Yan Liqiang was very surprised to see that Gao Yan took the initiative to talk to Yu Lifei. He has known Gao Yan for many years, but even so, every time he is with Gao Yan, there will be no communication. The reason why he called Yu Lifei just now was that he felt that it was really boring to accompany Gao Yan. But if he didn't watch Gao Yan do things, his heart felt like a cat scratching.

"There are many shapes of Luohan beds, but the basic shapes are all surrounded on three sides, with one side rushing forward. Some people think that the Luohan bed is converted from the Maitreya couch, I wonder if Mr. Gao thinks there is a basis? Yu Lifei asked respectfully.

The name of the Luohan bed is slangy, and there is no convincing explanation so far, and it is speculated to be related to the Maitreya couch called by the Ming people. The Maitreya couch is a large seat, short and cannot be reclined; And the Luohan bed also has a greater function of sitting than a lying function. The living custom of the ancients before the Sui and Tang dynasties was to sit on the ground, although it evolved into sitting with feet hanging down after the Song Dynasty, but the habit of meditating cross-legged has been retained. Maitreya couch and arhat bed are all furniture varieties reserved to adapt to the old customs of the Chinese people. In addition, there is a saying that the Luohan bed is the evolution of the original Han couch. Gao Yan said.

"Brother Qiang, do you see it, Mr. Gao is worthy of being an expert. Mr. Gao, can you popularize the knowledge of beds with us again? Yu Lifei said with a smile.

"In ancient China, there were two kinds of sleep, big sleep and nap, big sleep is the formal sleep at night, nap refers to a nap and other naps, couch and arhat bed are used for napping, can be used to entertain guests, and shelf beds and pull step beds are used for big sleep, can not be used to entertain guests. Before the Qing Dynasty, and even in the early years of the Republic of China, the highest level of hospitality was always on the bed or on the kang.

The main function of the couch and the arhat bed is not to sleep, but to entertain guests. Since the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties "Han Xizai's Night Banquet", through the paintings of the past dynasties, you can frequently see the ancients with the couch or arhat bed as the center of the scene of hospitality. Since the Ming Dynasty, especially in the Qing Dynasty, this kind of etiquette has become a formality. Therefore, the Luohan bed has developed from simplicity to gorgeousness, and gradually emphasizes its own decoration, such as the three-screen Luohan bed.

Now if you go to the countryside in the north. If the old lady in the countryside doesn't pull you into the pit, she feels unaffectionate and feels that the level is not high enough. Chatting, drinking tea, and eating all have to be done on the kang. This is our culture, a culture that hasn't changed radically in years. Gao Yan said.

"Is "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" the painting in the Forbidden City's collection?" Yan Liqiang asked, this is one of the top ten famous paintings handed down in our country, although he is not an expert in antique appreciation, but such a masterpiece, I have heard of it. If you don't even know about this painting. I'm embarrassed to tell others that I'm a collector.

"Han Xizai's Night Banquet" is a masterpiece in the history of Chinese painting and one of the top ten famous paintings in China. It depicts the scene of the Southern Tang Dynasty eunuch Han Xizai's family having a banquet in the form of a long scroll. It is divided into five sections: listening to the pipa, drumming and watching the dance, enjoying the six dances of Wangwushan, changing clothes for a while, blowing the ensemble, and the end of the song. In order to avoid the suspicion of Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Han Xizai took sound and color as a place of obscurity, feasted every night, and indulged in frolic with guests. This picture depicts the whole process of a night banquet in the Korean government. The lines of this long scroll are accurate and smooth, the work is delicate and agile, and it is full of superficial power. The colorwork is beautiful and elegant, and rich in layering, and the charm is unique.

"Not bad. Do you know "Han Xizai's Night Banquet", do you know the author's situation? Gao Yan nodded, but when he asked the question, his eyes looked at Yu Lifei.

"If I'm not mistaken. The author of "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" should be Gu Hongzhong. A native of Jiangnan, known for his good at painting figures, he has long served as the painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty Hanlin Academy.

According to the Chinese painting bibliography "Xuanhe Book Pedigree", Han Xizai, a scholar in the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties, was a very talented official. Born in the northern Wang family, he ascended to the rank of Jin Shi in the last years of the Tang Dynasty and knew music. He is good at poetry, calligraphy and painting. He is good at painting and is rich in political talents.

However, this man kept a kabuki and indulged in sensuality, and his house was often full of guests, drinking and feasting, and often singing loudly. Put all your bitterness in the singing and dancing night banquet. The weak queen Li Yu relied on Han Xizai and wanted to use him as a minister, but he was not at ease. It turned out that at that time, the country was divided, the north and the south were divided, the Southern Tang state was weakened, and the powerful Later Zhou in the north posed a serious threat to the Southern Tang. The later lord Li Yu was suspicious of those northerners who were officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty, for fear that they would have two hearts. Someone reported to the queen Li Yu that some officials of the DPRK and China were going to the house of Han Xizai, the minister from the north, for a gathering tonight. The queen Li Yu was suspicious, and in order to understand the real situation, he sent Gu Hongzhong and Zhou Wenju to sneak into Han's house late at night to find out about his activities behind his back.

Gu Hong found that among the guests were officials such as Lang Cang, the new champion of the new department, Chen Yong, Dr. Taichang, Zhu Mian, Ziwei Lang, Zhu Mian, and Li Jiaming, the deputy envoy of the teaching workshop, in addition to some popular singers and dancers at that time. The atmosphere of the night banquet was extremely warm, and the guests and hosts were staggered, and there was a tendency to get drunk and rest. During the night feast, there are singers singing, playing music and dancing to add to the fun. One by one, the guests reveled in joy.

Gu Hong understood that Han Xizai's practice of indulging in lust to kill time was actually trying to protect himself, wanting to show that he was not interested in power, so as to avoid being suspected and persecuted by the emperor.

After going back, Gu Hongzhong and Zhou Wenju each drew a picture of "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" and sent it to the queen Li Yu according to their own vision and heart. After Li Yu looked at the painting, he became much less wary of Han Xizai. Later, Han Xizai was tired of officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty to the Zhongshu Shilang, and the bachelor of the Guangzheng Palace undertook the decree and had a good death. "Yu Lifei read books on this as early as Erfeng County. After arriving in Tanzhou, he specialized in research, and he could basically memorize "Xuanhe Book Spectrum" backwards.

The Xuanhe Book is a bibliographic work of calligraphy works collected by the imperial court compiled under the auspices of the government during the reign of Emperor Xuanhe of the Northern Song Dynasty of China. The book consists of 20 volumes, which record the ink blots of the law books of the past dynasties in the imperial palace of the Xuanhe period, including 1,344 works of 197 people, and are classified according to the emperor and the style of the book. Each type of calligraphy is preceded by a narrative describing the origin and development of each type of calligraphy, followed by a short biography of the calligrapher, a commentary, and finally a catalogue of the works in the imperial palace. The style is well-styled, the reviews are well-reviewed, and the information is abundant.

Yu Lifei's own calligraphy is very good, and he has read a lot of information in this regard before he came to Tanzhou. After he arrived in Tanzhou, he found this book and read it several times. His memory is getting stronger and stronger, and he can memorize almost all of them as long as he looks at them a few times.

"What about the painting made by Zhou Wenju?" Yan Liqiang asked.

"It's lost." Yu Lifei said regretfully that for so many years, how many ancients have been looking for Zhou Wenju's "Han Xizai's Night Banquet", and this painting may not exist in the world for a long time.

"Mr. Yan. This friend of yours is an all-rounder. Gao Yan was also surprised that Lifei could speak in such detail. People who engage in antiques can be proficient in one or two items, which is already very good. If you know everything, it's a miscellaneous family. It's not so easy to be a successful miscellaneous family.

"I'm miscellaneous but not sophisticated, unlike Mr. Gao, who can be a real expert." Yu Lifei said with a smile.

"Lao Gao, what do you think of my bed frame?" Yan Liqiang was very happy to see that Gao Yan was also convinced of Lifei. But the topic ran away, and today he just wanted to get to know his two beds well. For the couch. He already understands something. But the shelf bed, he also slept in when he was a child, but it is not very clear what culture is in it.

"Let's let Mr. Yu talk about it." Gao Yan said.

"Mr. Gao, it's okay if you call me less than, sir, I really don't dare to be." Yu Lifei said humbly, looking at the shelf bed that had been assembled soon, Yu Lifei said: "The so-called shelf bed. That is, the stacked frame has a top, and there are six pillars, and there are four pillars, and occasionally there are eight pillars. Before the Song Dynasty, there was no bed for the ancients to sleep on. To put it simply, it is to hide and turn your back to the sky. With the shelf bed, China's living culture has undergone heavy changes. ”

"I only have an empty shelf left in this shelf bed, why is there no pillar left?" Yan Liqiang looked pity.

"It's nice to have this empty shelf. If the accessories are complete, it will be a big deal. Less, you and Mr. Yan popularize the knowledge of shelf beds. Gao Yan said.

"After having a shelf bed. You can hang the account on the bed, keep warm in winter, and avoid insects in summer. We now have fans and air conditioners, and if not not, at least mosquito coils. However, in the past, there were no such conditions, and the summer was very hot, and there were moths, so it was not good to sleep at night. And with a shelf bed, at least you can get a good night's sleep. Don't underestimate this change, the emergence of the shelf bed has a far-reaching impact on our society.

Since the emergence of shelf beds in the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese have divided their sleeping use into big sleep and small nap. The big nap is done in the shelf and the step bed, and the nap is done on the couch or the arhat bed. There is a long-standing custom in our country: the haunting of the cave house. In the past, when the bride and groom entered the cave room, they were allowed to pierce the window paper and look inside. With the conservatism of the ancients, why was this possible? It's because of the shelf bed that the people outside can't actually see the movement of the newcomer on the bed at all. Otherwise, I'm afraid no one is allowed to make a hole in the house.

In addition, when the bed has a circumference, the effective usable area increases. With a bed of the same size, as long as you have a scircumference, you can sleep one more person because it will not fall. You can imagine that when we sleep, if your arms and legs stick out of the bed, and you don't wake up, you will involuntarily roll in. If there is a fence, even if you pull to the side, you will not be afraid in your heart, and you can still fall asleep.

In addition, the shelf bed has the advantage of making the Chinese couple's life seem changeable. The emergence of shelf beds is also helpful for couples. We have always underestimated the pursuit and pleasure of the ancients in their sexual life, thinking that the ancients were poisoned by feudal etiquette and had no pursuit. But if you look closely at the shelf bed and understand its function, you will know that today's life is shallow.

For example, if there are strong railings and pillars on the bed, you can make full use of them to complete difficult movements. It's just that these potential benefits are no longer known to modern people. The style of our current bed is all handed down from abroad, but it has given up the many changes that the shelf bed has brought to our lives, and even the enjoyment of happiness. Yu Lifei said.

"Lifei, as soon as you say that, I decided to sleep in this bed in the future. There was only one bed, and the doorposts and canopy were gone. Can you help me find it, if I can find it, it would be great. If you really can't do it, Lao Gao, you have to help me draw a picture, and you have to match it. Yan Liqiang was thrilled by Yu Lifei's words, it was really a pleasure to be able to sleep on such an antique shelf bed. (To be continued......)