"You look at this simple bench, the most prominent feature is that the side feet are clearly divided, which visually gives people a sense of stability. A bench with four legs forked in the direction of the four corners. Viewed from the front, it looks like a galloping horse, commonly known as a horse running fork. Viewed from the side, the legs are also forked outward, like the appearance of a person riding a horse with his legs spread apart, commonly known as "riding fork".

"Each leg is forked outwards from both the front and the side, also known as the quad split. This situation is only prominent in square furniture. Square furniture also has these characteristics, but the fork degree is slightly smaller. Some of them can be distinguished by eyesight, while others are not obvious, and they can be distinguished by measuring them with a ruler. ”

The outline of Ming-style furniture is concise and stretched, which means that its components are simple, each component has a clear function, and there is a certain significance in the analysis, and there is no superfluous artificiality. The concise and stretched style has received a simple and elegant artistic effect.

"Another feature of Ming-style furniture is that it is made of good material. It is mostly made of precious woods such as yellow rosewood, red sandalwood, iron pear wood, wenge wood, base wood, and nanmu. These woods have high hardness and stable wood properties, which can be processed into smaller components and made into precise tenon rivets, and the finished products are extremely solid and firm. ”

"The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty also paid great attention to the color effect of the furniture, and used the parts with good materials and beautiful colors on the surface or the front as much as possible. Without careful consideration, never start lightly. Therefore, the beautiful shape and the unique natural grain and color of the wood itself add infinite artistic charm to the Ming-style furniture. ”

Wu Shixiang thought this deeply, he once saw a pair of large top cabinets collected by a big player on TV, a pair of large top cabinets of Haihuang, two meters and five meters high, all of which were single-board. There are twelve kinds of animal grimaces on the front panel, monkey face, fox face, cat face and so on. Although some are far-fetched, they also illustrate its unique beauty.

"Ming-style furniture is divided into two artistic styles, concise shape and nonghua shape, and concise shape accounts for a large proportion. Whatever the form, it should be decorated with appropriate carvings. Concise furniture is mainly based on line feet, such as the legs are designed into arcs, commonly known as "drum legs and teeth", "three bay legs", "crane legs", "ant legs" and so on, all kinds of shapes, some like a square bottle, some like a flower honor, some like a flower drum, some like an official hat. ”

Ancient took this good opportunity to have a lot of factory furniture, all kinds of things. He made up for Wu Shixiang's lessons, this kid has a very high level of understanding, and he can draw inferences from one another, touch the class, and naturally do this material.

"If you look carefully, the edges and corners or surfaces of each component are often decorated with various lines, such as the leg surface with a slight arc called "plain mixed surface"; The line on one side of the leg is called "mixed unilateral line". The line starts from both sides and the arc in the middle is called "mixed surface bilateral line". The concave and arc-shaped leg surface is called "playing depression". ”

"There is also a decorative technique that imitates rattan. It is to make two or more circles on the surface of the legs. It seems to put together several round timbers, and the old city "splits the material". Usually there are more four-split materials. Because it resembles a sesame straw, it is also known as "sesame stem".

"The role of the line feet not only adds to the beauty of the body, but also the sharp edges and corners are sleek and soft, and receive a natural style."

Wu Shixiang followed the ancient and studied carefully, the opportunity was rare, after all, the ancient was old, and it was impossible to take himself to study every day. If you can learn as much as you can, you can learn the rest. He likes this simple Ming-style furniture the most, simplicity is not simple!

"Nonghua furniture is different from concise shapes, most of them have exquisite and complicated carved patterns, or small components are gathered into a large area of mullions and fences, etc., which belong to the more decorative type. The effect of Nonghua is that although there are many carvings, but the workmanship is extremely fine, although the collection is complicated, but it is very regular, and the overall effect is vivid, giving people the image of luxury and richness, without the slightest sense of cumbersomeness. ”

"How much does the royal family use? Ordinary people don't need such a good job, right? Wu Shixiang asked, this kind of furniture workers are more expensive than materials.

"That is, all the best works of art in ancient times were for the royal family." Gu nodded: "Don't talk about ancient times, it's a piece of antique furniture now, the cost of materials is half, and the wages account for the other half!" There are fewer and fewer good craftsmen, and the craft is becoming more and more expensive. ”

"There is also a method of identification, Ming-style furniture often uses metal as auxiliary components to enhance the use of functions. Because most of these metal ornaments have their own artistic shapes, they are also a unique decorative technique. It not only plays a further role in reinforcing the furniture, but also adds color to the furniture. ”

The characteristics of furniture in the Ming Dynasty and the former Qing Dynasty are usually said to be "exquisite, ingenious, simple and elegant". Therefore, the Ming Dynasty and the former Qing Dynasty furniture are often judged by this standard. Fine, that is, the selection of materials is excellent, and the production is exquisite. The materials used in Ming-style furniture are mostly red sandalwood, huanghuali and iron pear wood, which are hard, fine-grained and deep-colored.

In terms of technology, the mortise and tenon structure is used to connect reasonably, so that the furniture is solid and firm, and it will remain unchanged for a long time. Due to the slow growth of red sandalwood, huanghuali and iron pear wood, these materials were increasingly scarce after a large number of felling in the Ming Dynasty, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, these woods were very difficult to find. Therefore, after the Qing Dynasty, the furniture has undergone fundamental changes in the materials, and it is very important to identify and distinguish whether it is the furniture of the Ming Dynasty.

Qiao, that is, the production zuò is exquisite, and the design is ingenious. The modeling structure of the furniture in the Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to matching with the hall building. The overall configuration of the furniture itself is also in order, very harmonious, the user feels comfortable sitting on it, and feels comfortable lying on it, and the display in the hall has the ingenious role of decorating the environment and filling the space.

Jane, that is, concise shape and smooth lines. Although the shape of Ming-style furniture is varied and often changes, there is a basic point, that is, conciseness. Some people compare it to the painting of the Bada Shanren, which is concise, clear, and generalized. A few lines and combined shapes give people a quiet and beautiful, simple and stable, sparse and ethereal artistic effect.

Elegant, that is, fresh style, elegant and dignified. Ya is a kind of culture, that is, "bookish gas". Elegance is a state of beauty. The scribes of the Ming Dynasty advocated "elegance". Dignitaries and wealthy merchants also vassal "Ya".

Because many literati and painters living in Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty were directly involved in the design and production of gardening art and furniture, and the craftsmen also catered to the elegant tastes of the literati, the "elegant" character of Ming-style furniture was formed. The embodiment of elegance in furniture is the simplicity of the shape, the simplicity of the decoration, the freshness and naturalness of the color, and no pretentiousness.

Gu took Wu Shixiang to see a few representative utensils of the Ming family, circle chairs, top cabinets, and cases. Point out some points and details of identification and appreciation, and then come to the Qing style furniture exhibition area on the other side.

"There are some differences between Qing style furniture and Ming style furniture in plastic art and style, the characteristics of Qing style furniture are first of all in the thickness of the materials, the overall size of the furniture is wider than that of Ming style, and the corresponding local size is also increased."

"The second is the gorgeous decoration, the table xiàn techniques are mainly inlay, carving and painting, etc., giving people the feeling of stability, exquisite, luxurious, gorgeous, and the simplicity and generosity, grace, comfort of the Ming style furniture in sharp contrast. Compared with Ming-style furniture, Qing-style furniture is naturally not as highly scientific as Ming-style furniture, but there are still many unique features. ”

It is not like Ming-style furniture with simplicity, generosity, grace and comfort as the standard, but with heavy, prosperous, and magnificent as the standard, so it appears to be more than heavy, handsome and insufficient, giving people a dull and cumbersome feeling, and also lacking due scientificity. But on the other hand, because the Qing style furniture is magnificent, luxurious, steady, and majestic as the criterion, in order to achieve the design purpose, the use of various means, the use of a variety of materials, a variety of forms, skillfully decorated on the furniture, the effect is also very successful. ”

Anyone who has been to the Forbidden City knows that it is basically red sandalwood furniture, calm and atmospheric. The red sandalwood itself is the densest and heaviest of the mahogany, and it looks very rich. Especially purple, the royal family pays attention to the purple qi from the east, so the Qing Dynasty royal family is particularly fond of red sandalwood.

It took more than 100 years for the three generations of emperors of Kang Yongqian to replace all the furniture in the Forbidden City with red sandalwood, gathering the world's skilled craftsmen, using the best materials, and placing the most expensive books.

The main production areas of furniture in the Qing Dynasty were Guangzhou, Suzhou and Beijing, among which Guangzhou was the most famous. It is known as the three masterpieces of Qing Dynasty furniture.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, due to the large number of Western missionaries coming to China, some advanced science and technology were disseminated, which promoted the prosperity of China's economy, culture and art. Due to its specific geographical location, Guangzhou has become an important gateway for China's foreign trade and cultural exchanges.

With the further development of foreign trade, various handicraft industries such as ivory carving, magnetic firing, cloisonné, etc. have also been revived and developed. In addition, Guangdong is the main source of precious wood, and most of the high-quality timber from Nanyang countries is imported from Guangzhou, so the materials for making zuò furniture are relatively abundant. These unique favorable conditions give Cantonese furniture a unique artistic style.

One of the characteristics of Cantonese furniture is that the materials used are coarse and abundant. No matter how much the bending degree of the main components such as legs and feet and columns of Cantonese furniture is, the splicing method is generally not used, but is used to be dug with a piece of wood. The other parts are also roughly the same, so most of the Cantonese furniture is relatively stout.

Cantonese furniture is made of a kind of wood in order to pay attention to the consistency of wood. The Cantonese furniture that is usually seen, or red sandalwood, or mahogany, is all the same wood, and it is by no means miserably mixed with other kinds of wood. Moreover, the Cantonese furniture is not lacquered, so that the wood is completely exposed, so that people can see it at a glance and have a sense of reality and clarity.

The second characteristic of Cantonese furniture is that the decorative pattern is carved deeply, the knife is skillful, and the grinding is fine. Its carving style is influenced by Western architectural carving in a certain way, with high uplift of carving patterns and almost round carvings in some parts. Coupled with the fine grinding, the surface of the grain is as smooth as jade, without revealing any traces of knife chisels.

All in all, one word, expensive! But all the furniture is made of real materials, and the carving is meticulous and full of luxury. Shanxi coal boss favorite, once a red sandalwood carved dragon pattern antique bed, sold for more than 30 million! There really is no best, only the most expensive.

"You pay attention to its ornamentation, the decorative theme and ornamentation of Cantonese furniture, influenced by Western culture and art, after making utensils with traditional Chinese practices, and then decorated with Western-style patterns with carving, inlay and other craft techniques. This Western-style pattern is usually a pattern that resembles a peony, and it is also called passionflower. ”

"The lines of this pattern are smooth and varied, and the branches can be stretched freely according to different shapes. It is characterized by being centered on one or several flowers, stretching outwards in all directions, and most of them are symmetrical from top to bottom, left and right. If it is decorated on a round object, its branches and leaves are mostly cyclical, and the decorations on each side are cleverly connected, and it is difficult to distinguish their heads and tails.

"In addition to the Western-style decoration, Cantonese furniture also has a considerable number of traditional decorations. Such as various forms of seawater cloud dragon, seawater river cliffs, moire, phoenix pattern, crest pattern, bat, chime, entwined or broken branch flowers, and a variety of lace decorations. At first glance, a lot of Cantonese furniture looks like traditional Chinese patterns, but when you look closely, there are always more or less traces of Western style. It provides a basis for us to identify whether Cantonese furniture. ”

After reading a few Guangzuo furniture, the ancient focus took Wu Shixiang to Su's furniture and continued: "Suzhou-style furniture refers to the furniture produced in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River with Suzhou as the center. Soviet-style furniture was formed earlier, and the world-famous Ming-style furniture is dominated by Soviet-style furniture. However, after entering the Qing Dynasty, with the change of social atmosphere, Soviet-style furniture also began to change to the direction of cumbersome and flashy. ”

"In order to save materials, when making furniture, such as tables, chairs, and stools, Soviet-style furniture often mixes other firewood in the dark. In this case, it is more than a table on the materials used to wear the belt in the utensils. Now the Palace Museum has a large number of Soviet-style furniture, eight out of ten, nine times have this phenomenon, and the Ming and Qing dynasties of Soviet-style furniture are like this. Soviet-style furniture is painted on the inside, the purpose is to avoid moisture, keep the wood from deformation, and also have the effect of covering the ugliness.

"In other words, Su Zuo has the most cats among them?" Wu Shixiang heard the ancient sound outside the strings.

"Yes, Suzuo has the longest history and the highest craftsmanship of craftsmen, so the means of decoration are the highest." The word "modification" is used in ancient times, which means a lot.

"The inlay and carving of Soviet-style furniture are mainly expressed in the cabinets and screens, taking this ordinary cabinet as an example, usually made of hardwood into the cabinet frame, in which the groove is inlaid with a pine or fir board, and then according to the lacquer process to make a plain lacquer surface, after the lacquer surface is dry, start to decorate, first trace the sketch on the lacquer surface, and then dig the groove with a knife according to the pattern form, and insert the various textures of the inserts into the groove according to the drawing in advance, and glue it firmly, that is, the finished product."

"Most of the various inlays in Soviet-style furniture are stacked with small pieces of materials, and the common inlay materials are mostly jade, ivory, snails and colored stones of various colors, and there are also a considerable number of wood carvings. Among the various wood carvings, wenge wood is the majority. The main advantage of Suzhou furniture inlay is that it can make full use of the material, even if it is only the size of a soybean, the jade crushed or Luodian sand salt, will not be discarded. ”

This is the case, in ancient times, Guangzhou was a port, and there were the most materials, so the craftsmen there did not cherish the materials very much, and they used them very expensively. However, there are not many materials to be transported to Suzhou, so craftsmen naturally have to consider the cost and find ways to save materials, forcing them to increase their sense of design. Ming-style Huanghuali furniture is estimated to have been born in this way?

"The decorative themes of Suzhou furniture are mostly taken from the paintings of celebrities in the past dynasties, mainly pine, bamboo, plum blossoms, mountains and stones, flowers and birds, landscapes and various myths and legends. The second is the traditional ornamentation such as "sea water cloud dragon, sea water river cliff, dragon play beads, dragon and phoenix are auspicious" and so on. Folded flowers are also very common, and the local decoration is mainly entangled lotus and entwined peony. Western patterns are extremely rare, and generally speaking, it is a Soviet-style entwined branch lotus or a Cantonese-style passionflower, which has become a feature that distinguishes the Soviet-style and Cantonese-style. ”