Inheritance and Fusion: An Analysis of the Unique Artistic Styles of Chinese Furniture in Chinese Ancestral Homes in 19th Century and Early 20th Century Malaysia
Keywords:
Malaysia Chinese Ancestral Home, Chinese Style Furniture, Artistic Characteristics, Visual Analysis, Inheritance and FusionAbstract
From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the South China Sea migration of the Chinese opened up exchanges and collisions between China and Southeast Asian countries in politics, economy and arts. The Chinese furniture heritage in the Malaysian Chinese ancestral homes built in the late 19th century and early 20th century has received more attention, which is the humanistic connotation root of the commercial tendency of the ancestral house heritage. This paper focuses on three cases of ancestral homes that have successfully commercialized and preserved Chinese furniture. The study specifically examines the visual characteristics and statistical proportions of representative furniture in relation to two categories: rituals and daily life. This study examines the traits of inheritance and fusion found in the furniture of Malaysian Chinese ancestral homes during this time period. It also investigates the humanistic inclination towards these blended qualities from many viewpoints. In the context of the 10th anniversary of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" initiative, the findings of this paper not only provide insights into the sustainable development of furniture heritage restoration in plenty of ancestral homes of Overseas Chinese but also provide a style reference for the future commercial design of furniture.
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