The name of the chair first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and the image of the chair can be traced back to the Hu bed that was introduced to the north during the Han and Wei dynasties. The mural in Dunhuang Cave 285 shows two people sitting on chairs; the mural in Cave 257 shows women sitting on square stools and cross-legged benches; the stone carvings in Longmen Lotus Cave show women sitting on round stools. This image vividly reproduces the use of chairs and stools in official and noble families during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Although the seats at that time already had the shape of chairs and stools, because there were no titles like chairs and stools at that time, people still used to call them "Hu Beds". In temples, they were often used for sitting meditation, so they were also called Zen Beds. After the Tang Dynasty, the use of chairs gradually increased, and the name chair was also widely used, and it was separated from the category of beds. Therefore, when talking about the origin of chairs and stools, we must start from the Hu bed in the Han and Wei dynasties.
Song. Gao Cheng's "Shi Jiyuan" cited "Customs" and said: "Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was fond of Hu clothes, and the landscape master made Hu beds. This is the beginning of it, and it is now the leading one." "Book of the Later Han Dynasty." "Five Elements Chronicles One": "Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty loved Hu clothes, Hu tents, Hu beds, Hu seats, Hu rice...all the nobles and relatives in Kyoto did it." These two records can prove that the appearance of chairs in ancient my country should be in the Han Dynasty The period of Emperor Ling (168-189).
Hu beds were widely used from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Rich and powerful people not only had them in their homes, but also had to be carried around by their attendants when traveling for temporary rest. . The Hu bed was a higher-grade furniture category at that time, and usually only the male master of the family or distinguished guests were eligible to enjoy it. There are many praises and vivid descriptions among local people and scholars. For example, Liang Yu Jianwu of the Southern Dynasties said in his "Poetry of Ode to the Hu Bed":
The name passed down was from a foreign land, and the name was transferred to Beijing.
The shape of the feet has been corrected, and the italics of the text have been straightened.
In front of the hall, I ordered the travelers to go out to fight.
He Ruziguan, flooded with water to serve the Ming Dynasty.
Hu Bed is also known as "Jiao Bed" and "Rope Bed" due to its morphological characteristics. In the Sui Dynasty, it was called "Jiao Bed" because Emperor Gaozu of the Sui Dynasty wanted to avoid the word "Hu". If the utensils involved the word "Hu", Xian ordered to change it. Song Dynasty. Tao's "Qing Yi Lu" says: "The Hu bed was turned around to hold hands, and a bandage was put on to sit on it. It shrunk for a moment and weighed no more than a few kilograms. It is said that the Ming emperor had many good fortunes. He accompanied his ministers and drove him, and he could not express his desires. The body was so creative that it was called 'Happy Sitting' at that time." The Hu bed did not have a backrest at first, just like the Mazar we see today. Backrests began to appear in the Tang Dynasty. This kind of happy sitting is probably a bed with a backrest. The Hu bed first appeared in the Han Dynasty, hundreds of years earlier than Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty. It is obviously inappropriate to say that it was the creation of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty. So the creativity mentioned here should refer to the addition of a backrest. Hu beds were popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially in the Song Dynasty. However, in the Song Dynasty, fewer and fewer people called Hu beds, while more and more people called them "Jiaozhuang".
The Hu bed with a backrest dates from Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, and can also be found in the Tang Dynasty's "Jidu Temple Beihai Altar Sacrificial Utensils and Miscellaneous Inscriptions". It is confirmed by the records of "Stele Yin", which records: "Ten rope beds and four chairs inside." From this record, it can be seen that the name of the chair already existed in the first year of Zhenyuan of the Tang Dynasty. The "ten rope beds with four chairs inside" mentioned here means that among the ten rope beds, four are chairs that can be leaned on. This is obviously to distinguish them from the other six rope beds without backrests. It can be seen that although the name chair has appeared and it is a common piece of furniture in daily life, it has not been completely separated from the concept of bed. In the classics of the Tang Dynasty, it is still common to refer to chairs as beds. Du Fu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Youth Journey." "Qi Jue" wrote:
Whose white-faced man is about to dismount his horse in front of the street and sit on a bed.
I don’t know the name of the rich man, so he pointed out the silver bottle and asked for wine to taste.
Although the bed mentioned here does not reflect whether it is a chair with a backrest, it is certainly not a bedding for sleeping.
"Chair" is also used as "lean". It originated earlier, but it does not refer to a chair for people to sit on. It was originally the name of a kind of tree, also known as "Shantongzi" and "Water Melon". The wood can be used to make furniture.
There is another explanation for the word "chair" before the Tang Dynasty, which means "by the car", that is, the fence of the car. Its function is for people to rely on when riding in a car. Later chairs, in the form of a fence installed on a four-legged platform, were probably inspired by the fence next to the car, and the seat was called a "chair" after its name.
Judging from the existing data, there were already quite exquisite chairs in the Tang Dynasty. For example, in Lang Yuling's "Portraits of Emperors of the Past", the chair that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sits on has four straight legs, a girdle waist, angled teeth on the upper side, and lines starting from the corners. This kind of decoration was called "mixed-sided double-sided line" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. ". Four pillars are erected at the rear of the sitting surface, the middle two pillars are slightly higher, and curved beams are installed on the upper part. The parts growing out at both ends are carved into dragon heads. The armrests are swung forward from the rear center pillar through the side pillars and rest on the front pillars. The space between the armrest and the seat surface is decorated with inlaid rings. The ends of the armrests are also carved into dragon heads, integrating with the backrest. The sitting surface is cushioned and backed. This must have been a very refined chair at the time. The chair depicted in Lu Lengyu's "Portraits of Six Saints" of the Tang Dynasty is more representative. It uses four bells and pestles instead of four legs, and is connected by crossbars on both sides. The front pillars of the armrests and the side pillars of the chair are roundly carved with lotus flowers. The top of the head is arched, and both ends are upturned and decorated with lotus flowers. The lotus flowers hang down with beaded tassels, and the overall shape is solemn and luxurious. Furniture inlaid with gold and jade reflected the dignity and sanctity of eminent monks in the temple at that time.
From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, tall seats became more popular than ever, and chairs came in many forms, including armchairs, armchairs, armchairs, etc. At the same time, the shape, material and function of the chair are also different according to the different levels of superiority and inferiority.
The furniture from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty generally retained the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, but high-end furniture became more popular than before.
The use of tall furniture became fashionable among the people, and tall tables and chairs were a must-have at home, as can be seen from the paintings of the time. For example, the small shops in Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" from the Song Dynasty are all equipped with various high-end furniture. The armchairs depicted in the Song Dynasty's "Huichang Nine Elders" also had no variety in previous generations. Among the Song Dynasty tombs excavated in recent years, there are also furniture models made of stone and pottery, or various types of furniture made of bricks or carved on the walls of the tomb chambers. Among them, the scene of the tomb owner and his wife sitting on chairs is the most common. For example, the stone chair fragments unearthed in Nancheng, Hebei, the brick-carved tables and chairs in the Song Dynasty tomb No. 7 in Shizhuang, Jingjing County, Hebei, the tables and chairs in the "Sitting Figure" mural in the Shizhuang tomb No. 2, and the tables and chairs in the Western Song Dynasty tomb in Jian, Luoyang Brick carving furniture, etc. This shows that chairs and other tall seats were not only commonly used in people's daily lives, but were also used as burial objects.
A kind of high chair was popular in the Song Dynasty, which was higher than other chairs. Families with some status all purchased high chairs for the use of the host and distinguished guests. "