Furniture making skills (hardwood furniture making skills of Guangzhou style)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: furniture making skills

Applicant: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Item No.: 395

Project No.: VIII - 45

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Guangdong Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Protection unit: Guangzhou woodcarving Furniture Craft Factory

Brief introduction of furniture making technology (hardwood furniture making technology of Guangzhou style)

Applicant: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Ming style furniture is the most famous traditional furniture in China. It not only has brilliant achievements in the history of ancient Chinese furniture, but also occupies an important position in the history of world furniture. Ming style furniture spread to Britain, France and other countries after Kangxi of Qing Dynasty, which had a great influence on the furniture of Europe in the 18th century.

On the basis of inheriting the tradition of furniture making in song and Yuan Dynasties, Ming style furniture has made great innovations in materials, processing technology, modeling design and structure. Some furniture of Qing Dynasty still follow the style and craft of Ming Dynasty furniture, also known as "Ming style furniture". The existing Ming style furniture in China mainly comes from Suzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou. It inherits the excellent tradition of Ming Dynasty furniture and forms three systems: Suzhou style, Beijing style and Guangzhou style. In the production, hardwood with hard texture and meticulous texture, such as red sandalwood, pear, mahogany, ebony, Hercules and chicken wing wood, are used as materials. The texture, material and luster of hardwood are fully used, and the structure is simple, the shape is generous, and there is no complicated decoration. It can be suitable for various uses and the needs of human body. What is most praiseworthy is that Ming style furniture adopts the frame structure of tenon and mortise. All kinds of tenon and mortise are skillfully combined without nails and glue. The furniture is made of precise structure, firm and solid, which is greatly admired by experts in the same trade all over the world. Furniture metal accessories made of white copper, red copper and gilt, such as corners, hinges and feet, are also exquisite in shape and soft in color, which complement the furniture.

There are many kinds of Ming style furniture, including sitting and lying, bearing furniture, bedding, furniture, frame furniture and screen furniture. Chairs, stools, piers, etc. belong to the sitting and lying category; incense table, flower table, table, case, etc. belong to the bearing category; bed, couch, etc. belong to the bedding category; boxes, boxes, cabinets, cabinets, etc. belong to the furniture category; basin rack, mirror rack, clothes rack, etc. belong to the furniture category; seat screen, folding screen, etc. belong to the screen category.

Ming style furniture is the treasure of furniture industry in China and even in the world. It has the research value in the history of furniture development, cultural exchange, social life and folklore. At present, due to the shortage of hardwood raw materials, most of the employees are old, and the young craftsmen are poor in craftsmanship, there are some problems in the production of Ming style furniture. In addition, all kinds of fake mahogany furniture are rampant in the market, which also brings some difficulties to the production of authentic Ming style furniture. At present, it is urgent to cultivate high-level successors to effectively inherit and reasonably develop this valuable traditional handicraft.

Guangzhou hardwood furniture production technology is the representative of Guangzhou traditional folk handicrafts, its history can be traced back to the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty, Cantonese furniture had been used in the court. In the early Qing Dynasty, Cantonese furniture became the main type of palace furniture because of its luxurious style to meet the needs of the royal family. In the middle of Qing Dynasty, influenced by European Baroque style and Rococo style, Cantonese furniture had a further development in modeling and decoration, and its shape became more luxurious. During the period of the Republic of China, the Canton style furniture industry was depressed because of the war, and gradually recovered after the victory of the Anti Japanese war.

Cantonese furniture making technology is an important branch of Chinese furniture technology. It not only inherits Chinese traditional furniture making technology, but also absorbs and transforms western furniture culture, forming strong Lingnan art characteristics. Guangzhou style furniture production pays attention to the selection of good materials, fine workmanship, wide and deep carving area, and easy use of inlay technology, which creates a new generation of furniture production. There are many kinds of Cantonese furniture, not only traditional tables, chairs, stools, beds and tables, but also rare in other areas, such as the Kang bed in the living room.

At present, the scarcity of precious wood makes it difficult to obtain materials and production of Cantonese furniture. Under the impact of mass production of modern furniture, most of the Canton style furniture factories are difficult to operate, and few enterprises insist on producing typical Canton style furniture. The production process of Cantonese furniture is complex, and it is difficult to master the important processes such as carving, inlaying, planing and blank making. With the death of old artists and the immature cultivation of new artists, the inheritance of Cantonese furniture technology has been broken. Such problems hinder the smooth inheritance and development of Cantonese furniture making skills, and it is urgent to formulate a reasonable solution.

Chinese PinYin : Jia Ju Zhi Zuo Ji Yi Guang Shi Ying Mu Jia Ju Zhi Zuo Ji Yi