What are the differences in interior furnishing design styles between Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties? Urgent use
A clear line should be drawn between the Tang and Song Dynasties in Chinese interior furnishings. There is a lot of content, so the word limit can only give a rough idea.
P238-P258 of "General History of Chinese Customs in Qin and Han Dynasties" specifically introduces the interior furnishings of the Qin and Han Dynasties: the interior types of furniture include cabinet furniture, couch furniture, table furniture, bedding, barrier furniture and miscellaneous items. appliances. (Qin and Han people like to sit on couches, which can be used for sitting or sleeping. The couches are about the same height as today’s coffee tables. In addition, people in Qin and Han Dynasties paid special attention to the Feng Shui of buildings, even higher than the practical value of the buildings themselves. In addition, building houses in Qin and Han Dynasties was generally It has one hall and two rooms, and is not built together with other houses)
In the Han Dynasty, the entire Han Dynasty was in a period of rising feudal society, and China's feudal society entered its first heyday. The development of productivity has led to significant progress in architecture and craft furniture, and furniture craftsmanship has made great progress in the Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, in addition to the large-scale construction of palaces, temples, and mausoleums, gardens and private gardens for nobles and bureaucrats also appeared. Their construction and rise simultaneously promoted the development of furniture. It is not only another prosperous period in the history of ancient Chinese architecture, but also a period of great development of low-profile furniture in our country. On the basis of inheriting the lacquer decoration of the Warring States Period, lacquer wood furniture entered its heyday, not only in large quantities and varieties, but also in the decoration technology. The outstanding decoration of lacquer wood furniture in the Han Dynasty makes the lacquer wood furniture in the Han Dynasty bright and exquisite. In addition, there are various jade furniture, bamboo furniture and ceramic furniture, etc., forming a complete furniture series for floor living. At that time, people sat on the floor, and the furniture used was generally low-profile, such as mats, lacquer tables, lacquer tables, etc. It can be used anywhere and has no fixed location. It can be regarded as the representative period of low-profile furniture in China. The main characteristics of furniture during this period are: (1) Most furniture is low. (2) The beginning of the evolution from low type to high type has begun to appear. (3) Soft cushion appears. (4) Furniture is made from a wide range of materials. Specifically, the characteristics of the interior furnishing pattern and furniture design, production, and materials used during the Qin and Han Dynasties are:
1. Living style centered on bed collapse
Various rooms in the house The basic functions and furniture layout can be seen in many residential architectural utensils, tomb murals and portrait stones of the Han Dynasty. We can understand the functions and functions of residential interiors at that time from the panel doors, lattice windows, curtains inside the windows, wooden clothes drying racks in the courtyard, and the tomb murals and portrait stones depicting scenes of life in the residences. Furnishings.
About the late Eastern Han Dynasty, with the frequent exchanges with other countries in the Western Regions, a small number of nomadic people from the north entered the Central Plains, breaking the relative isolation between countries. The Hu bed was imported from Xicheng and gradually became popular. The so-called Hu bed is a horse bed that can be opened or closed, easy to carry, and foldable. Later, it was developed into foldable mazaar, high chair, etc., and more importantly, it laid the foundation for later people to "sit with their feet down". There is a saying in the "Old Biography of Yidu Qi" that "we saw the beard on the bed and sat down with our feet hanging down". According to the "Taiping Yulan" record: "Emperor Ling liked the bed."
Beds and couches are different in function and form. The bed is slightly higher than the couch and wider than the couch, and can sit or lie down; The couch is lower than the bed and narrower than the bed, and can be used for sitting alone or for two people. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was only used for sitting, but later evolved into a chair for sitting and lying down. Liu Xi's Shi Ming, Shi Bed, Tent, said: "A place where people sit and lie down is called a bed, so it is loaded and unloaded by oneself. A couch that is long, narrow and humble is said to be close to the ground. A small person sits alone and has no owner." Second, it is a place to sit alone. "
The bed developed greatly during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the bed began to develop into high-end styles. The old biography of Yidu Qi said: "Every time the governor sits on a high bed, he will set up a single mat on the ground for his business."
There are also larger couches. "Three Kingdoms Wu Zhi Lu Su Biography" records: "Zhou Yu recommended Su and Sun Quan to talk with each other very much. All the guests left, but Yin Su returned alone, and they shared the couch with each other to discuss world affairs in secret."
From the murals, portrait bricks, portrait stones, lacquer paintings, silk paintings, sculptures, and engravings of the Qin and Han Dynasties, it can be inferred that the bed was one of the most commonly used furniture at that time.
"The Biography of Xu Zhi in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "Chen Fan was the prefect and did not receive guests. Only when (Xu) came, he set up a special couch and left it hanging."
In the mural of the Han Tomb in Wangdu, Hebei Province, the "Master Chronicle" and the "Master Book" each sit on the same couch. The two couches are similar in shape and size. There is a curved curve between the legs, and the couch surface is covered with mats.
The stone lintel unearthed from the Dagualiang Han Tomb in Suide, Shaanxi Province mainly shows people sitting on small couches with people kneeling in front of them. On the portrait stones of the Han Tombs in Honglou Village and Maocun, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, there is a depiction of a person sitting alone on a couch. On the portrait stones of the Eastern Han Dynasty Tomb in Shilipu, Xuzhou, there are three people kneeling and one person sitting on a couch. The Han Dynasty couch unearthed in Dancheng, Henan Province is rectangular with four legs, 875 mm long, 720 mm wide and 190 mm high. The cross-section of the legs and feet is rectangular and there are arc curves between the legs. There is an official script engraved on the couch: "The old doctor of the Han Dynasty, the great master of Changshan, Wang Jun, sits on the couch."
Beds have become popular, and their decoration has also quietly heated up. "Shi Ming" contains: "The tent is Zhang Ye, Zhang Xuan is also on the bed." It can be seen that bed tents were first used on beds in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Curtains were installed in winter to avoid the heat, and mosquito nets were installed in summer to avoid flies.
Screens during the Qin and Han Dynasties were often used in conjunction with beds. There are screens on the side to highlight the order, and cooperate with the architectural partitions to block the wind, shield, divide and beautify the indoor space, thereby creating a quiet and stable spatial area atmosphere and effect. The couch screen is a new variety that combines screens and couches, marking the birth of new furniture in the Han Dynasty. There is a "Screen Inscription" by Li You of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "If you leave it, you will hide it; if you use it, you will set up a screen; if you stand it, you will be upright. You must be honest and honest. You must resist fog and dew. Provide the top to cover the bottom without losing the extraordinary." A few short sentences, Describes the state of the screen at that time.
It can be seen from the decorative graphics of the bronze mirrors of the Han Dynasty that the screens of the Han Dynasty were mostly two-sided and three-sided. ("Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" records: "...Mica screens, glazed screens, and treasure tents were placed in Gui Palace, which people at the time called the Four Treasures Palace.") "side treasure screens" and so on.
The interior furnishings in the Tang Dynasty are almost the same as the traditional Japanese lifestyle seen on TV today. People in the Tang Dynasty liked to kneel directly on the floor when receiving guests. Some people in the Tang Dynasty drank tea before meals and drank alcohol after meals. If not During meal time, only fruits or snacks will be given, not tea.
P177-P231 of "General History of Chinese Customs in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties" focuses on the architecture and interior furnishings of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Sui and Tang Dynasties were different from the Han Dynasty. People in the Tang Dynasty were keen on building courtyard houses, and they liked to use the central axis and symmetrical distribution. While building houses, the Tang people also paid attention to health care. For example: "What is peace, it is called Feihuatang Shuiyu." , also known as heavy yin and wide couch. If you sit facing south and sleep with your head east, the yin and yang are moderate, with half light and dark. ”
There were many kinds of furniture in the Tang Dynasty, and the rich and poor were different. The important ones are: curtains, curtains, and tents, which were important shelters and screens in this period. There were lichen on the ground and mats decorating the floor. (I guess it won’t hurt so much if you kneel down this way). Indoor rope bed (a chair with a backrest that you can lie down on), chairs. Lamps and candles (people in the Tang Dynasty paid special attention to this thing, and they liked to use candles to show off their wealth.) Other wells Bars, medicine mortars, food cabinets, sinks, cauldrons, pots and urns are all basically available in every household. The most important thing is the cabinets. People in the Tang Dynasty liked to kneel in front of the cabinets. Some of the cabinets were large, some expensive. Furniture in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is still divided into seven categories, namely seating furniture, bedding furniture, supporting furniture, table furniture, screen furniture and rack furniture. >Picture 11 Three-color pottery collapse (Tang Dynasty Tomb in Xi'an) 2 Sitting alone on a small couch (Dunhuang) 3 Four-year-old official hat chair (Dunhuang) 4 Armchair (Yang Yao's restoration based on Tang Dynasty's "Palace Picture") 5 Three-color money chest (Xi'an Tang Dynasty) Tomb) 6 chairs (Mural paintings of Tang Tomb in Xi'an) 7 round chairs (Tang Dynasty's "Lady with a Wan Fan") 8 Picture of a Lady with a Wand Fan (Moon-shaped Pedestal) 9 square stools (Wei Xian's "Picture of Gao Shi") 10 long tables and benches (Tomb Gao Cave) Mural in Cave 473) 11 Screen, case, table, armchair ("Book Survey" by Wang Qihan of the Five Dynasties) 12 Square table (Mural in Cave 85 of Tomb Gao Grottoes) 13 Bed in the residence (Mural of Cave 217 of Tomb Gao Grottoes) 14 Table , backrest chairs, and concave beds (Gu Hongzhong's "Han Xizai's Night Banquet")
Seating furniture
The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties had a rich variety of seating furniture, and many new varieties appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In an era where people sit with their feet coexisting, the seats that continue to develop and the new ones that appear are mainly designed to accommodate the people who sit with their feet hanging down, such as stools, couches, couches, chairs, etc.
Stools and seats. The small stool with four legs and eight handles is seen in the Dunhuang murals. The square stool is seen in the murals of the tomb of Prince Zhanghuai and the paintings of Wei Xian in the Five Dynasties.
Dunhuang murals from the Tang Dynasty also depict wedding scenes with wide-body bar stools for multiple people to sit together. There is also a round stool with a round sitting surface and stool legs underneath, which is used by painted pottery illustrated singing figurines unearthed from Tang tombs in the western suburbs of Xi'an. At this time, a new type of sitting device with semicircular flat surface called "moon-shaped pedestal" with vertical legs appeared. In Tang Dynasty paintings, such as "Lady with Fan", "Tuning Qin and Sipping Tea", "Palace in the Palace" and "Tangling Lian" It can be seen on the picture (Figure 2).
The hooves are made of bamboo and rattan and are round in shape. They appeared in Buddhist activities during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and were popular among upper-class families in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. A three-color mirror-holding figurine unearthed from the Tang Dynasty tomb of Wangjiafeng in Xi'an is sitting on such a hooves. It is shaped like a waist and drum, with rope-like patterns on the upper and lower ends and waist. From the Quan Ti to the Five Dynasties, it evolved into various types of embroidered piers (Figure 3).
Hu bed, or Mazha, continued to be popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Numerous unearthed models and murals show that most of the independent sitting couches in the Sui and Tang Dynasties were of the single-door style. There is also a kind of couch that can accommodate multiple people, which was called "Changlian Bed" in the Tang Dynasty. For example, the two monks sitting on the same couch in Cave 196 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
The chair, which has been exposed to some information during the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, was already popular in the middle and late Tang Dynasty at the latest. At that time, it was often called a "rope bed", which was especially necessary for monks and nuns to meditate and preach. Bai Juyi's poem said: "Sitting on the rope bed and thinking to myself, I should have been a poet monk in my previous life." Li Bai's poem also said: "My master leaned on the rope bed after he was drunk, and in an instant he swept away thousands of them." This kind of seat can be used to sit or lean on. It's actually a chair. Later, there is a chair with a backrest in "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" by Gu Yanzhong of the Five Dynasties. "Old Tang Book. Mu Zong's Benji" records: "In the 12th month of Xinmao in the second year of Changqing, I saw all the ministers in the Zichen Hall, and they were holding a large rope bed." This large-scale rope bed used exclusively by the emperor may be the throne.
The armchair appeared in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, with an ancient and clumsy shape, which can be seen in "Picture of a Lady Fanning Vertically" and "Picture in the Palace".
Bedding
Bedding in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was still mainly beds and Kangs.
The four-legged bed is a general bed type. One was unearthed from the Astana Tang Tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang. It is 2900 mm long, 1000 mm wide and 500 mm high. It is made of local tamarisk and covered with wicker. The colored Buddhist biographies in Dunhuang scriptures from the Tang Dynasty (hidden in the British Museum) depict the scene of the souls of the sick and the dead ascending to heaven, and depict a four-legged bed, which is the same as the wooden bed unearthed in Xinjiang.
The Yimen bed is a high-end bed and a representative type of furniture in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The mural of Sui Dynasty Tomb No. 1 in Yingshan, Jiaxiang, Shandong Province shows Xu Shilang and his wife sitting on a bed with a single door. There is a screen behind the bed, and the maids on both sides stand there. In front of the bed there are straight bars and footrests. The two of them lean on the silk bags and watch the acrobatics and dances. The gate is clear and clear, and the upper curve is a small continuous arc, connecting the steep arcs on both sides, making the bend powerful. The bed frame is thick, the lower part is made of lightweight mud, and the shape is very charming. The Yimen bed became more mature in the Tang Dynasty. The Yimen's curves were simple and powerful, and the overall shape became more symmetrical and stretched. The medical picture found in Cave 217 of the Tang Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes shows a noble lady sitting on a bed at the gate, with a maid holding a baby beside her, waiting for the doctor to diagnose her illness. On the Dunhuang colored biography of the Buddha, there is a picture of Lady Maya dreaming that the Buddha was born on an elephant at night, and the lady was lying on the bed at the gate. The Yimen bed is very large and takes up a lot of indoor space, and all daily activities are carried out on the bed. "Tang Shu. Biography of Princess Tongchang" records: "In the ninth year of Xiantong, Princess Tongchang came out and settled in Guanghuali. She made crystal, fire, glass, tortoise hat and other beds, all of which were decorated with golden tortoises and silver moats." "Best Stories from the Sui and Tang Dynasties": "In the middle of the night, Emperor Taizong heard that the princes were rebelling, so he got up and walked around the bed, urgently summoning them to catch them by surprise." The beds used should all be Yimen beds.
North of the Yellow River, winter is cold, and it is even colder in the Northeast. Most people do not use beds but use kangs. "Old Book of Tang Dynasty. Biography of Goryeo" records: "In the winter months, long pits are made, with warm fires burning underneath for warmth." Although the record is short, it has universal significance. The kang burns coal or grain and is used for both heating and cooking.
Supports
The Sui and Tang Dynasties were in a period when high and low types of supports coexisted alternately. The low-type bearings inherit the mature cases and tables of the Han and Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tall types, such as high tables and high cases, are in the process of being produced and improved, and their number is not yet large.
Low-type supports are used for sitting on the floor. They are low, about 350 to 500 mm high. They were still widely used in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, such as low tables, low tables with raised heads, etc. (Figure 4).
High-type supports are used when sitting or standing with the legs down. They are higher, about 650-880 mm. They were created and developed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. New varieties such as tables, like chairs, are of great importance to It will have a big impact in the future.
The mural of the Lankavatara Sutra in Cave 85 of the late Tang Dynasty in the Mogao Grottoes shows two square tables with the same structure. Both are square table tops with one leg at each corner, directly on the ground. There are no gaps between the legs and the shape is simple. No decoration, focus on functionality. Judging from the proportions of the butcher and the dog in the picture, the height of the table is about 800 mm, making it the earliest image of a square table to date.
Dunhuang Tang Dynasty murals of Maitreya's Rebirth and Marriage Sutra often depict banquet scenes: a table is placed in the middle of the curtain, with curtains hanging on all sides. The table is covered with cups, plates, spoons and chopsticks, and men and women sit separately on the left and right. , based on the dimensions shown, the table is approximately 2500 to 3200 mm long. This table is used in conjunction with a bench. It is a tall long table, but the leg structure is not visible due to the table legs. However, the structure of the long table painted in some murals is very clear, with four straight legs standing under the table and no gaps between the legs. Its simplicity is the same as the square table painted in the murals. There was no word for "table" in the Tang Dynasty, and it might have been called "table" at that time. In the 13th year of Tang Zhenyuan's "Sacrificial Utensil Stele of Beihai Altar in Jidu Temple", it is recorded: "Two oil painting tables. One side is five feet, one side is eight feet. One small table." One foot of Tang ruler is about 300 millimeters, so the above-mentioned table One is 1500 mm and the other is 2400 mm, which seems to refer to the length and should be a long table.
The Vimalakīrti Sutra in Cave 103 of the Mogao Grottoes during the Tang Dynasty shows Vimalakīrti sitting on a small couch with a raised tent and a screen, holding a crotch tail and leaning on an arc-shaped table. The table in front of the couch is quite high. To distinguish it from the low-type table, it is tentatively called the high table. This high table is painted very carefully. The sides are made of four wooden boards, with clear brown wood grains painted on them, and raised heads at both ends. The curved gate feet on both sides are curved upward and straight downward, arranged densely, with horizontal tangerines touching the ground below. This picture vividly illustrates that the height of the tables increases with the height of the seats. There is no real Goji from the Tang Dynasty in China, but there is a Goji from the Tang Dynasty collected by Nara Shosoin in Japan. It is different from Cave 103 of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in that it has a straight gate foot. It cannot be ruled out that it was brought back from China by Tang monks. thing.
The handed down painting "Palace Music Picture" depicts a banquet scene in the Tang Dynasty. There is a large door case in the middle, with two women sitting on moon-shaped pedestals on each side, and two women on each side. A vacant mooncake. The case is rectangular, painted in a square mesh pattern, with large edges and troweled ends. The corners are rectangular and decorated with copper corner flowers. There are three holes in the front of the case, and judging from the number of people, there should be six holes in the side. There are intersecting mud supports near the ground. Draw a gate curve on the force-bearing member to indicate that the force-bearing member and the die plate have not yet separated. Because it was used in the palace, its shape and paint decoration are quite luxurious. The large Yimen couch in the "Northern Qi School Book" written by Yan Li of the Tang Dynasty has a similar structure and shape to this large case.
The Yimen Grand Case evolved from the couches and beds of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and matured in the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen from paintings and murals that furniture with door panels was widely used in the Tang Dynasty. It was not only used for large cases, small cases, and double-layer cases, but also for seats and leather goods. It was still used in the Five Dynasties and continued in the Song Dynasty. It was replaced by a new, simpler, labor-saving and material-saving beam-column structure.
Ping utensils
Ping utensils of the Sui and Tang dynasties followed the customs of the Han, Southern and Northern Dynasties, including straight ping jis, curved ping jis and hidden pouches.
Excavated from the tomb of Zhangsheng in Sui Dynasty in Anyang, Henan, there is a straight-shaped model with a trapezoidal cross-section. The legs and the bottom are connected into a "mountain" shape, and there are two string patterns in the middle. The shape of the Tang Dynasty pieces in the Shosoin collection in Japan is roughly similar to this. A wooden pedestal was unearthed from the Astana Tang Tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang (the archaeological report mistakenly identified it as a musical instrument), with lacquer paintings on it. It is the only physical object of the Sui and Tang dynasty pedestal in China so far. Several sides are in the shape of a straight line, and the two ends are painted into arcs. The wooden body is painted with colorful paint and embedded with screws. The upper border is divided into seven parts. The paint decoration on both ends has fallen off. The five central parts are still clearly distinguishable, with painted flowers and broken branches. Flowers and soaring birds. The middle part of the legs is thinner, the upper and lower ends are enlarged into square shapes, and there is a bottom under the legs. The two ends of the bottom are rounded, which is almost the same shape as the Tang Dynasty pedestal in the collection of Shosoin in Japan.
The arc-shaped Pingji originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was mostly popular in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It was still used in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but it was nearing its end. A ceramic curved model was unearthed from the tomb of Zhang Sheng in the Sui Dynasty in Henan Province. The curved handrail has a trapezoidal cross-section and the three-curved legs are animal legs. The Shanxi Provincial Museum has a stone carving of Tianzun from the seventh year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (719). It holds a fan and whisk in its right hand, and holds a curved support with its left hand. The legs are curved swans, which shows its use. The mural of Vimalakirti in Cave 203 of the early Tang Dynasty in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang shows Vimalakīrti sitting on a small couch with a gate, covered with a tent, holding a crotch tail in his right hand, with an arc-shaped stand in front of him, and his legs are also in the shape of animal legs. .
The hidden bag is a giant pillow. The Sui and Tang Dynasties inherited the "spotted silk hidden bag" from the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with no major changes. The mural of Sui Tomb No. 1 in Yingshan, Jiaxiang, Shandong Province shows the tomb owner Xu Shilang and his wife sitting on a door-style bed, with the woman leaning on a hidden bag behind her. Its size and shape are the same as those in "Gao Yi Tu" by Sun Wei of the Tang Dynasty. "Gao Yi Tu" depicts Shan Tao, Wang Rong, Liu Ling and Ruan Ji. Shan and Ruan both leaned on the hidden bag. Wang Wei's poem (for Zhang Qi) also mentioned the hidden bag: "If you don't chase the knights in the east of the city, you can sit and play chess with the hidden bag in a gauze hat." The hidden bag used by ordinary people is relatively simple, called "cloth bag". Volume 4 of "Xu Xuan Wei Lu" says: "The slanting moon was still bright, and there was an old man sitting on the steps leaning on a cloth bag, checking the book to the moon."
(A silver case from the Tang Dynasty unearthed from Famen Temple in Fufeng)
Utensils
Bamboo is mostly used for utensils in the south, such as hoods, cupboards, boxes, and cages; wood is mostly used in the north, such as boxes, cabinets, boxes, and coffins. Due to different material selections, the processing techniques are also different, and the shapes are also different.
Tang Dynasty boxes were available in three types: wood, bamboo, and leather, with rectangular and square tops. The eight-layered treasure letter (silver box) unearthed from Famen Temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province, has the outer layers of the ziding style (Figure 5).
Made of bamboo or reed, it is a rectangular container used to hold clothes, calligraphy and paintings, and food. Volume 4 of "New Accounts of the Tang Dynasty" says: "In the Celestial Dynasty, the monk Jingman of Luquan Temple in Hengzhou was very lofty, and all the monks were jealous of him. There was a secret painting of a woman sitting in a high building, with Jingman drawing a bow and shooting, and he hid it in a sutra tube. His disciple Yi Que told him. "Jiahua of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" records that Yu Shinan said: "In the past, Ren Yansheng was good at talking about scriptures, and he was called the Five Classics Tube."
The cabinets in the Sui and Tang Dynasties were mostly made of wood. The body is usually placed horizontally, with cabinets on the outside to support it. It has different names such as wardrobe, bookcase, money cabinet, etc. The difference between cabinets and boxes and boxes is that they are larger in size. "Kaihe Ji" says: "In the great cause, the Bianqu canal was opened. When the river was opened, Uncle Ma, the guardian of the river, planned to provide food for the children. ... People in cities and villages who had children would put wooden cabinets, wrap the seams with iron, and put them there every night. There is a lock in the cabinet. The whole family is guarding it with candles. "Chao Ye Qian Zai" and "Youyang Zazu" both record similar stories about people hiding in the cabinet.
Bookcases are also called “collection cabinets”. Bai Juyi's poem "Inscribed on a Collection Cabinet" says: "Broken cypress is used as a bookcase, and the cypress cabinet is strong and strong. Who collects and stores the collection? The title goes to Bai Letian. ... It opens and locks itself, and is placed in front of the book curtain." Some bookcases Filled with jewels and jade, "Du Yang Zabian" says: "In the first year of Emperor Wuzong's Huichang reign, Bohai commissioned an agate cabinet, three feet square, as dark as acacia, and made with incomparable craftsmanship. It was used to place books written by gods and placed on the side of the tent. "Tang rulers are divided into large and small rulers. According to "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty", the daily ruler is the large ruler. One ruler is approximately 296 millimeters, and the length and width of a three-foot square cabinet are approximately 890 millimeters each.
There are also records about money chests in the literature. "Tang Shu" records: "Wang Gongrong has no great ambitions, but only plays with gold and silk treasures. It is a large cabinet with a hole in it to receive objects. The couple sleeps on it." It can accommodate two people sleeping on it, which shows that it is very large. . "Opening a hole on the top" means opening a small hole on the top of the cabinet for putting coins. A three-color glazed money chest was unearthed from the Tang tomb of Wangjiafeng in Xi'an, consisting of six boards. The two side panels are slightly higher than the cabinet surface, and both ends are decorated with triangles. There is a small door in the middle of the front edge of the upper board, and a hole at the inner end that is large enough for throwing coins. The small door can be pulled open, and a button head pot is nailed on the side of the door panel. The front vertical panel is also studded with buttons so it can be locked. The cabinet is mounted on rectangular cabinet supports at the four corners, suspended in the air to prevent moisture and prevent coins from rusting. There are cap-nail-like raised decorations on the cabinet and brackets. There are two circular animal faces on the front of the cabinet, and one on each side of the cabinet. In addition to being decorative, they also seem to ward off evil spirits (Figure 6).
Cabinets are also used for food storage. They are usually vertical and often equipped with drawers. "Guixin Miscellaneous Knowledge" says: "In the past, Li Renfu was the editor-in-chief. He made ten wooden cabinets, and made twenty replacement boxes for each cabinet. Each replacement was marked with a symbol. If you hear anything about this year, you must return here. The boxes are arranged in order by month and day, in an orderly manner. "Yunxian Miscellaneous Notes": "Xu Zhi had eight cabinets of wonderful ink. The thieves were in chaos, and they were taken out by Shan Heli. The ink was gone, but the stone was there. "The lotus box is kept", which is the cabinet where the ink is stored. "Guangyu Ji": "Yu Yi,... the elder Yuan Lu admired his style and presented him with antlers, calligraphy grids, clam plates, and toothbrushes. Yi rewarded him with several bamboo calligraphy grids." This says "book grid". , that is, the bookcase.
Tools
Sui and Tang Dynasty screens have two types: seat screen and folding screen. They not only block the wind, but also separate the space and set off the main body. Painting and inscriptions on the screen can further enhance the atmosphere.
A large amount of paper was used in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Screen fans changed the past practice of painting on solid boards, and used vertical and horizontal wooden slats to form a frame of the word "Tian", pasted paper on both sides, and then painted and inscribed on the paper, just like Bai Juyi "Plain Folk Ballads" says: "Now the wood is the bones and the paper is the face." The rapidly developing landscape, flower-and-bird paintings of the Sui and Tang dynasties would naturally be used for screens. Therefore, Zhangzao turquoise, and Bianluan flowers and birds have become popular paintings on screens, along with the characters and stories in screen paintings of the Han, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the purely decorative lacquer screens. different.
The folding screen has no base and is composed of many fans, standing on the ground at an angle to each other. The screen fans are all in even numbers, and after the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there were mostly six fans, which is the so-called "six-curved screen". Li He's poem said, "The six-curved screen holds the silver orchid in the Zhou Dynasty." The fans are connected with silk ropes or metal parts called "Qushu", "Buxu", "Jiaoguan", etc. (now known as "folding iron", "hinge" or "hook"). The murals in Tang tombs and the "Feather Seal Script Screen", "Feather Document Screen", "Feather Girl Screen" and "Tang Cao Clip Screen" stored in Japan's Shosoin Temple are all six-curve screens of the Tang Dynasty. Folding screens are generally short, about 1200 to 1650 mm high. First, use wider wooden strips to make four borders, and use wooden grids to make sun, eye, or field grids in the frame, and then paste paper, silk, and gauze on them. Or sandwiched with valerian fabric, either single or double-sided.
There is a base below the seat screen, which does not fold, which is different from the folding screen. Since the empty surface needs to be centered, the number of fans is mostly odd. "Book of Tang. Biography of Wei Zheng" says: "There are words and memorials about the expedition. The emperor said: 'I have heard about the couplet now, so I will use it as a barrier, and the common people will see it day and night.", "Tongdian": "Taizong put the name of the governor on the screen and looked up at it. His good and evil deeds will be written down, and all the prefectures and counties will take care of them." "Old Records of the Book of the Tang Dynasty": "In the autumn of the fourth year of Yuanhe..., the deeds of the previous emperors and ministers were recorded Fourteen chapters, written on screens. "Most of these are on screens. Both the murals of Cave 217 and Cave 172 of the Mogao Grottoes in the Tang Dynasty have screens. The former has a single-fan screen core, while the latter has a single-fan three-frame screen
Scaffolding
Sui and Tang Dynasty racks had clothes racks and bookshelves.
The basic image of the clothes hanger in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is that the legs are planted high, connected in the middle, and there is a long top to support the clothes, which is made of wood or bamboo. In the 13th year of Zhenyuan of the Tang Dynasty, the "Sacrificial Vessel Stele of Beihai Altar in Jidu Temple" says: "Four bamboo hangers and three wooden hangers." Shen Quanqi's poem said: "The morning glow is too colorful to be ashamed of the hangers, and the evening mirror is too light to distinguish the mirror stand." "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" of the Five Dynasties There is also a hanger painted in the middle.
The bookshelf is roughly on four legs, with several shelves in the middle, on which books and volumes are stored. Bai Juyi's poem "Shuxiangshan Temple" says: "The house is full of vats and shelves of books, and half of them moved to make a living in Xiangshan." Tang Dynasty Yang Jiong's "Ode to Lying on a Reading Shelf" says: "The mountain stands on two feet, and the moon grows on two hooks. Transported by ropes Jin, the meaning is obtained from the square. The skill of measuring and making chisels is derived from the academic work, and the work can be found in the scriptures. There is no need to work on the hands, and there is no need to open the book. The image of the bookshelf in the Tang Dynasty can be seen in the murals of Haihua Temple in Gaoping, Shanxi. There is a bookshelf in the thatched cottage with four legs on the ground, a shelf in the middle, and books and daily belongings for monks on the top. The vertical plate of the teapot door is similar to the later Bogu rack.
Second furniture decoration
There are generally wood types, lacquer decorations, inlays, etc., with two different orientations: elegant and gorgeous.
The wood surface is decorated with tung oil, or simply white stubble, which is simple and unpretentious. It is mostly used by common people. Scholars and officials who pursue returning to simplicity also often use this, called "Sujizhang", Bai Juyi's " It has been described in "Su Ping Yao". "Sujizhang" also includes single-color paint.
The furniture lacquer decoration of the Tang Dynasty inherited the Han and Northern and Southern Dynasties, and absorbed various ethnic groups and foreign cultures, thus forming a cheerful, heroic and gorgeous style. In the early stage, the patterns were mainly honeysuckle, broken-branch flowers and bird patterns, as well as linked bead patterns and double animal patterns. This changed in the later period, with honeysuckle patterns being rare and flower and bird patterns such as group flowers and twining flowers becoming popular. The lacquer decoration techniques of the Tang Dynasty included color painting, screw inlay, flat stripping, Mi Tuo monk painting, etc., and the lacquer carving technique was newly created.
Gold and silver flat stripping was developed from the pasting of gold and silver sheets in the Han Dynasty. The method is to cut extremely thin gold and silver sheets into patterns, paste them on the vessel, then apply two or three layers of paint, and grind them to make the gold and silver The pieces are revealed and become glittering patterns. Gold and silver flats were created by craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty. They became popular and became high-end utensils enjoyed by emperors.
"Youyang Zazu" once recorded: "Mountain Anlu has no greater favor than any other and bestows countless gifts. The items he bestowed include: Jinping off rhinoceros head key ribs, gold and silver flat off wonton plate, flat off foot stack, Yinping The concubine also gave Lushan Jinping decoating utensils, Yuhe, and Jinping deiron noodle bowls."
Snail jars were used in lacquered woodware, which was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. In order to develop, some add shallow carvings on the screws to increase the level of expression. Unearthed from the Tang Dynasty Tomb of Astana in Turpan, Xinjiang, there is a wooden Shuanglu Bureau inlaid with snails, 28 cm long and 7.8 cm high, with curved ruler-shaped legs, a light hole for the pot door between the legs, and a supporting mud underneath. In the middle of the two long sides of the plate is a crescent-shaped city, with six snail eyes on the left and right. There are two vertical and horizontal grid lines in the middle of the plate, forming a picture, with cloud heads, broken branch flowers and flying birds and snails embedded in it. The overall pattern is similar to the Shuanglu Bureau in the Shosoin Collection in Japan.
Carved lacquer is a new decorative technique created in the Tang Dynasty. It involves applying dozens of thin layers of paint flatly on the wooden body, and then carving the paint layer into shape. There was a similar practice in the Warring States Period, but the wood was first carved into shape and then painted, which was different from the Tang Dynasty.
Painting is the main technique of lacquer decoration and has been widely used in all dynasties, including the Tang Dynasty. The colorful paintings on the furniture of the Tang Dynasty can be seen from the Tang Dynasty paintings such as the "Palace Picture", "Palace Music Picture", "Lady with Fan Fan", "Pounding Practice Picture", the large door case, the moon-shaped teacup, the armchair and other furniture. See.
By the Song Dynasty, the society dominated by Han people basically had the same lifestyle as the ancient people we saw in TV dramas, with high buildings, vertical furniture, tables, chairs, and stools.
P157-P200 of "General History of Chinese Customs in the Song Dynasty" focuses on the architecture and interior furnishings of the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the beam-and-column frame structure first replaced the box-shaped kettle door structure in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Furniture in the Song Dynasty included: quilts and covers (equivalent to modern covers set up around the bed), pillow mats (pillows), mats, lamps and candles, fans, mirrors, spit pots, drowning vessels, thermos bottles, foot warmers, and various incense (incense), broom, lichen, etc.
There are also special books on the furniture of the Song Dynasty and later dynasties, for example: "Furniture of the Song Dynasty in China" by Shao Xiaofeng from Southeast University Press in 2010.