Preface
To please women by playing tricks. -Shang Shu Tai Shi Xia
The above sentence was actually a charge set by Zhou Wuwang when he used it to crusade against Shang Zhouwang. Later, the word "strange skill and cunning" came into being. Many people often have fantasies when they see this word. You should know that "lewdness" means not only "dissoluteness", but there is a saying that "wealth can't be lewd", which shows that "lewdness" is also "there is"
Now is an era of innovation. If a new technology is invented and can bring great convenience to people's work and life, it will soon be accepted by people, and so will the ancients. When it comes to innovation and invention, the wisdom of the ancients is no less than that of people today. At that time, although the conditions were limited, they still managed to create many dazzling things, especially in daily life.
people who often travel and stay in hotels will find that there is a long bench at the end of the bed in some hotel rooms, which is too narrow for sleeping. It is difficult to turn over, and it looks a bit redundant. So what is the use of this bench? You should know that this stool has existed since ancient times. In ancient times, such a bench was placed in the homes of large families, including when the daughter in the family got married, the bride's family would specially build such a stool and take it as a dowry.
First, the function of the spring stool
The ancients gave such a stool a name, which is called "spring stool". This stool looks like a bed and a chair, so it also combines these two things in function. It is estimated that someone said, isn't this a small sofa? It's almost the same. It's as comfortable as a bed, and it's movable. It's also very comfortable to go to it during lunch break. The only fly in the ointment is that most of the sofas now are soft and have better comfort, which is better than spring stools.
However, compared with the living room, the room has limited space and more furniture, so it looks a little crowded to put a sofa. The spring stool occupies a smaller area, and it doesn't take up space to put clothes when you don't sleep. I remember that in A Dream of Red Mansions, Baoyu was beaten so badly that he couldn't stand up. When Xifeng saw that the page was still holding him, she hurriedly called someone to carry the spring stool out of the room and let Baoyu lie on it and put it in the room. Therefore, in terms of size, the spring stool was not as big as a bed, but it was no problem to lie down alone and it was convenient to move around.
In addition, as mentioned earlier, the spring stool is a part of the dowry. In ancient times, when a woman got married, the dowry was followed by Jiaozi. This long and wide stool is convenient for transporting the dowry. If you put something on it, you can carry it together. Usually put in the room, women's best friends come to visit, and they can sit on it and talk intimately for a while. When the baby arrived at home, the spring stool turned into a crib with a thick cushion, which was more than enough for sleeping with a baby.
However, at present, clothes are mostly placed on spring stools in hotels, which are more decorative than practical. However, in ancient times, spring stools were of great use. So why did the ancients name such stools "spring stools" instead of "winter stools" or "summer stools"? What does this "spring" mean?
Second, the origin of spring stool
First of all, the name "spring stool" is related to the materials used to make it. At first, it was called "Toona sinensis stool", and this "Toona sinensis" refers to Toona sinensis tree. Toona sinensis smells smelly and tastes fragrant. People can eat a big plate if they like it. Because people like to eat it, it is rare to see a stout Toona sinensis tree. After all, before it grows up, its leaves are picked away, resulting in Toona sinensis. Although this plant is common, Toona sinensis wood is relatively rare.
then why does such a small stool use Toona sinensis wood? Compared with the rarer redwood, Toona sinensis wood is economical. Moreover, Toona sinensis wood is tough, beautiful in pattern, moisture-proof and sun-resistant, and it also has a unique fragrance, so that moths can hide far away. The stool made of it is not beautiful and durable. People are very fond of Toona sinensis. According to legend, Toona sinensis was used as a pillow in Lv Dongbin, so people think that using some Toona sinensis wood products often can prolong life.
Later, people thought that the word "Chun" was a bit vulgar, so they changed it to "Chun", which means spring. It was recorded in the Miscellanies of Xiyuan in the Ming Dynasty that the scenery at four o'clock, but spring is coke ... So at this time, people called it "seeking fragrance" and "walking green" ... The ancients said that "a year's plan lies in spring". Spring is the best season in all seasons, and everything is sprouting and full of vitality. Therefore, it is elegant to add the word "spring" in front of everyday objects, not to mention moving this stool into the yard to see flowers basking in the sun.
Third, don't let traditional crafts disappear
There is another saying about spring stools, which is for couples. This statement is not groundless, mainly because it can often be seen in works like Jin Ping Mei, and some ancient paintings do use spring stools, so maybe there are reasons for this. However, things are invented for people's use, and how people use them depends on their own meaning and convenience, otherwise this thing will have no meaning of existence.
In fact, there are similar stools in the west, which people call "the stool at the end of the bed". In the past, its function was mainly for western nobles to sit and change their shoes, and it could also prevent the quilt from slipping. Nowadays, many people decorate their homes in European style, and often put a stool at the end of the bed, which is not very useful, mainly decorative, and has the same effect as the spring stool in Chinese style today. If the economic conditions are abundant, one may be prepared, and this kind of furniture is basically not considered in ordinary people's homes.
It's not that these traditional furniture are not practical, but better furniture is practical. Babies have special cribs, and various types of sofas can be folded, so this kind of traditional furniture is becoming less and less common, but it can still be seen in some antique markets. Another traditional spring stool is hand-made, which looks exquisite and quaint, but it seems a bit out of place in a modern style home. Some furniture manufacturers hope to see it again in people's daily life on the basis of traditional spring stools, combining modern technology and design creativity, so that modern people can explore its more functions, so as not to let these traditional crafts disappear in the long river of history, but to make it glow with new glory.
References
A Dream of Red Mansions, Miscellaneous Notes of the West Garden, Shangshu Taishi Xia.