Buddhism and the History of the Chair

John Kieschnick

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

    Up to the Tang, Chinese for the most part sat on the ground, on mats. Through the Han, while various sorts of low couches and platforms came into use, chairs were unheard of. In the Tang all of this began to change. We have a few scattered references to chairs in the Tang, as well as a representation of a figure seated in a chair in an early Tang tomb mural. More evidence appears in the late Tang and Five Dynasties period. By the Southern Song, use of the chair had spread throughout Chinese society, and has continued to maintain its position as a basic element in Chinese interiors ever since. Already in the Song, thoughtful writers contemplated the origins of the Chinese chair, and modern scholars have proposed a number of theories for the chair’s origins as well.

    In this article, I begin by tracing the rise of the chair in China, and recounting the various proposals for its origin. Next, based on evidence in the Buddhist canon, murals, stelae, poetry and travelogues, I argue that the chair was first brought to China by monks as a form of monastic furniture, and eventually spread from monasteries to the rest of Chinese society. In my conclusion, I reflect on the significance of these findings for our understanding of the impact of Buddhism on Chinese culture.

Keywords: Buddhism, furniture, chair, material culture, daily life