"Ji" was not for people to sit in ancient times, but for people to lean on. Cases are divided into book cases and food cases, which shows that in ancient times, cases were used for reading, writing and eating, and the size of such cases was relatively small.
The name "table" appeared very late. According to the research of Shang Dynasty on social customs and things, the name "Biao" officially appeared in China in the Song Dynasty.
It is not clear in which dynasty this kind of stool first appeared. 1959, two earliest models of porcelain stools were unearthed in the tomb of Zhang Sheng in Anyang, Henan Province, which proved that rectangular stools existed at least in the Sui Dynasty. Inferred from the same width of stool legs and stools, it may have evolved from several stools.
Extended data
Modern furniture such as tables, chairs and benches has a long history.
The earliest furniture was a bed, and there was the word "bed" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions.
A bed from the Warring States Period was unearthed from Chu Tomb in Xinyang, Henan Province. Hu bed was introduced from outland during the Warring States Period. It is said that the Hu bed is made of two sticks, and the bed surface is made of rope. It can be folded or unfolded, and it is very convenient to carry, which is a bit like what people now call a "camp bed".
The original name of the chair was "leaning", which was first mentioned by Tang Yulin when he talked about Yan Zhenqing's mission. According to the image data, the earliest is the Western Wei mural Fairy in the Woods in Cave 285 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
After the tables and chairs were produced, they were only used by nobles at first, and the grades were very strict. For example, there is a historical record in Biography of Empresses of the Song Dynasty: Liu Guifei and Hou Meng appeared in front of Empress Dowager Cixi, Hou Meng was sitting in a gold painted chair, and Liu Guifei was also sitting in this chair. Both sides were unconvinced.
Real tables and chairs spread to the people and became the daily necessities of most people, about in the Northern Song Dynasty and the mid-Southern Song Dynasty. After the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the ancient custom of sitting on the floor was gradually abolished.
On the basis of the previous generation of furniture in Song Dynasty, new furniture varieties appeared constantly. Besides beds, tables, chairs, stools, height counters and screens, there are also long boxes, cabinets, clothes hangers, towel racks, arc footbeds, mirror tables and so on. There have also been many advances in furniture production, such as carving flowers on furniture.
In the Ming Dynasty, furniture with strict material selection, beautiful shape and exquisite carving appeared, which made furniture not only be used as daily necessities, but also become handicrafts with appreciation value.
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