Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture

by Sarah Handler

Chinese classical furniture is esteemed throughout the world for its beauty, functionalism, and influence on contemporary design aesthetics. Sarah Handler's stunningly illustrated volume traces Chinese hardwood furniture from its earliest origins in the Shang dynasty (c. 1500 to c. 1050 B.C.) to the present. She offers a fascinating and poetic view of Chinese furniture as functional sculpture, a fine art alongside the other Chinese arts of calligraphy,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520214846
• ISBN13: 9780520214842
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 417 Pages
• Weight: 5.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 8.9" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

Well researched, covering historical past of each furniture type...

the book discuss the evolution of chair, and then studies the different type of furniture such as chairs, beds, tables, cabinets, screens, and stands. each have very good examples and explanation of its origin. however, I have to point out the very first line of this book "china was the only nation in East Asia, indeed the only nation outside the West, to adopt the chair-level mode of living before the modern period." is incorrect. In late Shilla and Koryo period of Korea, Korea have also adopted chair for government palaces and other government offices, but decided not to use for residences (probably because of extreme cold and space, and preferred the "ondol" floor heating system). Western scholarship still lack proper viewpoint of China, Korea, and Japan. However, this book is quite very good, and much better than her other book "Ming Furniture in Light of Chinese Architecture".

A Treasure of a Book

Essential reading for all interested in fine design (East, West, North, or South), this work may well be the most beautiful book published this year.