TheClassicalChineseFurniture'sgroupincludespiecesfromtheMing(1368-1644)andQing(1644-1911)Dynasties.Historicaldocumentsdemonstratethatpre-Mingfurniture-makingwasalreadywelldevelopedbothinskillanddesign,butverylittlehassurvived.AsinWangShixiang'swords,"itisonlyfromMingandearlyQingtimesthatpiecesoffurnitureofhighqualitymaterialandcraftsmanshiphavebeenpreservedfromthelargenumbersthatweremade".
MingandearlyQingtimesareconsideredtheGoldenAgeofChinesefurniture;piecesfromthisperiodarehigh-valuedantiquesandtodayisquitehardtofindany.Itisnecessarytobeaconnoisseurtorecognizeandcollectsuchpieces.
TheQianlongreignperiod(1736-1795)marksthebeginningofthedecadenceinthetraditionoffinefurniture;still,becauseofitsshortnessandthefirstappearanceofoverlyelaboratepieces(typicalQingfurniture),furniturefromthisperiodisconsideredofexcellentquality,attractishighvalueandareextremelysortafter.InthelatterpartoftheQingDynasty,ClassicalFurniturebecamejustashadowoftheancienttraditionandlostthebeautyofsimplicity.
VernacularFurniture
Wewantedtostartthissectionwithasentencelike:"Youwon'tfindsuchadefinitioninanybooks";but,asamatteroffactyoucanfindoneinKaiYinLo'sbook"ClassicalandVernacularChineseFurnitureintheLivingEnvironment".Thesecategoriescanbedefinedindifferentways,whatweintendhereistodefineaspecificgroupofChinesefurniturethatisstrictlyrelatedtoplaceoforiginandthedailylifestylesofthepeoplethatusedthem.Thesekindsoffurniturehavepopularoriginsanddifferfromplacetoplace;mostofthemwerecopiedfollowingtheClassicalFurnituremodelsbutallofthemweremadeoutofcheaperandlower-qualitywood.
Theiragevarybetweenarangeoftimethatgoesfromsixtytoonehundredandmoreyearsago.Today,thisgroupoffurnitureisthemostcommononeinthemarket;youcanfindpiecesfromTianjintoNingbo;fromShanxitoTibet,allwiththeirspecificcharacteristicswhichcanvaryfromtowntotownandfromregiontoregion.Becausetheywerehandmadefollowingthetraditionalpatternsandjoinerytechniques,theVernacularfurniturearehighlyappreciatedbyforeignbuyers,butstilltheydon'thaveagoodmarketamongChinesepeoplewhocaremoreaboutthequalityofthewoodandwanttoleavebehindtheruralpasttheyrepresent.
Reproductions
AllthepiecesincludedinthisgroupareperfectimitationsmadenowadaysbyChinesecarpentersinthestyleoftheClassicalMingandQingDynasties'furniture.Underrequesttheycanbemodifiedorchangedintosomethingtotallynew.ThematerialusedforthesereproductionscanbeselectedamongthewholerangeoftropicalandstrictlyChinesewoods,eventheageofthewooditself,tosomeextent,canbechosen.
Woods
Thissectionisthemostcontroversialonebutatthesametimethemostfascinating.
-YingmuorHardwood
-ZamuorMiscellaneouswoodorSoftwood
AccordingtoGraceWuBruce,"YingmureferstotherichlygraineddensetropicalhardwoodsofwhichMingfurniturewasmade",butitisimportanttoaddthatitalsoreferstothebeautifulqualityingrain,streakingandcolour,asinChinesesenseofbeauty,grain,colour,textureandmarking,representthemaincharacteristicsinordertodistinguishfinequalitywoods.
That'swhyamongtheYingmucategorywecanfindwoodsthatarenotconsideredHardwoodbyWesternstandards,andwhyaccordingtotheChinesedefinitionZamuincludesallthewoodsnotincludedintheYingmucategory.
AmongtheYingmucategory,thefollowingarethemainwoods:
Huali,thatisdistinguishedinHuanghualiandXinhuali.
Zitan.
Tieli,alsocalled"Ironwood".
Jichimu,alsocalled"Chicken-wingwood".
Jumu,alsocalled"SouthernElm"(notreallyahardwood).
Hongmu,thatisoftenerroneouslyreferredtoasmahogany.
Aspecialmentionshouldgotoakindofwoodthatisnotreallyawood:theYingzimu.
TheYingzimu,alsocalledBurlwood,isthewoodcutfromalargeknotortwistedroot;itcancomefromanykindoftreeanditisappreciatedforitstextureandpatterns,that'swhyitis
usuallyusedasadecorativeinsert.
Because,aswesaid,whateverisnotYingmuisactuallyZamu,itisuselesstolistallthewoodsthatbelongtothiscategory;itissufficienttomentionthatthemostcommononeisthe
Yumu(Elmwood).
FurnituremadeofYingmuare,ofcourse,themostpreciousandamongthiscategory,theoldYingmuismorevaluedandexpensivethanthenewone.TheZamucategoryisasinglegroup,butamongthistherecanbewoodsthatareactuallymorevaluablethanothers:forexampletheElmwood(andespeciallytheoldone)isbetterthanthePinewood.
Tomakeadetaileddescriptionofeachkindofwoodwouldtaketoomuchspace,forfurtherinformationpleaserefertoourbibliography&linkssection.
RecentHistoricalPieces
PiecesthatbelongtothiscategorydifferfromVernacularFurnitureinsomuchastheyarestrictlyrelatedtospecificperiodsofChina'smodernhistory.ThefirstoftheseperiodsistheRepublicofChina(1912-1949)or,inchinese,Minguo.MinguofurniturehasastrongwesterninfluenceandisthusalsoknownasChineseColonialstyle.TheCulturalRevolutionisanotheroftheseperiods;eventhoughfurniturefromthistimearehonestlyuglyandoflowquality,itnonethelessdocumentsaparticularpieceofChina'shistory.
HuoQi
AccordingtotheChineselaw,piecesoffurniturethatexceedanageof100yearsareconsideredantiques.
Allkindofantiques,inordertobeexportedoutsideChineseterritory,needaspecialpermitissuedbygovernmentalauthorities.Thispermitcomesintheshapeofasealingwaxstamp:theHuoQi.
InordertogettheHuoQi,representativesfromtheStateCulturalRelicsBureaumustinspecteverysinglepieceoffurnitureanddecidewhichcanbeexportedandwhichcannot.Theclientmustpayaninspectionfeethatvariesaccordingtothenumberofpiecestobeinspected.TogetherwiththeHuoQi,therepresentativesreleaseacertificatetobeusedforcustomsclearance.DifferingfromtheHuoQi,theJinWenJianisastickerthatisappliedoneachpieceofantiqueinordertoallowtheownertosellitinthedomesticChinesemarket.PiecesthatbringtheJinWenJian,thereforearenotallowedtobeexportedunlesstheyarestampedwiththeHuoQi.
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