The frescoes of Dunhuang Cave 285 show two people sitting on chairs. 257 There are women sitting on square benches and cross-legged benches in the cave paintings; In the stone carving of Lotus Cave in Longmen there is a woman sitting on a round stool. These images vividly reproduce the use of chairs and stools in the aristocratic families of officials during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Although the seat at that time has a chair, stool shape, but because there is no chair, stool title, people are also used to call it "Hu bed", in the temple, often used for zazen, it is also called zen bed. After the Tang Dynasty, the use of chairs gradually increased, and the name of chairs was also widely used, which was separated from the category of beds. Therefore, talking about the origin of the chair and stool, we must start from the Hu bed introduced into India during the Han and Wei dynasties.
Before the Tang Dynasty, the word "chair" has another explanation, as "beside the car", that is, the fence of the car. Its function is to have someone to rely on when riding. The later chair, in the form of a four-legged platform with a fence installed, was inspired by the car side fence, and used its name to call this type of seat "chair". From the existing information, the Tang Dynasty has been quite exquisite chair.
From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, the high type of seating was unprecedented in popularity, and the forms of chairs also increased, including backrest chairs, armchairs, and round chairs. At the same time, according to the different ranks, the shape, material and function of the chair are also different.
The furniture of the five Dynasties to the two Song dynasties generally retains the Tang Dynasty, but the high type furniture is more popular than before.
The chair is very old and simple, although for many centuries it was a state of common use. In the early dynasties, they covered the back and top of the chair with cloth or leather and wood carvings, but the coverage was much smaller than that of the 21st century chair, and the top of the chair was sometimes only 25 centimeters off the ground. Chairs seem to have been greatly enriched in ancient Egyptian times, with vintage ebony, carved ivory, gilded wood, etc. They were covered with expensive materials, ornate patterns and hunted beasts or carved figures of captives. Generally speaking, the higher the status of an individual, the higher and more gorgeous his chair, which is a symbol of honor.
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