What impact did the high-end furniture of the Song Dynasty have on people’s lives?

The past dynasty should be the Northern Song Dynasty. At this time, secular aesthetics began to actively move closer to the literati, and the elegant culture pursued by the literati became the trend of the entire society.

Song poems are extremely popular among the people. The tastes and life of scholars expressed in Song poems have been highly praised and even followed by emperors, generals and the common people. This is reflected in home life, that is, furniture that has gained the aesthetic recognition of literati has become increasingly popular.

Literati furniture, first of all, pays attention to elegance and nature, is fun and practical, and is comfortable to use; folk furniture puts practicality first, while palace furniture puts pretense first and pays attention to class and majesty. This is where the three of them differ. Therefore, the understanding of what is beautiful furniture and what is beautiful thing is completely different.

Wen Zhenheng gave a very clear description of literati furniture in "Chang Wu Zhi". The first is to pay attention to fixed styles and advocate ancient systems. Every piece of furniture is explained very clearly about what material it is made of, what size it is, and what its function is. The pursuit of "fixed style" is an important feature of Song Dynasty craftsmanship. This is clearly reflected in the "Building Methods" compiled by Li Jie of the Northern Song Dynasty. Let’s talk about “advocating ancient systems”. Starting from the mid-Ming Dynasty, advocating antiquity and restoring ancient ways have become popular. The lifestyles of the Han, Tang and even Song Dynasties have become models for the world to learn and learn from.

So, as an indispensable item in lifestyle, furniture has also become an important reference in the trend of this era. Because during the Han and Tang Dynasties, there were too few high-end furniture categories, so the Song Dynasty furniture , becomes the first prototype of restoration and re-creation. It can be said that the tone of literati furniture was established in the Song Dynasty. On this basis, Ming-style furniture further improved its shape and craftsmanship.

Song Dynasty "Eighteen Scholars"

Furniture in the Song Dynasty was also a period of rapid development of high-end furniture. A large number of new furniture types emerged at this time, and their huge system included almost all subsequent furniture types. Even furniture that had not yet appeared at this time, the genes for future evolution can be found in some furniture.

Before the Song Dynasty, Chinese furniture was mainly short-shaped, but in the Song Dynasty, it finally ushered in a rapid transformation from low to high. We can see from the ancient paintings handed down from the Song Dynasty that people used both high-profile furniture and low-profile furniture. They were harmoniously integrated into the same space without feeling inconsistent at all. Looking back today, the Song Dynasty was in an important position as a link between the past and the future in the history of furniture.

Song Dynasty's "Eighteen Scholars"

The changes in height directly promoted the improvement of craftsmanship, among which the improvement of the mortise and tenon structure was the most core. On the wooden couch unearthed from the Fifth Dynasty tomb in Caizhuang, Hanjiang, Jiangsu, the large edge of the couch and the wiper head did not use lattice tenons. Instead, they were connected at a 45-degree lattice angle and then wedged with iron nails to tighten them. Although tomb furniture does not completely represent the appearance of furniture in daily life, it can at least illustrate that before the Song Dynasty, nails were used in furniture.

The Song Dynasty furniture made a breakthrough in the mortise and tenon technology. Influenced by the architecture of the time, the large wooden beam structure was widely used in furniture design and production. This is complementary to the changes in the shape of the furniture. Although the reference to the architectural structure can be regarded as the furniture of the Song Dynasty, and the inheritance and development of the furniture of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there is no doubt that the furniture of the Song Dynasty is more obvious.

Song Dynasty furniture not only made great achievements in the major aspects of structure, but also paid great attention to the details of modeling. The sophistication of Song Dynasty furniture was not reflected in the painstaking fine carvings of Qing-style furniture, but in finding a new way to win with lines. This was later inherited by Ming-style furniture and reached its extreme. The furniture shapes of the Song Dynasty are full of changes in lines, from the various moldings on the edges, turbans, legs and feet, to the familiar use of straight lines and curves in decorative patterns, which reflects the deep love for "line" in traditional Chinese art and the It materializes into a remarkable creation.

It can be said that the Song Dynasty is a miracle in the history of Chinese furniture. Furniture in the previous dynasties was constantly transformed to adapt to new aesthetics and life needs. New furniture types were constantly born, and the Chinese furniture system was increasingly enriched.

"Summer Spending the Summer in Sophora shading"

Among the complete furniture systems of the Song Dynasty, chair furniture is the most impressive. Early tall seats were mainly piers and stools, all without backrests, such as the Crescent Stool of the Tang Dynasty and the Xiao Jiao Tiao of the earlier period. The same is true for bedding. The history of couches without screens is earlier than those with screens. Arhat bed surrounded by screen.

At that time, almost all tall furniture did not have the function of leaning on it, which directly led to the continued popularity of ancient auxiliary utensils such as the hidden bag and the holding chair.

In the Song Dynasty, armchairs and hanging lamp chairs became popular. This type of furniture, which was superior in applicability, gradually became an indispensable daily utensil in people's lives.

As depicted in the "Wenhui Tu" of the Song Dynasty, three people are sitting around a table, and hanging chairs with upright headlamps equipped with footrests are set up around the table. The chairs are made of bamboo (or imitation bamboo). ), this form and aesthetic pursuit were perfectly inherited in later generations of furniture.

The painting "Wenhui Tu" of the Song Dynasty

The painting "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" is generally considered to be a copy of the Song Dynasty. Compared with paintings, the furniture style in this painting is closer to the Song Dynasty, especially the Southern Song Dynasty. The dozens of pieces of furniture in the picture are complete in variety, mature in shape, and have a unified style. The style is simple and elegant, the colors are rich, and the lines are thin. The typical characteristics of the shape and structure of Song Dynasty furniture are clearly visible. This was later inherited by Ming-style furniture.

Later generations of literati also occasionally had similar ideas recorded in their posthumous records. As mentioned in Li Yu's "Occasional Posts of Leisure", "In matters of civil engineering, extravagance should be avoided most. In the homes of ordinary people, frugality should be respected. Even princes should also respect it. The decoration of the living room should be expensive, not beautiful, expensive. Novel and elegant, inexpensive, delicate and brilliant." This understanding of advocating simplicity is similar to the style of advocating frugality in the Song Dynasty.

Song Dynasty "Han Xizai's Night Banquet"

The Song Dynasty was a country that valued literature, and "literati and officials were not guilty of crimes based on their words." In this environment, literati were a relatively happy group. Literati have historically been an important force in promoting the development of arts and crafts.

The aesthetics of the literati in the Song Dynasty is reflected in the furniture, which is different from the showy style of the Tang Dynasty. Calmness, elegance, plainness and subtlety have become their main artistic styles. This is consistent with the spirit of the times after the Northern Song Dynasty, "not in the world, but in the state of mind". As for the state of mind of the literati in the Song Dynasty?

Su Shi said, "In general, when writing, one should make the scene majestic, the five colors gorgeous, and gradually mature, which will lead to blandness." Bland beauty is the aesthetic trend strongly advocated by literati and officials. During this period, Neo-Confucianism emerged and became a type of New Confucianism. In its later stages of development, "Li" was regarded as the fundamental law of all things in nature. The philosophical concepts of the Song Dynasty are reflected in furniture, which has tended to be "cautious, simple, elegant, simple and subtle".

"Listening to the Qin" by Huizong of the Song Dynasty

The furniture of the Song Dynasty was the beginning of literati furniture. The literati emperors represented by Song Huizong pushed the literati art to its peak. This emperor not only brought painting, calligraphy, porcelain, etc. to heights that would be beyond the reach of later generations, but also furniture. Looking at the tables and tables in "Listening to the Qin", you can clearly see the exquisite lines of Song Dynasty furniture.

Simple, elegant and upright, he understands the essence of lines and accurately depicts the core of literati furniture. It was these metaphysical contents that ultimately made possible the brilliance of Song Dynasty furniture in terms of aesthetic concepts.