Adapting Forms to Function—The Tsinghua Collection of Furniture

A very distinctive exhibition on the fourth floor of the Tsinghua University Art Museum is worth a visit, which is the 'Adapting Forms to Function—The Tsinghua Collection of Furniture' exhibition. The history of the development of ancient Chinese furniture is very long. Seating and storage furniture appeared during the pre-Qin period, and lacquered wood furniture from the Han dynasty was already exquisite. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, tall furniture became popular with the 'sitting with feet down' lifestyle. After development during the Tang and Song periods, by the Ming and Qing dynasties, furniture craftsmanship became even more skilled and refined, with more scientific and reasonable structural designs. Chinese classical furniture entered its golden age, giving birth to the world-renowned 'Ming-style furniture'. Ming-style furniture refers to furniture from the Ming to the early Qing dynasty that has a unified style characteristic of the era. This style of furniture can be divided into six categories according to its function: seating, sleeping, supporting, storing, shelving, and screen furniture. In terms of materials, it includes hardwood, lacquered wood, and miscellaneous wood furniture used daily by common people. In terms of production areas, the main ones are Suzhou, Yangzhou, Beijing, Huizhou, Shanxi, etc., among which the hardwood furniture produced in the Jiangnan area centered on Suzhou is particularly representative. In the formation of Ming-style furniture style, scholars played an important role. As stated in 'The Record of Long Objects', 'Tables and couches have their measures, utensils have their forms, placements are fixed, valuing precision and convenience, simplicity and cutting, cleverness and naturalness', which represents their general requirements for furniture. In terms of materials, Ming-style furniture is often made of wood that is hard, with fine texture, and glossy color, fully utilizing the inherent grain and color of the wood. Structurally, Ming-style furniture mainly imitates early architectural woodwork, with a frame structure as the mainstay, and the connections between parts rely mainly on mortise and tenon, with very few nails used. In terms of dimensions, craftsmen could arrange the height, width, and breadth reasonably according to the purpose of the furniture, and many designs are even in line with modern ergonomics. The Ming-style furniture in the Tsinghua University Art Museum's collection comes from the old collection of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, which was purchased in the early 1950s under the care of the older generation of arts and crafts educators such as Zhang Ding, Pang Xunqin, Lei Kuiyuan, Chen Shuliang, and Xu Zhenpeng. Art educators such as Luo Wuyi, Hu Wenyen, and Chen Zengbi, who were older generation experts in Ming-style furniture research, used it for teaching and research, and it still remains a precious material for students to learn about classical furniture today. Currently, there are 41 sets of Ming-style furniture in the exhibition hall, mainly made of high-quality hardwoods such as huanghuali and zitan, among which the Ming ju wood low official's hat chair, Ming huanghuali square qin table, Ming huanghuali low qiaotou table, and huanghuali round chair are all rare masterpieces of Ming-style furniture. Exhibition location: Fourth floor of Tsinghua University Art Museum Opening hours: 9:00—17:00 Closed on Mondays