A PAIR OF SOUTHERN OFFICIAL HAT'S ARMS CHAIR

The early history of the chair in China is still clouded in documentary mist. All we can be sure of is that the first known depictions of chairs in China are all connected with the imported Buddhist religion. The basic form of this chair resembles the shape of the gauze hat worn by official of the southern province, hence, the Beijing craftsmen call it nanguanmaoyi. Because it forces the body into a position of upright rectitude, it readily imparts honor, dignity, and power. In sociology of chairs, it occupies an odd place in the class structure, its political alliance is both with the aristocracy (religious and secular), who first used it, and the ordinary chair-owing somewhat affluent classes.