Ancient Chinese chair and its development history

The name of the chair was first seen in the Tang Dynasty, and the image of the chair dates back to the Hu bed that was introduced to the north during the Han and Wei Dynasties. In the wall paintings of Dunhuang Cave 285, there are images of two people sitting on chairs; in the wall paintings of Cave 257 there are women sitting on square stools and cross-legged benches; and the stone carvings of Longmen Lotus Cave have women sitting on round stools. This image vividly reproduces the use of chairs and stools in official and noble families during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Although the seat had the shape of a chair or a stool at that time, people still used to call it "Hu bed" because there was no title of chair or stool. After the Tang Dynasty, the use of chairs gradually increased, and the name of the chair was also widely used, and it was separated from the category of beds. Therefore, when discussing the origin of chairs and stools, we must start with the Hu Chuang in the Han and Wei Dynasties.

Song. Gao Cheng's "Jiyuan of Things" quoted "Fengsutong" as saying: "The Emperor of Han is good at Hufu, and Jingshi made Hufu. This is the beginning, and it is now the top spot." "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty." "Five Elements One": "The Emperor of the Han Dynasty is good at Hufu, Huteng, Hubei, Husi, Hufan..., all the nobles and relatives in Kyoto actually did it." These two records can prove that the appearance of ancient chairs in my country should be in the Han Dynasty. The Ling Emperor period (168-189).

Hu beds were widely used from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The wealthy and powerful people were not only necessary for the living room, but also had to be accompanied by attendants carrying the Hu bed for temporary rest when traveling. Hu Bed was a high-grade variety in the furniture category at that time, and usually only the male owner or distinguished guest was eligible to enjoy it. There are many compliments and vivid descriptions in Fangren Yashi. For example, in the Southern Dynasties Liang Yu Jianwu's "Poem on the Bed" said:

Biography is a foreign domain, and enters the letter Zhongjing.

The shape of the foot is straightened, and the italics are self-leveling.

Lintang vowed to leave for the far traveler.

Under He Ruzi Pavilion, Yanliu Fengshengming.

Due to its morphological characteristics, the Hu bed is also known as "cross bed" and "rope bed". In the Sui Dynasty, it was called "crossing the bed" because the emperor of the Sui Dynasty intended to avoid the character "Hu", and those whose utensils involved the character "Hu" were changed by Xian Ling. Song. Tao's "Qing Yi Lu" said: "Hu's bed turned to pass the foot, put on bandages to accommodate sitting, turned around for a while, and weighed no more than a kilogram. According to legend, the Ming emperor traveled frequently and was driven by his ministers. The body was so creative, and it was called'Happy Sitting' at the time." Hu's bed started without a backrest, just like the Mazar you see today. Backrests began to exist in the Tang Dynasty. This kind of happy sitting is probably a Hu bed with a backrest. Hu Chuang first appeared in the Han Dynasty, hundreds of years before the Emperor Ming of Tang. It is obviously inappropriate to say that it was created for Emperor Ming of Tang. So the creativity mentioned here should refer to the addition of the backrest. The Hu bed was popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially in the Song Dynasty. However, the number of people who called Hu bed gradually increased during the Song Dynasty.

The Hu bed with backrest originated from the Emperor Ming Dynasty of Tang Dynasty, and can also be inscribed from the "Jidu Temple Beihai Altar Sacrificial Vessels and Miscellaneous Objects" of the Tang Dynasty. This is confirmed in the record of "Stele Yin", which reads: "Ten rope beds, four chairs inside". From this record, we can see that the name of the chair was already in the first year of Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty. The "ten rope beds with four chairs inside" mentioned here means that four of the ten rope beds are chairs that can be leaned on. Obviously, it is to distinguish it from the other six rope beds without backrest. It can be seen that although the name of the chair has appeared, it is common furniture in daily life, but it has not been completely separated from the concept of bed. In the classics of the Tang Dynasty, it is still common to call chairs as beds. Du Fu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Youth Xing." "The Seven Wonders" wrote:

Immediately someone white-faced man got off the horse and sat down on the bed facing the street.

Unknown name is very rough, so he points out the silver bottle and asks for wine to taste.

Although the bed mentioned here does not reflect whether it is a chair with a backrest, it is definitely not a bedding for sleep.

"Chair" is also used as "reliance". The origin is earlier, but it does not refer to chairs for people to sit on. It was originally the name of a tree, also known as "Mountain Tongzi" and "Water Melon". Wood can be used for furniture.

There is another interpretation of the word "chair" before the Tang Dynasty, which is referred to as "beside the car", that is, the fence of the car. Its role is to rely on people when riding in a car. Later chairs, in the form of a fence mounted on a four-legged platform, were inspired by the fence next to the car, and the seat was called the "chair" according to its name. Judging from the existing data, the Tang Dynasty already has quite a chair. For example, in Lang Yuling’s "Statues of Emperors of Successive Dynasties", the chair on which Emperor Taizong of Tang was sitting had four straight legs, waist waist, upper antagonal teeth, and edges and corners. ". On the sitting surface, four pillars are erected at the rear, the middle two pillars are slightly higher, and curved beams are installed on the upper part. The two ends are partially carved into dragon heads. The armrests are turned forward from the rear center pillar through the side pillars and are placed on the front pillars. The space between the armrest and the sitting surface is used as an insert ring. The end of the armrest is also carved into a dragon head, which is integrated with the back. The sitting surface is cushioned and backed. This should be a very refined chair at the time. The chair depicted in Lu Lengsong's "Six Sovereigns" in the Tang Dynasty is more representative. It uses four bells instead of four legs, and the two sides are connected by horizontal bars. The front pillar of the armrest and the side pillar of the chair are rounded with lotus flowers, and the armrests and bases. The brain is arched up, both ends are upturned and decorated with lotus flowers. The lotus is drooping with beaded tassels, and the overall shape is solemn and luxurious. The furniture inlaid with gold and jade embodies the dignity and sacredness of the monks in the temples at that time.

From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, tall seats were unprecedentedly popular, and the types of chairs also increased, with back chairs, armchairs, armchairs, etc. appearing. At the same time, the shape, material and function of the chair are also different according to the different levels of dignity and inferiority.

Furniture from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty largely retains the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, but high-end furniture is more popular than before.

The use of tall furniture has become fashionable among the folks, and tall tables and chairs are necessary for homes, which can be seen in the paintings of the time. For example, the small shops in Zhang Zeduan's "Shanghe on the Qingming Festival" in the Song Dynasty display all kinds of tall furniture. The armchair depicted in the Song Dynasty "Huichang Jiulao Tu" is also of no variety in previous generations. In the Song Dynasty tombs excavated in recent years, there are also furniture models made of stone and pottery, or various types of furniture made of bricks or carved on the walls of the tomb. Among them, the scene of the tomb owner and his wife sitting on a chair is the most common. For example, the stone chair fragments unearthed in Henan City, the brick table and chairs in the tomb of the Song tomb of Shizhuang No.7 in Jingjing County, Hebei, the table and chairs in the mural of the tomb of Shizhuang No. The brick carving furniture and so on. This shows that the height of the chair is not only in people’s daily life.