In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the south of the Yangtze River was prosperous and prosperous, the style was prosperous, and the literati were able to gather. At this time, the Ming Dynasty furniture flourished, especially in the Jiangnan area centered on Suzhou, and formed a unique art in the subsequent development. charm. Ming style furniture is the pinnacle of Chinese furniture history. With its concise lines, simple texture, vivid charm and quaint artistic conception, it has become a popular collection of Chinese and Western collectors.

The rapid rise of Ming style furniture is a legend, and the creation of this legend is the literati's interest and aesthetic transformation of practical appliances, appreciation of Ming style furniture, we can touch the spiritual world of the Ming and Qing literati.

The metaphysical is the way to say, the metaphysical is the instrument. Ming style furniture is a representative creation of Chinese traditional culture. The love and interest of it include the strong elegance and temperament of the literati. The spirit of the literati is the way of Ming furniture.

Literati participate in furniture design

Ming style furniture is the ultimate in subtraction, simple and ethereal, full of literary popularity. The popularity of Ming style furniture was inseparable from the literati class that dominated the social aesthetics at that time. At that time, a large number of literati and even cultural celebrities participated in the design and production of Ming style furniture.

The Ming Dynasty opera singer Gao Wei, who is famous for his "Yu Yu Ji", designed two types of furniture in "Zunsheng Eight Diagrams". One is the trampoline. The backrest of the chair ring is like a frame, which can be raised and lowered. Look at the book and spend the time to enjoy the rewards, another kind is called the two bed, the nails on the bedpost, used to hang the wall bottle, can be inserted all year round, "people make flowers, Qingfen full bed, The god of lying is refreshing and fast, and it is infiltrated with elegant life.

The dramatist and writer Tu Long has collected light furniture designed for outings, such as a folding table, in a book, and is detachable. It is a table that is folded into a stack and is easy to carry. The clothes are similar to today's suitcases. For travel; the box is layered and can hold cups, wines and food.

In the Linyi Five-generation Gu Yuzhong's "Han Xi Zai Night Banquet", in addition to more than 20 pieces of furniture in the original work, Tang Bohu added more than 20 pieces of Suzhou Ming style furniture, which involved tables, cases, stools, screens, etc. In the "Piano Chess and Paintings Screen", he displayed the Ming Dynasty literati's study in a panoramic way. The paintings, bamboo chairs, incense sticks, couches and other more than 30 kinds of furniture, reflecting his talent in furniture design and construction. .

Song Yingxing's "Heavenly Creations", Li Yu's "Easy Love" and Cao Zhao's "Ge Gu Yao" and other books have elaborated on the shape and aesthetic characteristics of furniture.

Political high pressure sentimental art taste

"Practical use of the world" is the value orientation of the Chinese literati tradition. It advocates "learning and excellence". However, this ideal is difficult to realize in the late Ming Dynasty officialdom. Because the eunuch's dictatorship and the civil service party struggle, the official environment of the officialdom is very harsh. At the same time, the commodity economy was developed in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and the city scale expanded and the life was rich. The temple is full of power and profit, and the scenery between the rivers and lakes is beautiful. A dignified and quality life attracts the literati class.

The literati class under political pressure is increasingly escaping from reality, turning the mind from society to nature, from political struggle to the appreciation of art. Under the influence of this social trend of thought, the literati doctors tried their best to pursue the exquisite life, and were fascinated by the reform of the garden, the garden and the design and production of furniture.

Design promotes the interest of nature

This artistic interest is also vividly reflected in the aesthetic characteristics of Ming style furniture in the same era. The true color of Ming-style furniture materials is accompanied by the charm of “Shuishui Furong, Naturally Carved”, which can fully reflect the wood in design. Its own texture and natural beauty, at the same time, this true color also highlights the characteristics and connotation of the traditional Chinese literati culture, which is the reflection of the cultural status quo of the whole society and the mainstream thinking of the society.

The beautiful shape and the unique natural texture and color of the wood itself add endless artistic charm to the Ming style furniture. In the decoration of furniture, although the appearance is ordinary and colorless, the reality is that there is a natural beauty that is better than painting. The natural beauty of Ming style furniture is in line with the aesthetic ideals of Ming Dynasty literati. Its simple, quiet, quaint, delicate and natural aesthetic features are consistent with the literati's appreciation of nature in the Ming Dynasty. The natural beauty of the Ming Dynasty furniture reflects the characteristics and connotation of the traditional Chinese literati culture.

Similar to the architectural structure

While realizing the functions of the furniture, the furniture also coincides with the spiritual world of the Ming Dynasty literati. The prosperity of Ming-style furniture is inseparable from the prosperity of ancient Chinese architecture, especially gardens, and the decoration of Ming-style furniture, and the classical Chinese architecture have the same effect.

Ming style furniture makes full use of the natural characteristics of wood itself, and its structure must be without the use of wooden nails and glue during the production process, mainly using the Tenon structure. Strive to maintain a beautiful appearance. On this basis, the design and production of furniture also fully considers the comfort of the human body, and strives for the organic combination of furniture and people.

The structure of Laozi reflects the philosophical concept of Laozi's "Tao Fa nature", and the structure of the Tenon is mutually concave and convex, which reflects the Taoist philosophical implication of the natural yin and yang to each other "the yin and yang complement each other, the virtual reality and the reality". Although it is not certain that the Ming style furniture is directly related to the Taoist family, the woodworker's choice in the process of making Ming style furniture and the choice of furniture must be influenced by the thoughts of the literati at that time.

The light element is minimalist, harmonious and harmonious. The beauty of Ming style furniture is not only "art", but also the pursuit of the realm of "dao". The seemingly simple and smooth behind is truly ingenious, condensing the deepest spiritual beliefs and pursuits of Chinese literati, and also achieves the natural simplicity and elegant subtle charm of Ming style furniture. Editor / Zhao Jing