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Chinese Furniture: Beijing Shoppers’ Favorite
By Andy Lao | July 4, 2009
Unique, beautiful Chinese furniture is admired by furniture lovers the world over. Developed over 4,000 years ago, Chinese furniture has evolved into a sophisticated art form over the last couple hundred years. Although its enchanting beauty attracts most, it is also praised for its excellent practical functions. Both Chinese and overseas shoppers enjoy buying Chinese furniture to beautify their homes.
Even though archaeological evidence suggests the Chinese started making furniture items as early as the Neolithic period, classic-style Chinese furniture did not come into being until the Tang dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, furniture was perfected and became a cultured, highly sophisticated decorative art.
The history of the development of Chinese furniture can be roughly divided into three periods: the pre-Tang period, the Tang and Song dynasty period, and the Ming and Qing dynasty period.
Pre-Tang Period: Chinese people who lived before the Tang dynasty preferred to sit on a woven mat with short, simple furniture items organized around it. This practice is much like the Japanese tradition of sitting on a “tatami.” Though simplicity was the norm for most ordinary people, the rich could afford furniture adorned with lavish decorations.
Tang and Song Dynasty Period: During the Tang dynasty, upper-class Chinese began to use the classic-style Chinese furniture. Paintings from that period show people sitting on high chairs instead of mats. This change is believed to be influenced by Buddhism and the lifestyle of the nomadic tribes living in northern China. In the Song dynasty, both ordinary people and social elites accepted this change and started to use this new style of furniture in their homes.
Ming and Qing Dynasty Period: The development of Chinese furniture reached its zenith during this period. The refinement of decorative patterns and the advancements in furniture-making techniques enabled Chinese furniture to reach an unforeseen level of beauty and sophistication. The old designs were discarded, replaced, or thoroughly improved, and a variety of new designs was invented.
Though similar in style and construction, the furniture made in these two dynasties had an important difference. Ming dynasty furniture emphasized creating an elegant, pure form that showed scholarly taste. Qing dynasty furniture, on the other hand, focused on refining the decorations. These decorations came to be the epitome of ostentatious beauty and grandiose design. Now, most antique furniture items in Chinese markets are from this period.
Chinese furniture is generally priced for its material and craftsmanship. Years of experience is usually required for anyone to become an expert in judging the quality of any furniture piece.
Chinese furniture is usually made of wood. Depending on the quality and rarity of the wood, the price of a piece of furniture can go from a few hundred to millions of dollars. Furniture dealers in China rank the quality of different types of wood in this way: “One yellow, two black, three red, and four white.”
“One yellow” refers to the most precious wood of all – Huanghuali wood, or Yellow Pear wood.
“Two black” means Zitan wood, or Purple Incense wood, the second most revered kind of Chinese furniture.
“Three red” refers to redwood, the most well-known, popular type of wood among Chinese furniture fans. The four main types of redwood are: old redwood, Chicken’s Wing wood, Tieli wood, and Huali wood.
“Four white” means white wood. There are many types of white wood that are commonly used, including Nanmu wood, beech tree wood, camphorwood, and pine.
While it might only require book knowledge to judge the quality of wood, it requires experience and a deep understanding of Chinese culture to judge the craftsmanship of a piece of Chinese furniture. Profound concepts like the unity of man and heaven, the peace between man and nature, and the inner and outer beauty of things are all integrated in great pieces of Chinese furniture. A trained expert examining the craftsmanship of any piece can know not only the technical skill of the person who made it, but the meaning of the design.
Beijing has a number of great shops with unique, beautiful Chinese furniture created by some of the best artisans in China. If you don’t have experience in buying Chinese furniture, you can find a personal shopper to take you to shops with well-established reputations and give you advice on which products to buy.
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