Assistant Professor TAKAI, Takane
Assistant Professor TAKAI, Takane
- Academic Degree
- M.A. in Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University
- Expertise
- History of Chinese furniture
- Research Theme
- Chinese furniture and its uses
Chinese furniture and its uses
Histories of Chinese furniture have largely spoken of how types and forms of furniture evolved historically, treating them as a subcategory of architectural history, or as artworks, craftworks, or artifacts. At the present time, research on how furniture was arranged and used is extremely sparse. By exploring various aspects of furniture and its uses, this research will shed light on the understanding and order visible in living spaces, and through this attempt to understand the history of everyday culture in China. Taking the Ming and Qing periods as the main initial focus, I hope to explore furniture and its uses and aspects in a variety of quotidian circumstances experienced in residential life at the time, as represented in documents and visual historical materials. In particular, because relatively detailed descriptions of furniture can be found in the vernacular novel The Plum in the Golden Vase, covering everything from names for different furnishings to how they were arranged, I will also use the book's descriptions and illustrations as interpretive tools.