What are the characteristics of the Ming and Qing furniture carving and decoration?

Ming and Qing furniture in the decorative techniques and ornamentation on the existence of the differences between the times. Generally speaking, Ming furniture to exquisite but not obscene, simple but not vulgar, thick but not stagnant, it is unique aesthetic personality and artistic paradigm is also clearly reflected in the decorative patterns. Three Friends: Pine and bamboo do not wither in winter, and plum blossoms open up to the cold, hence the name "Three Friends", which is a metaphor for faithful friendship. Chinese decorative motifs have the characteristics of inheritance and convergence, the output of each era contains more or less historical factors, each category of decorative may also appear in other categories. Many of the decorative motifs of Ming furniture are inherited. Such as auspicious clouds, dragons and phoenixes, twining flowers and plants, figures and legends, etc., these themes can often be seen in embroidery, ceramics, lacquerware and other categories. However, Ming furniture decorative themes still have their own tendencies and selective, such as pine, bamboo, plum, orchid, pomegranate, ganoderma lucidum, lotus and other botanical themes; rocks, water, village houses, pavilions and other scenic themes; fish and algae, Lin, Rui lion, magpies, and other animal themes are more common. The most prominent feature of the Ming furniture decorative motifs is the use of a large number of themes with auspicious symbols, such as Fang Sheng, disk long, 10,000 words, Ruyi, cloud head, turtle back, curved, chain, etc., compared with the Qing furniture, Ming furniture decorative motifs of the symbols of the majority of the more elegant and elegant, quite a "clear moon and clear water", "spring white snow" and so on. Yangchunbaixue" and so on the interest of literary Confucian scholars, more enhanced the elegant temperament of Ming-style furniture. Qing-style furniture to carving and painting full of gorgeous and gorgeous, its decorative patterns also correspondingly reflect this aesthetic style. Qing Dynasty furniture decorative motifs in the Ming Dynasty on the basis of further development and broadening of the subject matter, plants, animals, landscapes, people everywhere, very rich. Auspicious motifs in this period is also very popular, but most of the popular motifs in this period to be close to the lives of ordinary people for the purpose, compared with the Ming furniture of the Yangchunbaixue, appears to be somewhat secularized. Furniture decorative patterns in the late Qing Dynasty with the names of various items put together into an auspicious phrase, such as "Deer and Crane with Spring", "Year after year", "Phoenix play peony, "Flowers bloom rich and noble", "the sun rises high", "early birth" and so on, the furniture of the court nobles are more "auspicious clouds hold the sun", "double sun" and "two". "," Double Dragon Playing with Pearls "," Hongfuqitian "," five blessings of life "and so on. In short, the theme of colorful is one of the characteristics of the Qing furniture decoration pattern. Qing-style furniture decorative motifs are mostly from the people's simple life will or rulers to show off the power of the wealth of utilitarian requirements, not as Ming-style furniture to get away. For the choice of decorative motifs, but also less elaborate than the Ming furniture, some furniture decorative motifs are obviously purely to show that the rich and noble, and little attention to the relevance of the subject matter. At the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, Western culture and art gradually imported into China, to the Qing dynasty after the Yongzheng, imitation of Western patterns of the wind flourished, especially in the Qing dynasty Guangzhou-style furniture, the emergence of a combination of Western and Chinese furniture, that is, the traditional Chinese practices into the ware, and carving Western patterns, usually a pattern shaped like a peony, also known as the passion flower, this pattern appeared in the era of the relatively late. Some subjects, although both Ming and Qing dynasties have adopted, but there is a difference in the content of the pattern. Such as the unicorn as a kind of beast, is commonly used in ancient China's decorative themes, the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the unicorn must be lying down, that is, before and after the two legs are kneeling on the ground; and the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, the unicorn must be seated, the front leg is no longer kneeling but straightened, but the back leg is still the same with the middle of the Ming Dynasty; into the Qing Dynasty, after the Kangxi, unicorn before and after the legs stand up, eyeing the tiger. In addition to furniture on the Bogu pattern, popular in the Qing dynasty twice, once in the Kangxi period, once in the Tongzhi, Guangxu period, the two same Bogu, the former advocate elegance and leisure, the latter respected jinshi learning. The same as Bogu, the connotation is different. Traditional auspicious carving decoration Wanzhi pattern: Wanzhi pattern that is the "swastika" pattern. "The swastika is an ancient talisman, often considered to be a symbol of the sun or fire. "In Sanskrit, the swastika means "the collection of good fortune", and is considered by Buddhism to be the auspicious appearance of Shakyamuni's chest, which means good fortune, good fortune and longevity. Phoenix playing peony: Phoenix is an auspicious bird in people's mind, peony symbolizes wealth and auspiciousness, the phoenix playing peony pattern, in addition to the meaning of wealth and prosperity, but also used for marriage and symbolize love, becoming an important theme for the expression of folk marriage. Ganoderma lucidum pattern: Ganoderma lucidum has been regarded as a symbol of good fortune, wealth, beauty and longevity since ancient times, and is known as "immortal grass" and "auspicious grass", and the Ganoderma lucidum pattern is also a common motif on the royal and folk furniture and other artifacts. Sihe Ruyi: one of the traditional Chinese auspicious motifs, generally for the four Ruyi from all sides around the hook up, symbolizing all things as expected, and beautiful.