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History
Introduction
China, representing one of the earliest civilizations in the world, has a recorded history of about 3,600 years. It possesses a rich history of antique furniture, which is not only a piece of art, but also an important part of Chinese culture. Just like calligraphy, literature, even philosophy, antique furniture has its own system and various segments. The distinguishing feature of Chinese furniture lies in perfecting the functions of both serving human beings, and expressing the different artistic styles developed in specific times. In general, furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties typically show their exquisite craft value, artistic value, and historical cultural value.
The art of Chinese furniture is constantly developing and recreating itself with the advance of history. The process of its development is one of inheritance and knowledge. Both simple and unsophisticated folk furniture, representing the thoughts and beliefs of the working people, and magnificently decorated carved palace furniture, reflecting the luxurious and extravagant lives of the rulers, are embodiments of the creative wisdom of the working people.
Chronology of Chinese Dynasty
Furniture of the Ming Dynasty
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty. Due to the stable political situation, social economy and overseas trade attained and unprecedented resurgence and development. With frequent economic and cultural exchange with foreign countries, and imports of precious timber form Southeast Asia, a large number of palaces, residential buildings, and gardens were built on an enormous scale. Meanwhile, many scientific and technical books on furniture came into being. All of this helped the development of Ming furniture reach an unparalleled level. The achievements of its modeling art, manufacturing techniques, and functional standards took on a distinctive style and gained an important place among the furniture of the world.
We can see from either existing Ming furniture from paintings and woodcuts of that time that the furniture of the Ming Dynasty was rich in varieties and styles. They were usually arranged symmetrically, for instance one table with two chairs or four stools. Sometimes furniture was arranged freely in accordance with tow chairs of four stools. Sometimes furniture was arranged freely in accordance with the size of the room and requirements of use.
The timber used in Ming Dynasty furniture was of tough quality, high strength, beautiful color and fine grain. The parts were small but of high strength; the shape was simple but could be carved and processed ornately. The frame structure developed in the Song Dynasty advanced to quit a high artistic level in the Ming Dynasty, and this structure, combined with creative new styles and ornaments on the accessory parts, gave Ming furniture a pure and simple, but elegant and delicate style, unique in its complementary use of the hard and the soft.
Furniture of the Qing Dynasty
In 1640, the Ming Dynasty was overthrown and Qing Dynasty was founded. In the early Qing Dynasty, the seeds of developing capitalism were destroyed by various suppressive policies. Furniture at that time tended to follow and inherit the traditional styles of the Ming Dynasty, with no great changes in style or structure. But in the mid-17th century, the Qing economy began to resume and develop to a prosperous stage, flourishing during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. Numerous royal gardens and buildings were constructed, and the private gardens of the nobles competed with each other for beauty. The search for material pleasure and the extremely decadent ideology is clearly reflected in the gaudy interior decoration. The application of precise craftsmanship, along with the absorption of Ming Dynasty furniture structure gave Qing furniture a unique style, distinct form that of the Ming Dynasty. As for structure, stress was laid on stability and impressive manner, and many new types of furniture appeared in the Qing Dynasty, such as the multifunction showcase, and folding and removable tables and chairs.
In the interior arrangement of the furniture of the Qing Dynasty, al long table was usually set in the main hall with a square table in front of it and a wooden lounge chair on each side. The bed was placed on one side of the bedroom with a small long table on each side. Garden furniture was arranged in a symmetrical style. In the middle of the inner hall, a 'kang', or heatable brick bed, was usually used with a desk and music table on each side. Sometimes it was simply replaced with a round table and several stools.
In addition to the above-mentioned Ming/Qing antique furniture, Eastwind also carries the following products and the collection reflects its rich Chinese origin and elegance:
Porcelain
China is famous for its china - porcelain wares. Chinese porcelain wares were and are exported to many nations and acquire high appraisement. Porcelain also experienced a long history in China. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, primitive porcelain wares emerged in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Real porcelain wares appeared in the Han dynasty. In the process of porcelain development, different styles in different periods blossomed.
From the Han dynasty, celadon porcelain and black porcelain were mainly produced. Celadon porcelain continued to develop during the later dynasties. In the late Tang dynasty, celadon porcelain production techniques matured and were manufactured in large scale. At the same time, white porcelain, which appeared in the later Northern and Southern dynasty, reached its peak too.
The Song dynasty, the most important dynasty in Chinese porcelain history, brought prosperity in porcelain production and appreciation. There were many famous kinds and porcelain production and techniques reached an unprecedented height.
During the Yuan dynasty, porcelain industry continued its rapid development. Blue and white porcelain, which emerged in the Tang and Song dynasties, reached its maturity. The blue and white ware was painted with power blue under transparent glaze. So the color was perfectly protected under the hard glaze, enabling long-term use and reserve. Blue and white wares and red-under-glaze wares were successfully produced and rapidly matured, to mark that combination of Chinese painting and porcelain production reached maturity and color-under-glaze porcelain wares developed to a record high.
In the Ming dynasty, blue and white porcelain wares became the main stream of porcelain production. Blue and white ware stepped into its golden era during the Yongle, Xuande and Chenghua reigns. Delicate and thick glaze, various patterns and affluent models are basic features of the Yongle and Xuande porcelain wares. Chenghua wares were delicate and lighted colored, with Chinese ink wash painting flavor. In the late Ming dynasty, blue and white porcelain met another surge during the reigns of Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli.
In the Qing dynasty, blue and white made a great leap forward to radiate its worldwide influence. Among the Qing porcelain wares, those produced in the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong are the most famous.
Pottery
As early as 8,000 years ago, in the Neolithic Age, earthenware, primitive pottery, were invented and produced along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, which has been proved true due to archeological findings. Pottery continued to develop in the successive dynasties. During the Zhou dynasty, pottery wares gained variety of designs and decorations. And faience appeared. Until the Qin dynasty, pottery industry stepped into a new era. The world famous Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses excavated in Xi'an, Shaanxi, astonished archaeologists for the marvelous techniques. Innovations and experimentations went on in later dynasties until in the Tang dynasty another great leap forward was made. The tri-colored pottery appeared! The sharp colored pottery won world reputation. Since in the Tang dynasty, people emphasized luxurious funeral, nice and delicate pottery wares were always served as grave goods, which included pottery officials, dancers, warriors, and animals. During the Ming dynasty, purple clay pottery blossomed. The famous unique pottery, seldom glazed, was and is specially produced in Yixing, Jiangsu, since there's no purple clay in other places. It was and is the favorites of many people in China. The pottery usually maintains artistic beauty and daily use.
Lacquer wares
Chinese lacquer ware has a long history. As early as the New Stone Age, wares coated with black and red lacquers appeared in China. From the Shang dynasty to the Han, colorful painting, gold inlaying and other techniques were introduced into making lacquer ware. The oldest lacquer ware discovered may date back to the Warring State Period (403--221 BC) when lacquer ware was popular.
Chinese lacquer is a natural varnish made from the sap of the lacquer tree. Exposed to air, it forms a plastic coat, resistant to water and acid or alkaline corrosion. To make lacquer ware, a base coat is applied to a core material, followed by extremely thin layers of the finest lacquer. Then another layer is added upon after it dried to make it strong and light, while the lacquer ware looks elegant in appearance and harmonious in color. In the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, lacquer ware production step into floruit. The best-known lacquer ware in China is solid lacquer without any wooden base produced in Fujian Province, which is characterized by its heat, acid and alkali resistant properties.
Silk
The cultivation of the silkworm can be traced back to the 3 rd century BC. It was said that Demigod Leizu, a legendary figure of prehistoric China, started the planting of mulberry trees and raise of silkworms. According to archeological discovery, silk and silk fabrics emerged at least 5,500 years ago. In the Zhou dynasty, special administration was set up to manage sericulture and silk production. From 138 B.C. to 126 B.C., Zhang Qian started his diplomatic mission under imperial order to the west along the famous Silk Road. Gradually, sericulture and silk production techniques spread to many countries. Now, Chinese silk still enjoys high reputation in the world.
Embroidery always accompanies silk and its development. The most famous embroideries in China are Su embroidery in Jiangsu, Xiang embroidery in Hunan, Shu embroidery in Sichuan and Yue embroidery in Guangdong, namely Four Renowned Embroideries.
Cloisonne
Cloisonne, whose history can date back to over 500 years ago, is well-known traditional enamelware. It is actually called the "Blue of Jingtai" as blue is the dominant color adopted for enameling and cloisonne became prevalent during the reign of Jingtai (1450--1456) in the Ming dynasty. Owing to the brilliant color and splendid designs, cloisonne has been highly appraised at home and abroad. Regarding the making of cloisonne, it involves quite elaborate and complicated processes: base-hammering, soldering, enamel-filling, enamel firing, polishing and gilding. Lastly, place the article in gold or silver fluid with changing electric current so as to keep the cloisonne free from rust. Another electroplating and a slight polish are demanded for the exposed parts of the filigree and the metal fringes of the article.
Jade
For thousands of years till now, jade was and is a symbol of love and virtue as well as a status symbol. Ancient Chinese believed jade the essence of Heaven and the Earth, so they carved jade into birds and beasts and worshiped as totems. Jade was also the symbol of power. In the ancient time, only aristocrats could own jade wares. The imperial seal of the Qin dynasty, the first feudal society in China, was made of jade. Furthermore, more noble attributes were given to jade, making it a standard of morality. Confucius even concluded jade had 11 virtues, namely benevolence, fidelity, polite etiquette, wisdom and sincerity, etc. Hence, it was not only a decoration but also a symbol of ethics and norms. Chinese people believed jade had supernatural power. Using jade wares and jade ornaments could resist invasion of evil influence and avoid evil apparitions and secure safety and auspiciousness.
56 Ethnic Minorities
China is a large country famed for its dense population and vast territory. There are altogether 56 Minorities in China, among which 55 are officially recognized ethnic minorities except Han. The defining elements of a minority are language, homeland, and social values. The 53 ethnic groups use the spoken languages of their own; 23 ethnic minorities have their own written languages.
Han Chinese makes up 93 percent of the total. The Han people are found in all parts of the country, but mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Huanghe), Yangtze River (Changjiang) and Pearl River (Zhujiang) rivers and the Northeast Plain. The areas inhabited by the ethnic minorities are mainly in the border regions of the north, northeast, northwest and southwest China. The Han people have its own spoken and written language, known as the Chinese language, which is commonly used throughout China and a working language of the United Nations. The Hui and Manchu ethnic groups also use the Han (Chinese) language.
Most of the 7 percent of the minorities live in the vast areas of the West, Southwest and Northwest. The largest is the 12million-strong Zhuang in southwestern China. Although minorities account for about 7% of the population, they are distributed over some 50% of Chinese-controlled territory, mostly in the sensitive border regions. There are currently five autonomous regions in China. They are Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region founded on May 1, 1947, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region founded on October 25, 1958, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region founded on October 1, 1955, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region founded on March 5, 1958 and Tibet Autonomous Region founded on September 9, 1965.
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