Abstract
Traditional furniture has long been present in people's social lives due to its unique functional use, artistic form, and spiritual consciousness. Traditional furniture has surpassed the functional and aesthetic value of furniture itself, and the cultural characteristics of Shandong have endowed traditional furniture with special attributes. There are many precious cultural heritages in Shandong region, which have various values such as history, culture, technology, and art. These heritages are not only important materials for studying historical culture, but also historical witnesses of social and cultural changes. As a result, traditional furniture in Shandong exhibits a humanistic sentiment and distinctive style that sets it apart from traditional furniture styles in other regions. The objective of this study is to investigate the aesthetic value and development trend of traditional furniture in Shandong based on cultural inheritance and innovation. In traditional Chinese folk dwellings and decorations, furniture is a very important object that has both practical and humanistic value. Furniture and its display methods can particularly reflect the state of folk life and folk culture. The style, color, material, and arrangement of furniture can reflect the characteristics and significance of an indoor place, conveying important information between people and the place, people and the environment, people and people, and furniture and the environment. It is the carrier and medium of folk culture. The analysis of the significance of folklore in traditional folk furniture and its related culture is indispensable. Its folk cultural connotations and folk mentality have important practical significance for today's interior furniture and its display and design.
Keywords
Traditional Furniture, Cultural Heritage, Innovation, Aesthetic Value
1. Introduction
Furniture, as an important part of traditional Chinese culture, does not appear by chance, but rather as an inevitable cultural phenomenon that accompanies human life and permeates into various aspects of daily activities, while also accompanying social development with regional commonalities and characteristics
| [1] | Li X. L., Zhao G. Z. Construction of a Sustainable Development System for the Furniture Industry Under the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral Strategy. Furniture & Interior Design, 2023, 30(07): 06-10. https://doi.org/10.16771/j.cn43-1247/ts.2023.07.002 |
| [2] | Xiang R. L., Liu W. J., Tang L. H. An Empirical Study on the Purpose of Furniture Design Based on the Value Orientation of Public Furniture Consumption. Furniture & Interior Design. 2023, 30(07): 22-27. https://doi.org/10.16771/j.cn43-1247/ts.2023.07.005 |
| [3] | Zhang J. G., Xue K., Zhang Q. Discussion on the Cultural Origin of Shandong Traditional Furniture. Furniture. 2022, 6: 86-89. |
[1-3]
.
Traditional culture in Shandong involves various aspects of human life such as housing, clothing, cuisine, architecture, and furniture. The formation and development of traditional culture have gone through a long historical process
. As one of the characteristic cultures of Chinese civilization, traditional furniture culture has not only been a summary of the historical practice of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, but also a display of the wisdom and civilization created by the working people in various historical periods of China
. At every stage of human history, numerous traditional cultures have emerged that meet the needs of society at that time, representing the lifestyle, psychological characteristics, ways of thinking, and even national emotions, as well as ethical and moral values of this historical period and region. Along with the emergence of cultural forms, traditional furniture in China has also emerged. The dependence relationship of furniture is not due to accidental factors, but an inevitable result of historical development. As a "prop" in people's daily lives, furniture widely exists in people's daily production and life, playing an important role and becoming an essential tool for serving humanity
.
Traditional furniture has long been present in people's social lives due to its unique functional use, artistic form, and spiritual consciousness. Traditional furniture has surpassed the functional and aesthetic value of furniture itself, and the cultural characteristics of Shandong have endowed traditional furniture with special attributes. Traditional furniture permeates the emotional and psychological patterns of a nation or a region's people, reflecting the lifestyle, moral values, blessings, and values of the nation. This is an objective fact that cannot be ignored
.
As the saying goes, 'Different winds come from a hundred miles away, and different customs come from a thousand miles away. China is vast in territory and abundant in resources, with numerous ethnic groups and diverse phenomena. The material civilization and cultural accumulation of our country have profound historical connotations, and traditional Chinese furniture culture, as one of its important components, varies greatly from place to place in terms of furniture, each with its unique historical development trajectory and cultural imprint
. A large number of folk activities and remnants of folk furniture reflect the cultural characteristics of the Chinese nation while also possessing a strong local style, maintaining excellent folk traditions without being destroyed, forming a unique artistic atmosphere of traditional Chinese furniture, and nurturing hope for the revival of folk crafts in the future. This should be given attention and in-depth research by researchers
.
Shandong has a long history and is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. The development process of Shandong's history has produced numerous distinctive folk customs. There are many precious cultural heritages left by our ancestors in Shandong region, which have various values such as history, culture, technology, and art. Inherited is not only an important source of historical and cultural research, but also a historical witness to social and cultural changes. As a result, traditional furniture in Shandong exhibits a humanistic sentiment and distinctive style that sets it apart from traditional furniture styles in other regions
.
Figure 1. Research flowchart.
2. Research Contents
2.1. Research Contents
Shandong is one of the birthplaces of civilization in the eastern coastal areas of China, especially since the Neolithic Age, with a long history of thousands of years. In the development process of Shandong's history, our ancestors have preserved a large number of folk customs for us. As a traditional material and intangible cultural "heritage", traditional furniture in Shandong has an inseparable historical origin with Shandong culture. The two together form a part of Chinese cultural history, and Shandong's humanistic spirit has also been preserved with them. This project aims to explore the historical changes of traditional furniture in Shandong, discuss the category of traditional furniture in Shandong, summarize the characteristics of the shape, materials, patterns, and categories of traditional furniture in Shandong, and strive to distinguish the style features of Shandong traditional furniture with strong local characteristics from other mainstream styles of furniture (such as Cantonese, Beijing, and Soviet style furniture), so that traditional furniture in Shandong can have its own independent style form and humanistic consciousness (
Figure 1). It can not only enrich the types and styles of traditional Chinese furniture styles, but also promote and develop traditional furniture in contemporary times, and better spread, inherit, and pass down Shandong culture.
2.2. Research Objectives
Exploring and improving the style categories of traditional Chinese furniture from a new perspective, enriching the traditional furniture system, no longer using familiar furniture styles as a starting point to study furniture, but exploring furniture from the folk, aiming to highlight the unique personality and charm of Shandong traditional furniture.
The research project will delve into the field of furniture from folk customs, and understand furniture from a more macro perspective. In addition, it will also involve regional culture and cultural characteristics.
Theory is the guide to action, and in the research process of the project, the combination of theory and practice is sought to provide a certain guiding basis for practical application.
Starting from a concise and practical perspective, we will communicate and exchange ideas with researchers in related fields, so that the research methods of the project are not only useful for furniture researchers, but also have a guiding role for furniture enthusiasts.
We plan to carefully select relevant research methods from various furniture disciplines, arrange research content and structure reasonably, scientifically handle problems, and integrate research content and theories.
Given that there is currently no in-depth and systematic research on contemporary Shandong regional furniture in China, the research content of this paper is basically the first discussion of this regional issue, facing a lack of relevant experience and theoretical reference. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize and deepen the accumulated practical information and research results of related disciplines, in order to ensure the scientific research value of the topic.
3. Research Methods
At present, the furniture manufacturing industry in Shandong Province ranks third in the country, second only to Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, and has been on the rise in recent years. Shandong's furniture products are mainly solid wood and soft wood, which is also the advantage of Shandong's furniture industry
. Taking solid wood furniture as an example, Shandong solid wood furniture holds a large market share in the national production and sales market. At the same time, in the Shandong region, solid wood furniture holds a more important position in the minds of consumers than panel furniture. Consumers are more inclined towards the heaviness of solid wood furniture, which also meets the purchasing demand of consumers for "value for money".
However, consumers have to face practical problems when purchasing solid wood furniture. The solid wood furniture on the market is uniform, but consumers are at a loss when faced with a dazzling array of furniture. The main reasons are as follows: 1. The furniture style is outdated, uniform, and lacks attractive highlights for consumers, which is the main reason; 2. Solid wood furniture lacks cultural connotations and is difficult to meet consumers' long-term aesthetic needs for solid wood furniture; 3. Lack of interaction between people and furniture is a higher-level demand, just like antique collection, collectors will cherish and cherish cultural relics like treasures. If a piece of furniture can achieve this, it will no longer be ordinary furniture, but a spiritual creature for the owner. For example, when consumers purchase jade, they are first attracted by its shape and color, which corresponds to point 1. Then, consumers will pay attention to the cultural significance of the jade (the most direct being the auspicious meaning), which corresponds to point 2. Finally, consumers will also learn about the background, origin, related stories, and cultural anecdotes of the jade. These intangible things give a cold object a living soul, which corresponds to point 3.
Using Shandong tradition as a starting point to study furniture can give it a living soul. The traditional furniture explored in the project in Shandong is like a rough jade that has not been mined and polished. Although traditional furniture in Shandong is not as widely spread as Cantonese, Beijing, and Soviet style furniture, it will have a broader market with the increasing demand for diversified consumer consumption. It can be seen that currently in the market, Jin style furniture, Hui style furniture, Sichuan style furniture, Ning style furniture, and Haipai furniture are all striving for excellence, hoping to have positive performance or achievements. Compared with them, traditional furniture in Shandong has more advantageous advantages, such as vast territory, strong humanistic sentiment, and a large new consumer group. These advantages can provide a breeding ground for the development of traditional furniture in Shandong. The research application objectives are as follows:
1) Conduct research and investigation on Shandong traditional furniture, a branch of traditional Chinese furniture, and make a report. Summarize and subdivide the characteristics of regional furniture in Shandong, and explore its essence;
2) Studying traditional folk customs in Shandong while investigating traditional furniture is not only a starting point but also an important entry point.
4. Key Research Questions
Traditional Chinese furniture can be divided into Beijing style, Suzhou style, and Guangzhou style according to different regions and styles. Shandong furniture is gradually forming its own traditional style and is expected to become a new furniture genre. This can also be seen as the budding of Shandong traditional furniture in the contemporary furniture market. But for the current furniture market, the path of traditional furniture in Shandong still has a long way to go.
4.1. Research of Regional Traditional Furniture Culture
Different regional landforms, natural resources, and climatic conditions inevitably lead to differences in regional civilization, and form different furniture categories, functions, and material characteristics. Traditional Chinese furniture is like this. Due to the differences between the north and south in our country, the mountains in the north are majestic and the land is wide, and the people in the north are mostly simple and rough. Furniture is correspondingly characterized by large scale, heavy body, dignified and stable. The southern mountains are clear and the waters are beautiful. Many southerners are gentle and delicate, and the furniture shapes are delicate, soft, clever, and varied. Regarding furniture styling, there used to be a saying of "legs in the south, hats in the north", which means that northern cabinets emphasize large caps, which often appear heavy, while southern furniture pursues changes in foot shape, which often appear elegant. In terms of furniture color, the north prefers deep and heavy colors, while the south prefers light and fresh colors.
Like the development process of human culture as a whole, the development of furniture also has its stages, that is, furniture styles in different historical periods exhibit different characteristics of furniture culture. Furniture from ancient, medieval, Renaissance, romantic, modern, and postmodern periods all exhibit distinct styles and personalities. In agricultural societies, furniture is often handcrafted, resulting in a style that is mainly classical, finely crafted, or simple and rustic, all leaving clear traces of handmade craftsmanship. In industrial society, the production method of furniture is industrial mass production, and the style of the products is characterized by modernity, with simple and straight shapes and almost no special decorations. The main pursuit is a kind of mechanical beauty and technological beauty. In the contemporary information society and economically developed countries, furniture has rejected the design principles of modern functionalism and instead focused on context and cultural semantics. Therefore, furniture styles have shown a diverse development trend, which requires modernization, reflecting the lifestyle of contemporary people, technology, materials, and economic characteristics of the times, as well as isomorphism and compatibility with regional, ethnic, traditional, historical, and other aspects in furniture art language. From commonality to individuality, from singularity to diversity, furniture and interior furnishings both exhibit strong personal colors, which is the characteristic of the current era of furniture.
Different ethnic groups have different living environments, traditional cultures, and living customs. From architectural design to interior decoration, furniture also has its own ethnic characteristics. Only designs with unique ethnic characteristics have true global competitiveness. China is a multi-ethnic country, and each ethnic group has formed its own profound cultural heritage through long-term living environment, especially the furniture characteristics formed by various ethnic minorities over the long term, which are worthy of our in-depth research and development.
The formation of furniture culture is gradual and progressive, and furniture emerged and developed based on human usage needs. Furniture decoration emerged to meet the spiritual needs of users after a certain degree of social development, and the more developed the society, the more prominent and rich the furniture decoration style, and the higher the cultural connotation. Furniture culture not only has a certain degree of inheritance in fixed regions, but also often revolves around a certain region, spreading, borrowing, and blending with the overall cultural exchange. Therefore, there is also mutual influence between furniture cultures in different regions.
4.2. Research of Shandong Traditional Furniture Culture
Although the traditional furniture industry in Shandong has begun to take shape, its design concept is not particularly prominent and obvious. In order to clarify the characteristics, style and culture of Shandong traditional furniture, even mahogany furniture, all production and manufacturing must focus on the concept of creating Shandong mahogany, or around such brands as Shandong traditional furniture, to establish a design concept that is highly professional and conforms to the actual situation of the furniture industry in Shandong. In addition, it also needs to widely absorb the essence elements of traditional furniture for use. The redwood in Shandong region needs to establish an operational production system guided by professional design, with clear division of labor and collaborative processing, to change the traditional pattern of manual workshop production, high internal consumption, and low efficiency.
In the Chinese market, people's sense of regional identity towards their own ethnic group always appears too weak, somewhat showing a tendency to "worship foreign things". Although they have been constantly updating and innovating in the new international and domestic environment, blind and conformist elements have played a significant disadvantageous role, and this can also easily lead to the dilution and dilution of the cultural essence of their own ethnic group. Of course, in recent years, many ethnic entrepreneurs or research institutes have begun to pay attention to the culture and ideological consciousness of their own ethnic groups, calling for "ethnic is the best". However, what is ethnic, what ethnic things are, what you need to express your ethnic characteristics, and how to awaken everyone's sense of identity through ethnic characteristics are all obstacles in reality.
5. Conclusions
The paper studies the aesthetic value and development trend of traditional furniture in Shandong based on cultural inheritance and innovation. The research on furniture, as an attempt to revive traditional Chinese culture in the new era, is not groundless. Nowadays, many enterprises and researchers have begun to focus on the research, production, and production of local furniture, such as Ning style furniture, Sichuan style furniture, and Shanghai style furniture, all exploring this path.
To form one's own brand concept and design ideas, it is necessary to understand the folk customs and humanistic spirit of Shandong, so as to prescribe the right medicine. In traditional Chinese folk dwellings and decorations, furniture is a very important object that has both practical and humanistic value. Furniture and its display methods can particularly reflect the state of folk life and folk culture. The style, color, material, and arrangement of furniture can reflect the characteristics and significance of an indoor place, conveying important information between people and the place, people and the environment, people and people, and furniture and the environment. It is the carrier and medium of folk culture. When exploring and researching the origins of Shandong's folk culture, it is essential to analyze the significance of folk traditional furniture and its related culture in folklore studies. Its folk cultural connotations and folk mentality have important practical significance for today's interior furniture and its display and design.
Author Contributions
Yan Sun: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft
Yitong Jiang: Writing – original draft
Meimei Zhang: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing
Funding
This work is supported by Key Project of Art Science of Shandong Provincial Association of Culture, Arts and Sciences (No. L2023Z04190108), Provincial First-class Undergraduate Major Construction Point: Environmental Art Design (No. 75), 2023 Shandong Agricultural University Education Reform Project (No. S2023054), and the Ministry of Education's Cooperative Education Projects (No. 220502444131709).
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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APA Style
Sun, Y., Jiang, Y., Zhang, M. (2025). Research on the Aesthetic Value and Development Trend of Shandong Traditional Furniture Based on Cultural Inheritance and Innovation. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications, 11(1), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
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Sun, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Zhang, M. Research on the Aesthetic Value and Development Trend of Shandong Traditional Furniture Based on Cultural Inheritance and Innovation. Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 2025, 11(1), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
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Sun Y, Jiang Y, Zhang M. Research on the Aesthetic Value and Development Trend of Shandong Traditional Furniture Based on Cultural Inheritance and Innovation. Int J Archit Arts Appl. 2025;11(1):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
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@article{10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12,
author = {Yan Sun and Yitong Jiang and Meimei Zhang},
title = {Research on the Aesthetic Value and Development Trend of Shandong Traditional Furniture Based on Cultural Inheritance and Innovation},
journal = {International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {13-18},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaaa.20251101.12},
abstract = {Traditional furniture has long been present in people's social lives due to its unique functional use, artistic form, and spiritual consciousness. Traditional furniture has surpassed the functional and aesthetic value of furniture itself, and the cultural characteristics of Shandong have endowed traditional furniture with special attributes. There are many precious cultural heritages in Shandong region, which have various values such as history, culture, technology, and art. These heritages are not only important materials for studying historical culture, but also historical witnesses of social and cultural changes. As a result, traditional furniture in Shandong exhibits a humanistic sentiment and distinctive style that sets it apart from traditional furniture styles in other regions. The objective of this study is to investigate the aesthetic value and development trend of traditional furniture in Shandong based on cultural inheritance and innovation. In traditional Chinese folk dwellings and decorations, furniture is a very important object that has both practical and humanistic value. Furniture and its display methods can particularly reflect the state of folk life and folk culture. The style, color, material, and arrangement of furniture can reflect the characteristics and significance of an indoor place, conveying important information between people and the place, people and the environment, people and people, and furniture and the environment. It is the carrier and medium of folk culture. The analysis of the significance of folklore in traditional folk furniture and its related culture is indispensable. Its folk cultural connotations and folk mentality have important practical significance for today's interior furniture and its display and design.},
year = {2025}
}
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Research on the Aesthetic Value and Development Trend of Shandong Traditional Furniture Based on Cultural Inheritance and Innovation
AU - Yan Sun
AU - Yitong Jiang
AU - Meimei Zhang
Y1 - 2025/02/17
PY - 2025
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
DO - 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
T2 - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JF - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JO - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
SP - 13
EP - 18
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2472-1131
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.12
AB - Traditional furniture has long been present in people's social lives due to its unique functional use, artistic form, and spiritual consciousness. Traditional furniture has surpassed the functional and aesthetic value of furniture itself, and the cultural characteristics of Shandong have endowed traditional furniture with special attributes. There are many precious cultural heritages in Shandong region, which have various values such as history, culture, technology, and art. These heritages are not only important materials for studying historical culture, but also historical witnesses of social and cultural changes. As a result, traditional furniture in Shandong exhibits a humanistic sentiment and distinctive style that sets it apart from traditional furniture styles in other regions. The objective of this study is to investigate the aesthetic value and development trend of traditional furniture in Shandong based on cultural inheritance and innovation. In traditional Chinese folk dwellings and decorations, furniture is a very important object that has both practical and humanistic value. Furniture and its display methods can particularly reflect the state of folk life and folk culture. The style, color, material, and arrangement of furniture can reflect the characteristics and significance of an indoor place, conveying important information between people and the place, people and the environment, people and people, and furniture and the environment. It is the carrier and medium of folk culture. The analysis of the significance of folklore in traditional folk furniture and its related culture is indispensable. Its folk cultural connotations and folk mentality have important practical significance for today's interior furniture and its display and design.
VL - 11
IS - 1
ER -
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