The history of several cases of furniture can be traced back at least to Yu's time, which was called Yi at that time and was mostly used for sacrifice. The case name did not appear until the late Zhou Dynasty, and the table name did not appear until the Five Dynasties. The square table that can be tested now appeared at least in Liao and Jin Dynasties and was popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Especially in the Qing dynasty, almost every family can find the shadow of the square table, and even become the only large furniture in many families.
Square table structure:
1. The popularity of the square table is inevitable both in structure and use. It is generally believed that the square table is the most simple, economical and practical furniture in large-scale furniture. Easy to use, square in appearance and firm in structure. Kindness, peace and strong sense of stability make the square table an elegant main hall furniture. No matter whether the hall decoration is elegant, simple or even rough, as long as the space is not particularly cramped, putting a square table and two chairs on both sides will produce a very stable feeling, such as being a great scholar, stable and peaceful.
2. Because the table top of the square table is relatively large, after hundreds of years of talent, it is difficult for precious hardwood to be so complete without defective products, so there are few all-material tables except firewood.
The legend of the square table:
According to legend, in the past, Buyi people had no table at their wedding, so they had to eat with wood or slate outside. On a hot day, they were sweating profusely. On a rainy day, I was soaked through. One day, a family picked up their daughter-in-law. At noon, the sun became hot, and all the relatives and friends who were squatting on the ground for dinner were sweating. But just after two turns, the sky was covered with dark clouds and it rained cats and dogs, and the food on the ground was drenched by the rain.
Just after the heavy rain, a group of people came, claiming to be distant relatives of this family. One is riding a donkey, the other is on crutches, and there are eight people in all. Seeing that the food on the ground was drenched by the rain, and the relatives who came to eat wine were drenched, they asked the host why they didn't eat in the house. The host said that the slate was too heavy to move, and the wood could not be moved indoors, so we had to make do outside. After several distant "relatives" asked the reason, they decided to create a good environment for the hospitable Buyi people to eat comfortably in the house and not be exposed to the sun and rain.
So several "relatives" told the host to put the underground food into the kitchen and told them to change into wet clothes and not to come to the main house for the time being. When the relatives changed into dry clothes and came to the principal room, they saw that several "relatives" from afar had set up a large row of neat wooden square tables in the principal room, surrounded by wooden benches, and invited relatives to sit down for dinner according to the proportion of eight people at each table. When the host saw this, he was too excited to know what to say. He just kept asking several "relatives" to sit at the table in front of his house for dinner, and kept saying, "My God, you are really immortals!" Reading aloud, with tables and drinks at hand, and so on, several "relatives" suddenly disappeared.
At this time, all relatives were very surprised, saying that they might be immortals and wanted to help us Buyi people do good things. It is said that these "relatives" are the Eight Immortals in the sky. Later, Buyi people called this kind of table the Eight Immortals Table, which was used to set meals and eat wine when people were drinking or visiting relatives and friends. In order to commemorate the achievements of the Eight Immortals, there are usually good wines and delicious things, and Buyi people will put them on the table of the Eight Immortals at home to show their sacrifice to the Eight Immortals.
Extended data:
Characteristics of square table
By the Ming dynasty, the shape of the square table was basically perfect, which was divided into two forms: waist-tied and non-waist-tied. The technique of waist binding is to shrink a circle at the lower part of the table, and the four legs without waist binding are directly connected to the table. By the Qing Dynasty, most of the Eight Immortals tables were changed into belts, and some table legs were also changed into three-legged ones. Many decorative parts have been added to the dental plate, such as the dragon-turning, embossed auspicious patterns and so on, which are very beautiful and exquisite in workmanship.
The square table is simple in structure and saves materials. A piece of furniture has only three parts: legs, edges and teeth. The side length of the desktop is generally required to be more than 0.9 meters, and the edge of the desktop should be wider. The frame is slotted and the plate is used as the core plate. There are generally two core plates (in Xiangtan, Hunan, there are generally three core plates). A support belt is installed behind the desktop to increase the firmness and bearing capacity of the desktop. Porcelain boards, beeches and marble are also used as tabletops.
On the ninth day of the first month, Shishi people have the custom of "worshipping God". On this day, every household will set up such a "square table", which is filled with various offerings and is very rich. In addition, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month or when there is a happy event at home, such a scene will also appear in Shishi's home. It is a way worth promoting to reproduce hometown customs and let children know about traditional culture through parent-child handcraft.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-baxianzhuo