Talking about Ming and Qing furniture from a root knot chair

Root knot seat in Suzhou Lingering Garden

In the common books, there are enough furniture to talk about Ming and Qing. The author hopes to find a new angle to talk about furniture, so from the root of his collection, talk about the past and present of a root chair.

Jiang Nianci

Root art furniture, root carving furniture, root knot furniture, dead wood furniture, odd wood furniture, beech furniture... This kind of furniture is called a lot of things, but there is no unified name in the academic world and the industry so far, but people don’t have such furniture. strange. Its materials are nothing more than bamboo, wood and rattan. After being rooted in nature, it is selectively used by humans. It is a subtle combination of man and nature.

The "seven-character appreciation method" of the root knot furniture

The ancient Chinese literati advocated a natural culture without modification and carving, which coincides with the cosmology of "the combination of man and nature, harmony between man and nature" in Confucianism. The root knot chair is precisely the best carrier of the literati culture. The root knot chair is a kind of furniture that is very popular among the literati in the past. The style of the ancient literati in the root knot chair is unconventional and extraordinary.

The aesthetics and height of the furniture are rooted, and the appreciation method is close to the mountain. The author sums up the "seven-character appreciation method", that is, wrinkled, transparent, ugly, leaking, oil, old, thin. Wrinkles, refers to wrinkles and vivid, more wrinkled and more beautiful; transparent, refers to the front and rear oblique oblique, before and after the light, and then produce an ethereal vision; ugly, meaning not sweet, is very eye-catching, more and more beautiful Leak, and translucent, is vertical or curved through, such as a funnel, has a fascinating feeling; oil, refers to the patina, the skin is oily, seems to have the feeling of inviting people, people like to be close to them; old, instructions After the precipitation of the years, the fire is completely retreating, the personality is calm, and the outer softness is firm. Thin, it means lean and condensed, it must be thin.

To gather the above seven advantages, it is tantamount to an endless pursuit. The Chinese literati said that the text has no first, and Wu has no second, and it also applies here. The aesthetics of the root knot furniture is just like Qi Baishi said: "The wonderful is not like direct, too much like kitsch, not like deceiving the world." To sum up, the most important thing to appreciate the furniture is the charm, not just Formally, it represents a metaphysical philosophy in Chinese traditional culture, that is, "metaphysical" is called "dao", and "metaphysical" is called "the instrument."

Appreciate the root knot furniture from the perspective of Chinese painting and calligraphy

Look at the advantages and disadvantages of the root chair can also be compared with Chinese painting and calligraphy.

The Chinese painting and calligraphy should express "qiyun" and "realm", which is actually the final performance of a systematic thought integration. Meaning, knowledge, and spirit are all prepared, poetry, books, and paintings are integrated, poetry is the meaning of painting, and books are the bone of painting. The skill is familiar, but it can be a chest; outside the picture, you can leave your mind, which is also the essence of judging the artistic value of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works.

However, in traditional Chinese art, there has not been an independent expression system of abstract art until modern times.

The author has found that in the furniture screens and hanging screens, there are many stones with natural textures, which are used to express the cosmology that the Chinese people imagine and understand. For example, some mountains seem to have no theme, no stories, but they show a free and unrestrained feeling of freedom. Influenced by the cosmology of the Chinese people, Shanzi forms a translucent transition from the natural texture and natural form, and is independent and independent, thus becoming a kind of art that can be independently enjoyed. China has many abstract elements, but it has never completely reached the point of complete abstraction, always accompanied by the feelings and artistic conception of Chinese literati.

Looking at garden furniture from the root knot chair

The author finds that, unlike the "Su Zuo" and "Guang Zuo" in the furniture, the root knot works completely across regional restrictions, and all kinds of root knot works can be found all over the country. In addition, the root knot works across the dynasty, not distinct, clear, or the Republic of China.

The natural wind bone of the root knot chair is very suitable for being placed in the garden. It is a kind of Chinese art furniture to be appreciated from the perspective of abstract art, which also produces garden furniture.

At present, in the study of classical furniture in China, garden furniture is still a blank. However, since ancient times, gardens have been an important expression of the expression of feelings by Chinese scholars. Gardening, sentiment, freehand, and care are all manifested in their gardens.

The ancients used almost all such furniture in gardens, such as stone benches, Jingdezhen porcelain stools, etc., and the chairs in ancient times were marching furniture, foldable, easy to move, and can also be regarded as a kind of outdoor furniture. These stone furniture, wood furniture, and porcelain furniture are not afraid of wind and rain in the garden, and can be integrated with the outdoor scenery. Unfortunately, it has not been taken seriously by people now.

See people's character from the root knot chair

The group that loves the root knot chair has such commonality: it does not like to follow the tide, has its own character, and has its own style, which is also a portrayal of Chinese literati.

Nowadays, people don't like to use the same furniture as others, but they want to be able to show their unique personality with the use of daily objects. In a prosperous world of furniture that is “popped with purple”, people may be able to look at the furniture range wider. Don’t always stare at Ming furniture, or huanghuali and rosewood furniture, broaden the scope of research, and the scope of collection. People's lives and aesthetics, so, do not live up to the present life.

(The author is a famous antique dealer in Hong Kong, a pioneer and collector of furniture research in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.)

Xianghe Furniture City official website

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