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Classifying Chinese Furniture

When a piece of art is unsigned, and its date of production is unknown, how should it be classified? This is the conundrum faced by scholars of Chinese furniture. With its artisans relegated to anonymity, and individual styles sublimated, classifying Chinese furniture is a tricky business.

One obvious approach is to look at function. Using this method, there are nine basic groupings: chairs, tables, beds, cabinets, stools, screens, braziers, stands, and scholarly items. Another approach is to rank pieces by quality, but this lends itself to subjectivity. For example, if the benchmark is carving quality or craftsmanship, then ornate pieces from the Qing dynasty would rank high. But collectors, particularly in the West, favor minimalism and architecturally sculpted pieces, and carving ranks low among them. Thus, simple criteria are useless.

Instead, scholars have tried a more empirical approach to furniture classification. According to Beijing scholar Tian Jiaqing, several principles must be applied to assess merit. These include style, rarity, wood, age, workmanship, preservation and quality of restoration.

Fig. 38 Traveling apothecary’s chest, huanghuali, seventeeth or eighteenth century, on top of a flush-sided corner leg table with humpback stretchers, huanghuali with a burl and marquetry top, seventeenth century. Beneath the table is a collection of armrests and stands. Private collection, Singapore.

Fig. 39 One man’s vernacular is another man’s treasure. This pairing of furniture is from the Tianjin home of dealer Cola Ma.

Style

Style is a difficult measure: after all, one man’s treasure is another man’s kitsch. Important collectors, however, agree that the most important criterion when assessing furniture is spatial equilibrium or proportion. The book of Lu Ban, the Lu Ban Jing, refers to yin and yang: balancing the dynamism and rhythm of lines generated by the convergence of legs, aprons, doors and spandrels with the quiet, open spaces between. Whether a piece of furniture is graceful, with elongated proportions, or squat and heavy, can be a decisive factor in determining its worth.

Is the beauty we find in certain proportions entirely subjective, or are we genetically programmed to prefer certain spatial relationships? The Golden Mean theory of architecture suggests that there is a close relationship between intuitive perception and reasoned mathematical ratios, and knowledge of these proportional systems is essential to the appreciation of art and nature. The Golden Mean has been calculated to be 1.61. Therefore, if the universal system of beauty exists, then a plain table 35 inches (90 cm) high should be about 57 inches (144 cm) in length—not unlike the proportions of many of the good Ming-style tables. The measurement of beauty, of course, is far more complex and must take joinery, spandrels, weight of timber and aprons into account. But it does provide some insight into why the austere, clean lines of the Ming style are generally preferred over the weightier, decorated designs favored by the Qing.

Wood

The type of wood used in a piece of furniture can also dramatically influence an appraisal. Hardwoods such as huanghuali, hongmu, zitan and jichimu—most of which were imported into China—are coveted by collectors. Further down the ladder are the indigenous softwoods such as baimu (cypress), yumu (northern elm), nanmu (which is related to the evergreen laurel family), hetaomu (walnut), huaimu (locust), changmu (camphor) and taomu (pear).

At least thirty-five important hard-woods and softwoods are used in Chinese furniture, and what may appear to be a straightforward classification system is not. Many of the varieties of trees culled for furniture no longer exist, making the scientific or botanical nomenclature of these species ambiguous. (While there was once a very good record and sample of each wood in the imperial library, according to Chan Rong, all these samples seemed to have disappeared during the Japanese aggression.) As a result, Chinese furniture is still identified by its old Chinese names, names which were assigned on the basis of aromatic quality, color and grain patterns. It is likely that many genera and species were grouped together if they displayed similar characteristics such as smell and grain. In fact, it appears that even timber from the same tree might have been marketed under different names depending on the cut (see pages 34–5).

Fig. 40 Square stool with articulated legs and spandrels carved with cloud scrolls, zitan and nanmu burl, eighteenth century, Jiangnan region. By viewing the spandrel and the carving of the upper leg as a whole, the shape looks like a taotie mask found in bronzes, according to scholars such as Curtis Evarts. Zitan wood furniture like this became popular during the eighteenth century.

Although much attention is paid to the hardwoods, the current hierarchy that separates hardwood and softwood did not exist during the Ming dynasty. The first treatise on furniture construction does not make the distinction and categorizes many of them under the general term zamu or miscellaneous. Only two kinds of softwood—nanmu and changmu—are mentioned in connection with furniture manufacturing. Early carpenters frequently mixed wood types during construction, using elm or locust for the sturdy frames and saving the fine-grained woods for decorative panels.

Tastes also changed over the years. Zitan was coveted by Qing-dynasty emperors, but by the end of the Qianlong dynasty supplies had dwindled. Zitan was in such demand that old pieces of furniture were recycled and zitan veneers were added to furniture made in the late Qing (Fig. 40). The first Western collectors were not particularly enamored of the dense, purple grain of zitan. They preferred the distinctive grain and mellow colors of hardwoods like huanghuali and collected it almost exclusively. Zitan, however, has made a comeback. At Christie’s Hong Kong auction in July 2003, a set of zitan screens was sold for a record price (see Fig. 365, page 147).

Are huanghuali and zitan overrated? Dealers like Cola Ma would argue yes. “I don’t think huanghuali is everything,” he says. “The history and workmanship are more important than the material.” To be a huanghuali snob means losing many good opportunities to really know Chinese furniture.

Fig. 41 One of a set of eight doorways bearing images of the Eight Immortals that lead into small bedrooms in Cheng Zhi Tang or “Hall of Inheriting Ambition,” built in 1855 in Hongcun village, Anhui. Like other Qing-period Huizhou-style houses, a plain exterior provides no clues to the intricately carved hardwoods in the interior of such houses.

Types of Wood

Dozens of species of trees that were indigenous to China were used for making furniture, although only about fifteen species commonly occur. Regional identity and wood variety often go hand in hand. For example, kang tables from Mongolia were often made of pine. In Sichuan province, fine furniture was very often crafted from the red bean tree. Much of the walnut furniture can be attributed to Shanxi region. However, luxury hardwood, now coveted by collectors, was generally imported from Thailand and Vietnam. Identification of wood varieties in Chinese furniture is difficult, in part because wood was classified by visual means and there is no botanical consistency. For example, wood classified as huanhli may come from any of a variety of different species.

Fig. 42 The deep grain pattern of this locust wood specimen gives clues to the age of the furniture.

Baimu, cypress or cedar (Cupressus L.) wood has a strong fragrance. It is slow to dry but highly resistant to rot and insect damage. It was categorized as a “miscellaneous softwood” during the Song dynasty. There are several cypress varieties in China. Weeping cypress from Sichuan province, which can reach two meters in diameter, is highly regarded for its timber.

Changmu or camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) ranges from a yellowish sand color to a warm yellow brown. It is not a popular choice for furniture production because it is easily bruised, but it is frequently used to make storage chests because its distinctive smell makes it resistant to insects.

Heitanmu is a very heavy, almost black wood derived from heartwood. Because of its hardness, it is normally used only for select items like knife handles or cabinet details.

Hetaomu or walnut looks a little like nanmu but its texture is more open-grained. It was usually sourced in Shanxi province and used on pieces with refined workmanship. There are several kinds of walnut. The true walnut, which is cultivated in the north, is reddish brown with a dark striated pattern. Manchurian walnut, also found in the north, has a lower density and is somewhat lighter in color.

Hongmu or blackwood resembles zitan but lacks its lustrous surface and unusual grain. There are no early references to hongmu although much of the dark Qing furniture from the south is made of it. Some varieties are virtually indistinguishable from huanghuali.

Huaimu or Chinese locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is similar to northern elm but has a denser grain. It is a very strong timber that is resistant to dampness and insects, but its grain is unevenly textured and when dried it can develop large cracks.

Huamu or burl wood (also referred to as yingmu) is not a variety of wood, but rather is used to describe the tumor-like growths that bulge from trunks, or branches, and have a very distinctive grain pattern that resembles round curls. Certain species, such as camphor, elm and nanmu, are susceptible to burl growths. Burl nanmu wood is commonly used in furniture. But because shrinkage is unpredictable, it is used for table tops or cabinet doors and not employed for the main structural elements.

Huanghuali (Dalbergia odorifera) is considered the king of hard-woods. Prior to 1572, most furniture was made from indigenous softwood. The revision of trade policies in 1572, which permitted the importation of exotic timber from Southeast Asia, established the beginning of the hardwood furniture era. Much surviving furniture from the Ming dynasty and early Qing is made of huanghuali. It was seldom used after the mid-Qing period. This sought-after timber was favored for its color, which ranges from a honey to a purple brown, and its distinctive grain, which mimics the profile of a mountainous landscape. Its density also enabled carpenters to create complex but sturdy joints and fine carving. Huanghuali—now only found in parts of Vietnam—came from the genus Dalbergia, a type of tropical rosewood found in North Vietnam and Hainan Island in China. Although use of this wood dates back to the fifth century, it did not become popular until the mid-Ming dynasty. The wood was originally known simply as huali or “flowering pear” and the prefix huang (yellowish brown) was added in the early twentieth century to describe the old huali wood that had a yellowish patina due to aging.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, no distinction was made between huanghuali, laohuali and hongmu—terms now used by many dealers. Laohuali is still botanically classified within the same genus, but because it has a coarser grain and many small knots, it is now believed to be from an inferior group of timber or a sapwood. Hongmu (also known as blackwood), is dark brown and less vigorously grained than huanghuali but is also from the genus Dalbergia. In later examples, from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, hongmu wood was often stained almost black to resemble zitan. There is no way of telling how many genera and species resembled each other in odor or appearance, and they were therefore marketed under the same name. Because of the confusion, huanghuali and hongmu are only marketed under their Chinese names rather than Latin or English labels.

Huangyangmu or boxwood is a compact wood with a straight grain, which ranges in color from whitish to orange amber. Because it grows as a small diameter tree in China, it is often used as inlay material and desk pieces.

Jichimu or chicken-wing wood (genus Ormosia) derives its name from the appearance of this timber’s tangential grain, which resembles feathers. It has a variable color and is one of the Southeast Asian rosewoods although it is not as dense as hongmu or huanghuali. Various species exist on Hainan Island and in Fujian province. Hongdou (red bean) and xiangsi may also be other names for a related species, according to one dealer.

Jumu or southern elm (Zelkova schneideriana) is denser and stronger than its northern cousin and ranges in color from dark yellow to coffee brown. It was a popular timber in Suzhou region and has a refined ring porous structure.

Nanmu (Phoebe nees) has a fine smooth texture and is olive brown in color. It is frequently used for cabinets because it is highly resistant to decay. It is softer than walnut but very similar in appearance. Although it has a pungent aroma and is similar to cedar, it bears no botanical relationship. It was often used for cabinet construction and was referred to in Ming writings.

Shanmu or fir was popular in Fujian province. The grain of this wood is straight and even, and the color ranges from creamy white to pale brown. Although it is not a strong timber, it is resistant to decay.

Taomu or pear ranges in color from light gray to reddish brown. It is good for carving, and is often used for making musical instruments.

Tielimu (Messua ferrea), a dense wood, is often confused with jichimu, but it is more grayish black in color and its grain is coarser. In the south, where it grew, it was used for home construction and firewood, but in the north it was regarded as a desirable hardwood.

Yumu or northern elm (Ulmus L.) is yellowish brown in color with a distinctive wave-like grain pattern that resembles oak. The wood is difficult to dry and easily develops cracks, but is quite resistant to decay and easy to work with. There are more than twenty varieties of elm, and it is traditionally the most common softwood used in the production of furniture in northern China. The best timber comes from Japanese elm, which can reach one meter in diameter.

Zhu or bamboo is not commonly found today, but there are many images of bamboo furniture in Song-dynasty paintings. Bamboo furniture reached its apex during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when Europeans and Americans began looking to East Asia for inspiration in interior design. Foreigners purchased vast quantities of bamboo furniture, although the fanciful design of the export-quality bamboo furniture departed significantly from the classical lines of the early Song pieces.

Zitan (Leguminosae family, genus Pterocarpu s, species undetermined) is a densely grained wood ranging in color from dark purple brown to reddish brown. Workshops used to subdivide zitan into three categories: gold star, cock’s blood and huanghuali grain. Zitan may have originally grown in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Jiangxi, but excessive felling led to its extinction. Initially, it was used only for small luxury items like game boards, weiqi counters and musical instruments. During the Yongle period (AD 1403–24), zitan was stored for imperial use following the grand naval expeditions of Zheng He. During the Longqing reign (AD 1567–73), large quantities were imported from India and the South Pacific islands. Increased use of zitan for palace furnishing during the Qianlong period created a crisis in the court. As stocks dwindled, the emperor gave instructions to preserve it, but supplies continued to decline.

By the end of the Qing dynasty (AD 1644–1911), supplies were nearly exhausted. Although identified under the genus Pterocarpus, no one knows how to classify it today. It is now believed that zitan does not come from a single species, but includes several species of rosewoods which vary in color and grain. The darker wood was probably an indigenous variety. By the mid-Qing dynasty, furniture made of zitan had a lighter hue.

Other secondary woods used in China include the light beige-colored yangmu (poplar), which was used for decorative panels, aprons and spandrels; yunshan (spruce), songmu (pine), zuomu (oak) and huamu (birch, not to be confused with burl).

Rarity and Age

Acquiring a piece of furniture that is rare or unique is an obvious triumph for collectors, and pieces such as Robert and Alice Piccus’s rare throne chair (Fig. 566, page 216) are highly prized. There are, however, dangerous pitfalls in dating Chinese furniture and, not surprisingly, scholars and dealers frequently clash when estimating age.

Dealers like Grace Wu Bruce believe that the dating game for classical Ming-style furniture is tricky. If a piece is made in huanghuali wood in the classical Ming design, and is of the period, it is usually dated to late Ming or early Qing, she says. “Present scholarship does not allow a more precise dating, and those two hundred years of the late Ming and early Qing are termed classical. In my view, it does not matter if they are late Ming or early Qing … it is the same period.”

Another set of rules exists for other woods. The lack of distinct period styles, the few literary references, and the anonymous nature of furniture production make dating something of a guessing game. As dealer Hannah Chiang admits, “The more you know, the less you can say.”

In the best-case scenario, an inscription of the kind found on the back of the memorial block in Fig. 44 can provide clues to age. These dedications are usually written in ink, and they often reveal something about the nature of the acquisition—who bought it, the price paid, and on what occasion it was purchased (Fig. 46). Occasionally, escutcheon draws, such as the one dating to the Song dynasty found on the coffer table in Fig. 45, were used as fasteners for drawer handles. Inscriptions and escutcheon coins are sometimes used to date furniture. While the coins used may be older than the actual piece of furniture, it was customary in dynastic times to use contemporary coins as draws so scholars sometimes point to them as a reference when dating. Curtis Evarts and Cola Ma have found several examples of coffer tables in which the inscription on the table and the date on the coin escutcheon match.

Inscriptions are rare. As a result, scholars generally take their cues from pictorial references found in woodblock prints or life-sized and miniature pieces excavated from tombs. However, dating by visual reference is problematic. While pictures found in carpentry manuals, paintings, books and even tomb frescoes offer insight into period styles, they are not definitive. The dates attributed to the artwork itself are questionable, and it was not uncommon for artists to paint old-style furniture out of reverence for the past. The other problem is that styles did not radically change and carpenters frequently reverted to old designs for inspiration. The general rule is that decoration increased over time, but there are many exceptions. Ornate and severe styles were often produced side by side. Chinese craftsmen paid homage to their predecessors by copying their designs.

Fig. 43 A square Eight Immortals table and two round stools in a little eating corner in the Shanghai home of author/dealer Curtis Evarts.

Fig. 44 Carved shrine box, baimu (cypress) and changmu (camphor), with an inscription dating manufacture to August 1840, Fujian province. Collection of Cola Ma.

Fig. 45 This coffer table is carved in vernacular style with figurines interspersed between a floral background. The escutcheon mount is a silver coin bearing the Zheng He inscription (AD 1111–18), a short period during Huizong’s rule of the northern Song empire. These details, combined with the age of the coin, have led Curtis Evarts to conclude the table should be dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century—although others think this dating is too old. Up close, the symbolism carved into the front panels of the table shows a boy and a mermaid carrying a large lotus flower, while the central door features a carved rabbit, a symbol associated with fertility. Photo courtesy Cola Ma.

Fig. 46 Altar table, huaimu (locust), from the Ming dynasty in the "Jin" style, sourced in Shanxi province. It was possibly carried around for special ceremonial occasions. The inscription (detail) belongs to a coffer table from the Shanxi region that dates back to the Chongzhen period and puts the table at 1633. That table (not shown) also bears an original coin from the Tianqi period (1621–7), which would have been in circulation at the time of the coffer's construction. Photos courtesy Cola Ma.

Fig. 47 Details of a washstand, huanghuali, eighteenth century, Shanxi province. During the Qing dynasty, the dragon’s nose became elongated and the number of claws was reduced. The finely carved openwork panel features bats, symbols of fortune or blessing, amidst clouds. Photos courtesy Charles Wong.

That said, there are some basic criteria by which to judge age:

• The outline of Ming furniture is often more fluid; the corners are almost rounded in shape.

• The shape of the horse hoof foot is also different in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Qing foot is more square and vigorous. The Ming hoof is lower and more delicately tapered.

• Carving design differs from one era to another. Ming craftsmen fleshed out more story when carving pictorial representations. In earlier times, the calligraphic fu symbol of fortune was popular, but by the Qing dynasty the bat motif was used to symbolize fortune. The mythological character which underwent the greatest transformation was the dragon. Dragons carved during the Ming dynasty had five claws, a shorter snout, and the upper and lower jaw was roughly the same size. By the Qing dynasty, the dragon had lost one claw and its nose had become so elongated it sometimes resembled an elephant’s trunk (Fig 47, right).

• Earlier furniture resembles old architectural design. For example, the railings on the arms of Ming-dynasty chairs or canopy beds often mimic the old railings found on pavilions. The geometric openwork design featured on railings on some canopy beds is similar to the latticed balustrades carved into stone inside the Yungang Caves in Shanxi province. It is also found on the balustrade of a terrace in a painting attributed to the Song-dynasty painter Wang Chu-cheng. Later designs use floral motifs. Moreover, old pieces such as the small, square table with its curvilinear apron shown in Fig. 50 are a vestige of the box-like furniture found in Tang-dynasty tombs, which suggests that this table is old.

• The lacquer finish also offers clues to dating. During the Ming, clothing fabric was used as a lining between the wood and the layers of lacquer. The rough fabric—much like cheesecloth—was generally soaked in a paste (a mix of lacquer and shell, brick, bone or charcoal) and placed over the surface of the wood. Another layer of lacquer was then applied. During the Qing dynasty, fabric was rarely used as an underlay, and when it was used, the fabric was finely textured. The skin of the lacquer—its patina—can also be a helpful dating tool because it oxidizes at a predictable rate. Connoisseurs study the tones of old lacquer to determine its age.