when it comes to "fast", many people may first think of vegetarian food eaten by monks and Taoists. However, "fast" had another meaning in ancient times. It is often used as the name of a study or shop. In costume dramas, you can often see the names of some study rooms and new houses. Of course, in modern times, there are many places named after Zhai. However, the frequency of modern people using Zhai is obviously not as high as that of the ancients. "House" was a common word in ancient times. Why do modern people use it less and less?
The study is an indispensable room for modern intellectuals' families, but "study" is actually a popular modern term. The ancients named the study with the words "Zhai, Tang, Wu, Zhai, history, Dian, Ting, Lu, Xuan, Yuan, Ting and Dong".
For example, Pu Songling's Liaozhai, Ji Xiaolan's Yuewei Caotang, Liu Yuxi's Humble Room, and Lu You's Study of the Elderly, among which Zhai is one of the most commonly used words in ancient studies.
in ancient times, which emphasized "loyalty to family heirlooms and a long history of poetry and calligraphy", learning culture was naturally valued. So, what is ancient research like? What are the arrangements?
what was the ideal study for ancient people?
"Why is there so much room for elegance and fragrance?"
why did "Zhai" become one of the most commonly used words in ancient studies? What is a "house"?
Xu Shen explained in Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Zhai" implies that fasting is a place in The New Soul, which contains respect and small desires. This is the highest state that the ancients pursued and wanted to achieve when studying:-Jing Ya, avoiding dust and customs, studying hard, reading poems, reading books, cultivating self-cultivation.
The research of ancient people engaged in this field is usually very simple, and there is not much furniture. Liu Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in My Humble Room Inscription: "The mountain is not high, but it has a fairy name. The water is not deep, and the dragon is the spirit. This is a shabby house, but I am kind. " Although the study is simple and rough, there are piano playing and reading. Can avoid the interference of the world and public services. That's enough. So Liu Yuxi quoted Confucius as saying: "Why is there such a humble thing? "
Many ancient study rooms are famous for their simplicity, such as Bai Juyi's" Caotang ",which is simple and even shabby. He said in the story of the cabin, "the cabin is just, not Dan." The wall just cracked, not white.
stones for building steps and paper for electric windows; Covered with bamboo curtains, its speed is called swallow. "This may mean that the wood used to build a house is only cut with an axe, not painted. Just put some mud on the wall instead of lime and white. Build steps with stones; Paper for pasting windows, curtains made of bamboo, tents made of linen, everything is simple.
The ancients not only didn't require the luxury of the study, but also didn't care about the size of the study. Lu You, a writer in the Southern Song Dynasty, said in the poem "Newly Opened Poems": "A small room can only be opened several times on the roof. In the east, there is a reading window. It's dawn, it's all paper.' When Lu You was in his eighties, this' only a few' small study room was just opened, but Lu You was quite satisfied with this small room:' There are few windows, quiet and old books.'
Ji Xiangxuan, the study of Gui Youguang, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, is also famous for its small size: "There is only an abbot in the room, which can accommodate one person." Even the imperial study is not very good. For example, the Sanxi Hall in hall of mental cultivation, the Forbidden City, and the study of Emperor Qing Qianlong are only eight square meters.
Although the ancients did not pursue a luxurious and spacious study, they were very particular about the environment. As far as "Jixiang Xuan" is concerned, it is a century-old house with a door facing north and leaking rain. Gui Youguang doesn't mind its small size, but he doesn't consider the surrounding environment. He personally planted orchids, osmanthus trees and bamboo trees in the yard, transforming the external environment of the study into a very elegant environment: "On the night of March 5, the moon is half full, the osmanthus trees are mottled, and the wind and mountains are lovely." Similarly, Liu Yuxi's Wopeng is "the moss is green and the grass is dark green"; Bai Juyi's "Caotang" was built on the beautiful Lushan Mountain, between the censer peak and the Ai Yi Temple. Its scenery is better than Lushan Mountain.
from the celebrity research mentioned above, it can be seen that the ideal research in ancient people's minds is actually "why is there such a big Avon?" So this sentence is often hung in the study and regarded as a couplet by ancient books.
how did the ancients like to decorate their study?
"The bird's tail spits on all the pots, and there is still some fragrance left."
The ancient study pursues the word "elegance". A desk, a chair, a lamp and a few books can become a study. However, it is not a simple matter to make the study elegant and pleasing to the eye. Li Yu, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once said: "Those who put things in containers should do vertical and horizontal work to make people enter their homes and halls. When they see things, they don't make mistakes. They have deep feelings for everything. "
In the ancient study, besides tables, chairs, cupboards, lamps and pens, there were ink, paper and inkstones. These basic items, several sofas, musical instruments, incense, water, calligraphy and painting, antiques, jade beads, potted plants and so on. Often added.
how are these utensils and articles displayed?
Gao Lian gave a decoration plan for the eighth floor of Zunsheng. The excerpts are as follows: "A long table in Dazhai, an old saying, an ancient bronze water injection, an ancient kiln pen container, a bamboo pen container, an ancient kiln pen container, a paste bucket, a Shuicheng, and a copper stone paperweight." On the left is a bed, a footstool under the bed, a small bed, a bronze flower statue or a bottle in the kiln.
when arranging flowers, bottle them to collect fragrance. In his spare time, he puts cattail pollen on it and collects morning dew to clean his eyes. Or put it in a cauldron and seal the fragrance with fire. Winter heater number one. One guqin hangs between the walls and the others in the middle. For example, Wu Yunhe and Lin Ji have good styles. A picture hangs between the walls, but there are only two pictures in the book. Scenery first, flowers and trees second, birds and people don't get together. Or, you can use the Buddha, mountains, water and clouds in famous paintings. Celebrities with beautiful poems can work together.'
The decoration of Gao Lian's study is really high-end, but it must be a rich family. In ancient times, the study of ordinary families was mainly "one desk, one chair, several books in Yi Deng".
In addition, the ancients only valued incense burners, bonsai and plaques. This can be seen from the literati paintings after the Song and Yuan Dynasties. For example, the anonymous portrait of the Southern Song Dynasty is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and the decoration of the study is simpler and fresher. The most prominent is the flowerpot in the middle of the front, and the "portrait photo" is hung on the screen at the back.
among these three things, incense burner is also essential for studying ancient times. Burning incense is a living habit formed in the pre-Qin period. Like drinking tea, it later became a way of life of ancient literati and was called "elegant learning". Lu You wrote in Ode to Burning Incense: "A bird's tail vomited on the wall of the pot, and there was still some incense on the stove to read." . Sun Zhiwei, a beginner in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties, also recorded in the Collection of Irrigation Hall: "At that time, celebrities said that if you were poor, you would burn incense and drink tea." Incense has many uses and benefits. When a wick is lit, people can know the time. Yuan Mei, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once said, "If you forget to sleep when you study on a cold night, the incense burner will be smokeless." This fragrance can also calm nerves, disinfect the air and purify the indoor environment. Gaoming Panlong said in the book "A Tutorial to the Mountain Residence of Gao Zi's suicide note": "Sip tea and burn incense to make it bright, and then read it." .
It is worth noting that in the study of the ancients, there were several sofas for placing necessities. Why did the ancients like to put sofas in their study? According to an article in Wen Mingzhenheng's novel Several Sofas, the sofa in the study must be quaint and lovely, sitting on your back. There is no inconvenience. More importantly, it can also be used in several situations: "Yan Juan's spare time can be used to spread classics and history, read calligraphy and painting, and use pillows and cushions." Why not?
where are the ancient books kept?
"Broken cypress trees are used as bookcases, which are strong and firm."
Of course, books are the most important and core of research. Where are the ancient books? In the early days, most of people's books and clothes were hidden in boxes, resulting in the word "secret collection" of precious books.
boxes, boxes, cabinets, cabinets and other storage equipment were usually called "cabinets" by the ancients. They are made of different materials, such as wood, bamboo, leather and so on. Smaller than a box is called a "box", which is easy to carry. Putting books in boxes is one of the traditional ways for ancient scholars to store books. There is a sentence in Su Shi's poem, "There are ancient and modern posters in the house and ink paintings in the box", which describes what he saw in Lu Yi's home in Ganzhou. It is common to put books in boxes, even on modern bookshelves.
book box
at first, the cupboard didn't need books, but kitchen utensils. Fang Yizhi's Tongya Miscellaneous Use said, "It is also used to store food, so it is called' kitchen' and is often used as' cupboard'. In the Jin Dynasty, cabinets were used to store paintings and calligraphy works. "Biography of Gu Kaizhi in the Book of Jin" records: "Chang Kai sent a cabinet of paintings to Hengxuan. According to the biography of southern history Lucheng, "Wang Jian's play is called Lu Gong's calligraphy chef.
Cabinets have officially become the standard of this study. It should have been built in the Tang dynasty, when the research scale was very large. Bai Juyi already has a wooden bookcase in his study. He said in the Collection of Essays: "The cypress tree is a bookcase, which is solid. Who will collect and store them? Pi Rixiu's "Visiting Li and Mansion in Autumn Night" with the theme of "Bai Letian" also said: "The mice in the library wear kitchen baskets, and the orange paste in the bamboo garden makes them idle. "Interestingly, Pi Rixiu also described the phenomenon of rats biting books, which is the most annoying phenomenon for book collectors.
The exquisite bookcases in the Tang Dynasty are quite exquisite. According to Tang Su 'e's "Duyang Miscellaneous Talk", she is a good fairy. "There is a horse's head three feet square, black as money, and it works well. It's a book of immortals, on the account side. " This agate cabinet is a tribute of Bohai State.
in the song dynasty, bookcases in study rooms were usually made into compartments or drawers, which could be locked. Li Renfu specially made ten bookcases when compiling the novel "General Guide to Capital Management Innovation". The article on "methods of compiling history" in Gui Xin Miscellaneous Knowledge in the Southern Song Dynasty said: "Li Renfu used to be a long weaver girl, who made 1 wooden kitchens, and each wooden kitchen drew 2 boxes, each of which was replaced by Jia Zizhi. It is said that this year's things will be returned to this box, and it will be orderly by month and day. It is really a law. " According to Meng Zhai Bi Tan in Song Dynasty, dozens of bookcases were placed in the study of celebrities in Northern Song Dynasty. One of the bookshelves containing Taoist magic and other secrets was locked tightly.
In ancient China, there were bookcases and bookshelves. The former is tall and the latter is short. The surface of the cabinet can be used as a desktop. In the Ming Dynasty, bookcases were made according to high standards. According to Gao Lian's "Respecting the Eight Sages, Advising the Virtue and Building the Youth": "There was a bookcase system in the early Ming Dynasty. It's a fairyland on earth. On a flat plate, the two sides are tilted upward and the paper roll is put aside. Books are placed in the lower space, and the side plates are decorated with lattice rings. Both sides of the hole are mixed with gold and copper to form a rolling line. The middle panel is a small cabinet surrounded by four panels, which is opened and closed by a door. It is very skilled to mix gold and copper hinges together. " It is a very popular thing in modern study. It was used in Ming Dynasty, so it is called "bookcase". Bookcases are open, and most of them have no doors in front. Both sides and the back are above , and you can see the books on the bookcase.