a wide variety of furniture types and shapes. For example, the "giant's arm brace" joined a table top to legs, giving ample leg room while making the table very strong.

Note the similarities and differences between the chairs in the print at right and the chairs above.

How many different types of chairs do you see in the images on this page?

 

High-back chairs as seen in a Ming dynasty woodblock print

SOURCE:  Fu Xihua, ed.Zhongguo gudian wenxue banhua xuanji. (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1981), vol. 1, p. 131.  Woodblock print from the Ming novel Shuang bei ji.

Round drum stool from the Ming dynasty 

SOURCE:  Wang, Shixiang, ed. Zhongguo meishu quanji, gong gui meishu pian, vol. 11. (Beijing: Xinhua, 1987), 114, plate 135.

Ming dynasty woodblock print from the novel A Pair of Fishes

SOURCE:  Fu Xihua, ed. Zhongguo gudian wenxue banhua xuanji. (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1981), vol. 1, p. 212.