A Study Of Ming-style Furniture Modeling Based On Field Theory

Ming-style furniture was born in the middle and late Ming Dynasty in China,and its unique modeling form is very striking in the history of the development of classical furniture in China.The study of Ming-style furniture modeling has also been a hot issue in academic circles,with a solid research foundation.However,a review of the data reveals that most of the research on Ming-style furniture forms has been conducted from the perspective of furniture modeling features or spiritual connotations,while the part of the research involving the causes is mostly centered on the aesthetics of the literati or the enhancement of the manufacturing level,and there is still room for in-depth research.Ming-style furniture,an object built on a complex relationship between production and consumption,can be seen as the materialized result of a human behavior.And field theory is a sociological research method,a conceptual model of human behavior.Therefore,this project will establish a more rigorous logical framework and theoretical system with the help of the field theory of sociology,and analyze the phenomenon of Ming-style furniture modeling in depth from the overall social relationship.After clarifying the concept of field theory,we will take the famous French sociologist Bourdieu’s "field" theory as the perspective and combine the theories of field,capital and habit in the theory to establish the field of Ming-style furniture modeling.This part clarifies that the development of Ming-style furniture modeling satisfies the conditions of the field;on this basis,it analyzes the position of actors,capital structure and habits in the Ming-style furniture modeling field,so as to determine the position of Ming-style furniture in the social space;finally,it further clarifies the internal relationship and external positioning of the field by drawing a schematic diagram of the field.Based on the context of field theory,this project analyzes the factors influencing the design activities of Ming-style furniture from both the external field and the internal field.During the mid-and late-Ming period,society changed dramatically due to the economic development and the implementation of the New Deal,which led to changes in the living conditions and attitudes of the literati and craftsmen.As a subfield in society,the Ming-style furniture modeling field was inevitably subject to the constraints of the power meta-field.The external fields that had a major impact on the Ming-style furniture modeling field were the political,economic,and cultural fields.Therefore,this section takes the field as a unit and analyzes how the external field changed the Ming-style furniture modeling by influencing the thoughts and lives of the Ming-style furniture modeling producers in order to study the relationship between Ming-style furniture modeling and the whole social context.The achievements of Ming-style furniture in craft modelling could not be achieved without the influence of external fields,i.e.these inherent social contexts,and without changes in the actors within the Ming-style furniture modelling field.The changes in the external field influenced the state of being and the psychological state of the producers(literati and craftsmen)of the Ming-style furniture modeling field,paving the way for their participation in furniture design and the formation of design concepts.In this case,the activities of the literati and craftsmen had a more profound impact on the styling of Ming-style furniture.The Ming craftsmen and the literati of the middle and late Ming dynasties each had their own focus on furniture design.As their communication and cooperation deepened,the literati and craftsmen each showed their own strengths in the styling of Ming-style furniture,which were revealed through various stylistic structures.The literature and examples related to the theories of furniture design of literati and craftsmen are supplemented with a comparative study.The analysis and discussion conclude that the formation of Ming-style furniture forms in the midst of social relations was inevitably influenced by many external fields such as politics,economy,and culture of Ming society.The changes in the external field mainly affected the state of existence and psychological state of the producers(literati and craftsmen)of the Ming-style furniture modeling field.Under the influence of the external sphere,the design innovation and cooperation between the literati and craftsmen within the Ming-style furniture modeling sphere had a more direct impact on Ming-style furniture modeling,which was eventually reflected in the unmarked mortise and tenon structure,scientific and reasonable scale,the art of"curved and straight" lines,natural materials and colors,and simple decorative elements and patterns of Ming-style furniture.The Ming-style furniture is embodied in the stylistic field.In the Ming-style furniture modeling field,the literati and the craftsmen created the deep-rooted shape of Ming-style furniture through communication.