Which ethnic group invented seating devices like chairs and stools?

Chair is a kind of backrest, some have armrests of the sitting. Ancient sitting on the ground, there is no chair, "chair" is the name of the wood. "Poetry" has "its chair", "chair" that is "catalpa", is the name of a tree. According to the literature, the name of the chair was first seen in the Tang Dynasty, and the image of the chair is to be traced back to the Han Wei when imported into the north of the Hu bed. Dunhuang 285 caves murals have two people sitting on the chair image; 257 caves murals sitting on a square stool and cross-legged stool women; Longmen Lotus Cave stone carving sitting on a round stool women. These images vividly reproduce the use of chairs and stools in the families of nobles and eunuchs during the North and South Dynasties. Although the sitting furniture has been equipped with a chair, stool shape, but because of its time there is no chair, stool title, people are still used to call "Hu bed", in the temple, often used to sit in meditation, so it is also known as Zen bed. After the Tang Dynasty, the use of chairs gradually increased, the name of the chair is also widely used, separated from the category of bed. Therefore, on the origin of chairs and stools, must start from the Han Wei Hu bed.

Song. Gao Cheng "things" cited in the "Customs" said: "Han Lingdi good hu clothing, Jing Shi made Hu bed, this cover its beginning, today's chair is also". Later Han Book. Wuxing Zhi I ":" Han Lingdi good hu clothes, hu tent, hu bed, hu sit, hu rice ......, Kyoto, the noble relatives are actually for it." These two records can be proved, China's ancient chair when the emergence of the Han Lingdi period (168-189 years).

Hu bed in the Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties are widely used, rich, powerful people not only room necessary, is to travel by the attendant to carry the Hu bed to follow the left and right in order to prepare for the temporary rest of the use. Hu bed in the furniture category at that time is a higher grade varieties, usually only the master of the house or guests are eligible to enjoy. There are also many praises and vivid descriptions in the Fangren Yashu. For example, the Southern Liang Yu Shouwu "Wing Hu bed poem" said:

The name is foreign, into the letter in the capital.

The foot interjection is already in the right shape, and the slanting body of the text is flat.

To the distant guests in the hall, I ordered the travelers to swear to go on a journey.

How can I be like Zikan, and how can I be like Zikan, and how can I be like Zikan, and how can I be like Zikan?

Hu bed because of its morphological characteristics and "cross bed" and "rope bed" of the name. Sui dynasty called "cross-bed", because the Sui emperor intended to avoid the "Hu" word, artifacts involved in the "Hu" word, Xian order to change. Song. Tao "Qingyilu" cloud: "Hu bed Shi turn off to cross the foot, wearing bandages to allow sitting, turn shrink in a moment, weighing not several pounds. Legend has it that the Ming Emperor line lucky more often than not, courtiers escorting the driver, want to rest without a body, so creative so, then called 'free to sit'". Hu bed began and no backrest, shaped like today's horse Za'er. Tang Dynasty began to have a backrest. This free sitting is likely to be with a backrest Hu bed. Hu bed first appeared in the Han Dynasty, than the Tang Minghuang a few hundred years earlier, to say for the Tang Minghuang creative obviously not appropriate. So the creativity here, should refer to the increase of the backrest. Hu bed in the Tang and Song dynasties were prevalent, especially in the Song Dynasty, but the Song said Hu bed less and less, and called it a chair gradually increased.

Hu bed with backrests began in the Tang Dynasty, can also be from the Tang Dynasty "Jidu Temple Beihai altar sacrificial vessels miscellaneous inscriptions. Tablet Yin" in the record is confirmed, the text recorded: "rope bed ten, four chairs within". From this record it can be seen in the Tang dynasty in the first year of the first year of Zhenyuan there has been the name of the chair. Here said "rope bed ten, four chairs" refers to ten pieces of rope bed in four pieces can be leaning on the chair, obviously to distinguish from the other six pieces of rope bed without backrest. Visible, the name of the chair has appeared, in daily life is a common furniture, but it has not been completely separated from the concept of bed. In the canonical books of the Tang Dynasty, the chair called bed is still very common. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu in the "juvenile line. Seven poems" wrote:

Who is on the horse white-faced Lang, in the street, dismounted from his horse to sit on the bed of a man.

Not knowing his name, he asked for a taste of wine in a silver bottle.

The bed mentioned here, although it does not reflect whether it is a chair with a backrest, but we can be sure that it will never be a sleeper.

The word "chair" is also used as "leaning". The origin is earlier, but not the chair for people to sit. It was originally the name of a tree, also known as the "mountain Tongzi", "water melon", wood can be made of furniture.

Tang Dynasty before the word "chair" there is another explanation for the "side of the car" to speak, that is, the car's fence. Its role is to rely on people riding in the car. Later the chair, the form of the four-legged support platform installed on the fence, when the system is inspired by the car side of the fence, and follow its name and call this sitting for "chair". From the existing data, the Tang Dynasty has been quite elaborate chair. Such as Lang Yu Ling "emperors and kings" in the Tang Taizong sat in the chair for the four straight legs, girdle, the upper side of the Angle Anto teeth, the corners of the line, so Guantian Yu is your father. This kind of decoration in the Ming and Qing dynasties called "mixed surface bilateral line". Sit on the back of the four columns, the middle two columns slightly higher, installed on the curved beams, the two ends of the long part of the carving into a dragon head, armrests from the back of the columns through the side of the columns forward to take a turn on the front columns. Armrests and sitting surface in the middle of the empty space embedded in the ring mouth flower teeth. The end of the handrail is also carved into a dragon head, and the back of the brain into one. Sitting surface with soft cushions, backing. This was a very refined chair at that time. The chair depicted in the Six Venerable Figures of Lu Len Yoke of the Tang Dynasty is even more representative, with four pestles and mortars instead of four feet, two side profiles connected, the front pillar of the armrests and the side pillars of the chair carved with lotus flowers in the round, the armrests and the hitching brain arched upwards, the two ends upturned and decorated with lotuses, and tassels of beads hanging from underneath the lotuses, making the overall modeling dignified and luxurious. Furniture inlaid with gold and jade in the monastery at the time reflects the honor and sanctity of the monks.

Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, the unprecedented popularity of high type of seating, chair form is also more up, the emergence of back chairs, armchairs, chairs, etc.. At the same time according to the different levels of honor, chair form, material and function also makes a difference.

The Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty period of furniture largely retained the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, but the high type of furniture is more popular than before.

The use of high furniture in the folk fashion, home must have high tables and chairs, which can be seen in the paintings of the time. Such as the Song Dynasty Zhang Zeduan "Qingming Shanghe Tu" in the city store, all display all kinds of high furniture. Song Dynasty "Huichang Jiu Lao Tu" depicted in the circle chair is also no variety of previous generations. In recent years, the excavation of the Song dynasty tombs in stone, pottery production of furniture models or in the walls of the tomb with brick or carved into various types of furniture, which shows the tomb owner of the couple sitting on the chair scene is the most common. Such as Henan Fangcheng unearthed stone chair remnants, Hebei Jingdian County persimmon Zhuang No. 7 Song tomb chamber brick table and chairs, persimmon Zhuang No. 2 tomb chamber mural "to sit on the map" in the table and chairs, Luoyang Jianxi tomb chamber of the Song dynasty carved brick furniture, and so on. This shows that chairs and other high type of sitting utensils are not only commonly used in people's daily life, but also by the people of the slightest martyrdom utensils.

Song dynasty popular a chair, rank higher than other chairs, a little status of the family are equipped with a chair, for the master and guests to use.