Historical background of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture

In the early Ming Dynasty, the number of artists engaged in handicrafts increased compared with the previous generation, and their skills were also higher than those of the previous generation. Shen Defu of the Ming Dynasty said: "The things that are good to play are precious to the ancient, but this dynasty is not."

The red of Yongle, the copper of Xuande, and the kiln of Chenghua, its price is the ancient enemy". Ming Wang Shizhen's "Yao Bu Yao Lu" introduced: "The painting should be heavy in the Song Dynasty, and in the past 30 years, the price of the Yuan people, and even Ni Yuanzhen, to arrest the Ming Shen Zhou, has increased tenfold.

The pottery should be heavy brother and you, and in the past fifteen years, the price has increased tenfold in the past 15 years, so that Yongle and Chenghua have also increased tenfold. It is probably indiscriminate in Wuzhong, and the Hui people guide it, which is strange. Today, Wu Wuzhong Lu Zigang governs jade, Bao Tiancheng governs rhino, Zhu Bishan governs silver, Zhao Liangbi governs tin, Ma Xun governs fans, Zhou Zhu governs business embedding and she, Lu Aishan governs gold, and Wang Xiaoxi governs agate, all of which are twice as high as usual.

And there are people who sit with the gentry. Recently, I heard that this good flow into the palace, and its momentum has not yet been."

There is also a similar record in Ming Zhang Dai's "Dream Memories of Tao'an": "Wu Zhong's skills, Lu Zigang's jade, Bao Tiancheng's rhino, Zhou Zhu's inlay, Zhao Liangbi's tin, Zhu Bishan's gold and silver, Ma Xun, lotus leaf and Li fan, Zhang Jixiu's qin, Fan Kunbai's three strings, all can go up and down for a hundred years, and they are invincible." "Nanjing Pu Zhongqian, ancient appearance and ancient heart, if incompetent, but its skills are ingenious, and the craftsmanship is heavenly.

Its bamboo, a broom and a brush, outline several knives, the price is calculated in two".

The third volume of Zhou Hui's "Jinling Trivia" of the Ming Dynasty introduces that "Xu Shousu, Jiang Che, and Li Xin repaired the bronze like a god. Zou Ying studied from Jiang Che, and second. Li Zhao, Li Zan, and Jiang Cheng made fans extremely Seiko.

Liu Jingzhi, a master of small wood". These materials illustrate a problem, that is, the handicraft technology in the Jiangnan region of the Ming Dynasty was greatly improved compared with the previous generation.

Furniture art, like other arts, also developed greatly in the early to mid-Ming Dynasty. Although the craftsmen did not leave their names on the objects, a large number of furniture treasures that have been handed down to this day record their industrious wisdom and glorious achievements. They have made great contributions to the promotion of the motherland's excellent culture and art, and they are rightfully regarded artists.

The Ming Dynasty was socially stable, with developed agriculture and handicrafts, and rapid economic development. Craftsmen gained more freedom, especially in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, with abundant commodities, wide circulation channels, and open foreign trade, so that the economy of large cities and towns rose rapidly, especially in the Jiangnan and South China Sea regions, and a number of handicraft, commercial, and port-based towns developed rapidly. On the basis of economic development and urban prosperity, social wealth has increased dramatically, and the trend of pursuing pleasure and competing for luxury has become popular.

The development of handicrafts has brought unprecedented convenience and enjoyment to people. In this case, the pomp and circumstance of various cultural customs activities in the Ming Dynasty exceeded that of the previous generations. This is the main economic and social background for the emergence of Ming-style furniture.

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the construction of residential buildings and private gardens has entered a prosperous period, and a large number of new buildings and gardens built by nobles and wealthy merchants need high-grade furniture to furnish, which has formed a large demand for furniture. The society's demand for furniture has also promoted the development of the furniture manufacturing industry.

Zheng He went to the West and brought back a large number of high-grade woods such as pear and red sandalwood from the Nanyang countries, which were rich in high-grade timber. Longqing further opened up private overseas trade, which also created strong conditions for the development of furniture in the Ming Dynasty.

A group of cultural celebrities in the Ming Dynasty were keen on the study of furniture technology and the exploration of furniture aesthetics, and their participation played a certain role in promoting the maturity of furniture style in the Ming Dynasty.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, hardwood furniture became popular and gradually became fashionable, and progress promoted the development of Ming-style furniture. In Wang Shixing's "Guangzhi Interpretation", he said: "Gusu people are smart and ancient, and they are also good at imitating ancient methods to ...... themIt is also like Zhaitou Qing playing, several cases of beds, nearly all of which are red sandalwood and pear.

It is still simple and not yet carved. That is, there are carved objects, and they are all Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han styles. The sea is far away, all follow the example, this is also Jia, Long, Wan three dynasties, the beginning of the prosperity.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty popularly collected literati paintings and antique miscellaneous, and published a number of antique classics, including Dong Qichang's "Thirteen Sayings of Antiques", Cao Zhao's "Gegu Yao", Wen Zhenheng's "Chronicles of Long Things", etc., which also had an important impact on the development of furniture in the Ming Dynasty.