慎终追远 - 祖先画 Ancestral Portrait

孔子说：“孝悌为仁之本”， 指出只要人心存孝悌，就不会犯上作乱。深受儒家思想熏陶的中国人就深信孝悌是一切美德的基础， 是伦理道德的范畴。因此，缅怀祖先亦成为中国人的重要传统。

To Confucius filial piety is fundamental to human compassion and social responsibility. So long as a person has at heart filial piety he is not likely to be anti-social. Most Chinese people follow this teaching and firmly believe filial piety is the root of all virtues and moral values. Accordingly ancestor worshiping is regard as an extension since respects should not end with death! 

过去没有照相机，祖先的容貌只能靠画像来留影，因而产生了祖先肖像画。作为让后代子孙瞻仰及缅怀先人的德行，进而提醒后代“勿忘本”； 这就是祖先画的存在价值。

In bygone days before the advent of photography the images of persons could only be reproduced by hand painting. The desire for ancestor worshiping might have led to the birth of portrait painting. It not only facilitated worshiping but served as a reminder of the achievements of ancestors as well as never to forget one's origins. That was the perceived value of ancestor portrait in ancient time.

祖先画里，大多是曾经光耀门楣，当朝为官的先人， 以穿著特定品级的官服入画。因此可以籍以考证衣冠，官秩品级。这类画像的作者名氏都不落款，但他们的肖像画工却是细致生动的，由祖先的眉宇间的神态气质体现，到服饰头饰的细节都刻画入微。

As only the well-to-do and court officials could afford to have their portraits painted, the paintings passed down invariably show the person well-dressed in court costume and identifiable by his rank. All such paintings do not as a rule bear the name of the artist. But without any doubt they were highly accomplished painters. Each piece is meticulously executed showing live-like expression, delicate head dress and accessories. 

image from internet

在明清时代，子孙会把祖先画像高挂于大堂。因为视为家传珍宝，也有些大户人家只在年除夕把画和其他珍宝拿出来摆放，到年初五才收藏回库，叫“收珍”， 这也成为中国的民间习俗。即使家道没落，家里的所有物品皆可变卖，唯独祖先画像是不能变卖的。

可惜的是时代变迁，也改变了祖先画像的命运，纷纷流落在外。 祖先画像不再是自己家族里守护敬仰的象征。来到现今，它是艺术品。但我认为它的存在价值和意义却是要比单纯欣赏的艺术品来得更高。它的由来，可以提醒我们去重视儒家思想的伦理教义“百善孝为先”。

During the Ming and Ching Dynasties, such valuable portraits were usually displayed the main hall of the family house. They were treasured as family heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation and never to fall into hands of outsiders. Some families would only display them with other heirlooms once a year on the eve of new year day, but returned quickly to the family vault on the fifth day. Over time this became a custom honored even among the common folks. However time and circumstance change everything. Hard times caused many families to part with their not for sale heirlooms including the once-upon-a-time sacred ancestor paintings. 

Monetary value replaced spiritual value!To-day they are seen at best as objects of art to be admired for their beauty. But to me they are more, underlying the artistic beauty is the profound teaching of the sage: ALL GOOD DEEDS BEGIN AT HOME WITH FILIAL PIETY 

文：Cara Chua

翻译：黄先生

Furniture With A Story 有故事的家具

I like Antique Chinese Furniture. I don't only like but admire and am spiritually dependent. Chinese antique furniture can be likened to a person who has gone through difficult challenges in life amid the many changes in circumstances. In silence he has stood his ground and bravely soldiered on .Despite his silence one feels that from him there is much to learn about the deeper aspects of life. His unique appearance which has weathered the test of time and usage has a quality of his own.

During the past 100 years from late Ching Dynasty until the modern time, China has witnessed constant turbulent and revolutionary times. As a continuation of ancient days of prosperity and extravagance, the wealthy people in late Ching were very particular with their daily life style. Every family had household furniture fixtures and fittings specially designed and made for them. These included doors, windows, roof- edges, cupboards, tables and chairs and down to smaller items such as boxes, baskets, cosmetic boxes. In all cases, meticulous care was applied to not only the functionality but also the craftsmanship as well as aesthetic appeal. They were valued as family treasures.

After the collapse of Ching Dynasty (1644--1912), China was plunged into another prolonged period of disasters. Internal conflicts between the Kuo Min Tang (KMT) and the Chinese communist party (CCP) and the Japanese invasion wreaked havoc across the country.
As the war raged on families abandoned their homes and left behind their treasured household belongings to thefts and wanton destruction.

War against the Japanese invasion ended in 1945 but the conflict between KMT the CCP went on until 1949. During the cultural revolution started in 1966 under Mao Ze Tung members of the intelligentsia, such as artists scholars and other intellectuals were dispatched to the country side for re-education . Over a period of some 10 years traditional values and social order were to large extent destroyed or disrupted. Many valuable artifacts of historical  value,  including a huge quantity of finely-carved intricately designed furniture traditionally favored by scholars were lost.

Following the reforms introduced by Deng Xiao Ping (1978) the Chinese economy began to improve. As the people's livelihood changed for the better, they, especially the younger generation no longer treasured what was left of the broken and used old furniture. They were either thrown away or used as fire woods. To the younger generation preference was for contemporary western style furnishing.  Alas, those once highly treasured fine furnishing even if fortunate enough to survive the war years were to suffer the indignity of rejection by the descendants of the original proud owners.

With the tremendous progress made in the economy and increasing awareness of the unique value of their own culture, the people of China began to realize the importance of preserving and salvaging from what was left after the Cultural Revolution.

Bearing in mind the unusual historical passage, whenever I look at the old furniture in my shop I cannot help but feel a sense of admiration and gratification that they have miraculously survived destruction by wanton damage and mindless modification. In my eyes the odd blemishes here and there, if anything, are attractive as they testify to the exceptional experiences under-gone.

Someone asked me:  Which item in your opinion is the most beautiful?

My reply: Honestly I can't answer you . Just like trying to judge who is the most beautiful among a group of beauties. As the saying goes ' One man's meat is another's poison '.

In time of peace household furniture plays an important part in every family but in time of war and destruction it becomes worthless. If it were a person, his resilience and ungrudging nature are truly admirable . He is always like a person full of life experiences, quietly and understandingly by your side; as if saying " I know ", sharing your moments of sadness, happiness, misfortune or good fortune. It takes a person with rich life experiences to appreciate furniture similarly endowed.

By : Cara Chua
Translate : Mr. Hwang

 我对中国老家具的感情,不只是喜欢而已，甚至可以说还有敬佩和精神仰赖。它就像是一个曾经饱受风霜，经历无数波折的人，不管时代如何变迁，依然坚守自己的使命，默默地付出。即使是沉默的，但总让人感觉可以从他身上翻阅出珍贵宝藏， 领略更深的人生启发。它所呈现的样貌，是经过岁月与际遇，逐渐刻画出的独特气质， 是那么的独特。

中国至清末到近代中国，一百多年间，是一个处于动荡和改革的时代。延续着繁华时期的奢侈习惯，清末时期人们对衣食住行依然讲究，家具可以说是为每个家庭量身打造而产生的，由门窗屋檐，柜子，桌椅，到小盒子，提篮，梳妆盒等等，其工艺性， 实用性和艺术性上都颇为重视，甚至视为是家产。

清朝（1644 – 1912）灭亡后的中国，面对国共两党的内斗， 日本的侵略。 内忧外患，战火连连的年代里，导致许多家破人亡，原本为一个家而制的家具，也面对了破坏与分散。

抗战结束（1945），疲惫不堪的中国继续着国共内斗，接着毛泽东时期（1949 – 1976）发生的文化大革命（1966），艺术家，文学家，知识分子等被下放乡下劳改， 饱受身心灵的煎熬，导致许多人不堪摧残而身亡。这几年间不仅仅是社会次序紊乱，经济，艺术，文化，道德思想也被颠覆了。许多历史文物被摧毁， 当然也殃及这群文儒之士所拥有的雕刻精美的家具和收藏。

 到了邓小平的改革开放时代（1978 ），中国经济重新步入正轨，但人民追求新事物的心理，对于老家里残留下的老家具，很多被当成废材烂木扔了，换上时尚的西式家具。这时，这些曾被用心制造的家具，虽然在战火动荡中苟延残存下来，却被自己的后代摒弃于门外，倍感凄凉。

一直到现今，中国经济崛起，中国人对自己的历史，艺术，文物开始重视，才极力挽回， 重新被欣赏。

因为有这么一段经历过程，当我看着店里的老家具时，赞叹之心油然而生。这是多么的不容易呀！尽管它们在这段岁月中，曾经被蹂躏过，损坏过，修改过。但这沧桑的斑驳痕迹不就是一种阅历的证明吗？

有人问我说：“你觉得你店里哪一件家具最美 ？ ”老实说，我回答不来。就如在一群美女中，你难以评论哪一个最美，但总会有让你莫名动心而别人眼中却是不起眼的。

为一个家，发挥作用的家具，在和谐的环境下，它是多么的娇贵；当国亡家破人穷时，它是多么的卑贱。随着时代巨轮的滚动，造成无奈的宿命，它依然愿意履行自己的使命。

不管你是处于幸福，欢乐，或是悲伤，失落。 他感觉就像一个过来人， 老朋友，默默在旁告诉你，“我懂！”。 而有故事的人才会看懂有故事的家具。

文：蔡思慧 

翻译：黄先生