The Influence of Ming Style Furniture on Modern Furniture Design

Furniture is the crystallization of thousands of years of culture and art. Like other art forms, every change in human life will be reflected in him in different forms, interpreting the process of human civilization. China Ming Dynasty furniture is famous for its concise modeling, rigorous structure, fine workmanship, proper decoration, moderate complexity, artistic beauty and extraordinary humanistic temperament. Therefore, in the innovative design of modern Chinese furniture, the appreciation and development of Ming furniture has become one of the focuses of contemporary designers and scholars. However, looking at the current furniture market, although the voice of new Chinese furniture is getting higher and higher, the so-called Chinese furniture is mostly retro in form, and the material is either mahogany or far from the expectation of modern Chinese furniture. 1. Patterns and motif patterns are design schemes and patterns to achieve certain goals. Decorative patterns not only have the use function, but also have the spiritual function. As decorative patterns attached to objects, patterns follow the pace of human development and can reflect the characteristics of the times and people's lifestyles. Pattern decoration emphasizes or replaces the coordination and contrast of all objects in shape and color. In particular, the shape and color of the pattern itself express a certain artistic conception, which can add interest to the goods and users can get rich spiritual enjoyment. 1. 1 motif of patterns: Lei Guiyuan, a designer and theorist in the old countries of arts and crafts and former president of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, once put forward in the article "motif of patterns": "There is no doubt that the appearance of patterns at all times and in all countries is not determined by motifs"; "The matrix is a symbol of a nation and an expression of the people's will and the spirit of the times. We should study it, attach importance to it and carry it forward. " Therefore, the design and application of decorative patterns of utensils will never be a simple combination of points, lines, surfaces, shapes and colors, and its subject and content determine the charm and cultural connotation of the patterns. In this sense, the design and application of furniture decorative patterns is also an artistic creation, which should reflect a kind of culture, economy and temperament. 1.2 decorative patterns of Ming-style furniture and decorative patterns of modern Chinese-style furniture Throughout the 5,000-year history of China, the Ming Dynasty was not as brilliant as the Han and Tang Dynasties, but it was the stage of the development and perfection of feudal culture in China and the embryonic stage of capitalism in China. With the establishment of the Ming Empire, the "Hu Feng" left over from the Yuan Dynasty was washed away, and the clothes, crowns, literature and objects of the Han and Tang Dynasties were re-established. At the same time, there are also many innovations in system and culture. The imperial examination system is becoming more and more perfect, and the government has relaxed the restrictions on admission and imperial examination qualifications, which has led to the expansion of scholars and the downward movement of culture, and a large number of intellectuals who have suffered setbacks in the scientific examination have become folk, thus improving the taste and aesthetic level of the public. The high centralization of the central government in the early Ming Dynasty led to the ideological and cultural changes that began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, but it broke the pattern that social culture and people's thoughts tended to be consistent and conservative. In a word, the social culture of the Ming Dynasty is unique, which not only contains the national tradition since the Han and Tang Dynasties, but also rebelles against the tradition, reflecting a novel aspect. It is precisely because the social culture of the Ming Dynasty has such characteristics that it is reflected in the innovation of Ming-style furniture, which not only embodies the grandeur and boldness of the Tang and Song Dynasties, but also embodies the prosperous and open side at that time. Therefore, Ming-style furniture can be used as the motif of modern furniture decorative patterns and the organic combination of modern ideas, which means that modern Chinese furniture contains deeper cultural connotations. 2. Summary of Ming-style furniture patterns The predecessors have done a lot of work on the summary of Ming-style furniture patterns. Here, the author just makes a simple restatement: the decorative techniques and decorative materials of furniture in Ming Dynasty are varied. But it is not greedy and piled up, nor is it carved. According to the overall requirements, it is an appropriate local decoration. Although it has been renovated, it is still simple and exquisite as a whole, which can be described as appropriate and icing on the cake. As far as expression techniques are concerned, the decorative patterns of Ming-style furniture are mainly wood carving, supplemented by clay embedding, painting, hardware decoration and other expression techniques. As far as content is concerned, Ming-style furniture decoration is lively and generous compared with Ming-style furniture modeling style, which constitutes a harmonious and unified decorative pattern. The styles are extremely rich and everything is available. There are mainly the following categories: plant patterns, animal patterns, geometric patterns, vessel patterns, character patterns and so on. Influenced by folklore, art, literature, religion and politics, various patterns are endowed with different meanings and artistic conception. It is worth noting that the decorative patterns in Ming-style furniture seem to be just a simple blessing on the surface, just people's yearning for a better life, but in essence it is a manifestation of cultural interest and a response to people's thoughts and social culture at that time. Drawing lessons from tradition in the process of modern design is the essence we need to grasp. 3. Design modern Chinese furniture with decorative pattern style of Ming furniture. After studying the decorative patterns of Ming-style furniture, the author made some unsuccessful designs, and made an analysis and research on some cases of successful use of decorative patterns of Ming-style furniture in contemporary times, and drew the following conclusions: These people should be familiar with the rational use of traditional elements in modern furniture design in China. 3. 1 Have some knowledge of traditional culture. In order to get inspiration from the decorative patterns of Ming-style furniture for the design of modern Chinese furniture, and make the works rich in traditional rigidity and cultural heritage, we must first understand the characteristics of traditional culture and the structural rules of Ming-style furniture patterns, so as to be familiar with them in design. Never copy mechanically, otherwise the work will be simple and retro; Either it is a mere formality, lacking bright spots, and the setting will break the overall system of the work and produce a sense of disorder. 3.2 With the development of society, people's aesthetic and aesthetic needs are changing, but in the crystallization of these traditional cultures and arts, we can always find traditional elements that meet modern aesthetic needs and directly quote them, combining traditional elements with modern modeling. 3.3 The transformation of traditional elements induces that many things in traditional elements are no longer suitable for the needs of modern aesthetic taste. In the design of modern Chinese furniture, on the one hand, we should maintain the original appearance of traditional group modeling and color to a certain extent, on the other hand, we should carefully abstract, generalize, simplify or extend, enrich and exaggerate Mina. For example, we inherit the tradition in pattern modeling, and don't stick to the tradition in color, but summarize and simplify it to make it more modern. Jane Eyre series products developed by Shenzhen Jiahao Heshi Industrial Co., Ltd. are the induction and deduction of traditional moire and flower patterns. 3.4 The combination of new technology, new materials and traditional elements, traditional complex technology and increasingly scarce materials are obviously not suitable for the development of modern furniture industry. Therefore, in the design process of modern Chinese furniture products, we should combine different materials and manufacturing processes to design complex and simple patterns, free and flexible or regular and rigorous composition, rich or simple colors. For example, simple milling and engraving patterns on wooden materials; On the glass material, we can design some complicated etching patterns, and on the artificial board, we can also design some colorful and exquisite patterns such as mosaic and film covering. The totem chair designed by Master Kukapolo 1999 is a successful case of abstracting and absorbing furniture materials and techniques according to the patterns of traditional dragons in China. 3.5 We can only refer to the cultural interest in traditional elements. In the process of using traditional elements to design modern Chinese furniture, we should pay attention to the expression of formal beauty, and at the same time pay more attention to carrying forward the cultural connotation contained in the patterns. We can even extract the cultural connotation from the traditional elements, immediately discard these elements and combine them with the modern spirit to perform. We can only introduce the beautiful meaning and interest of traditional elements into modern design, take its essence and discard its dross, so that it can be reproduced in modern life, which can also make products more. At present, "simplicity" is the general trend of furniture style, and the decorative patterns of Ming furniture with simplicity as the main feature have a strong guiding significance for the formation of modern Chinese furniture style. The purpose of learning traditional culture and traditional patterns is to apply what they have learned. Creation is a historical creation and a traditional process. Facing the world, China needs more traditional culture and modern civilization. This is exactly the purpose of our contemporary people to face up to the 5,000-year civilization and regain the splendid treasures of ancient times.