Jing-Style and Su-Style Furniture Aesthetics in Contemporary Design: An Emotion-as-Substance Perspective

Abstract

inese traditional furniture is not merely a utilitarian object, but also a material carrier of cultural memory, aesthetic philosophy, and social values. Among its major traditions, Jing- and Su-style furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties developed distinctive visual languages and emotional orientations: the former emphasized ritual order, authority, and grand structural beauty, while the latter foregrounded literati elegance, natural simplicity, and restrained refinement. Although recent studies have examined their historical craftsmanship, modern transformation, and emotional or cultural value, less attention has been paid to how their aesthetic traditions generate sustained emotional connections in contemporary design. Drawing on Li Zehou’s theory of “Emotion as Substance,” this study explores how Jing- and Su-style furniture aesthetics are inherited and transformed in contemporary Chinese furniture design. It adopts a qualitative case study approach and conducts comparative visual analysis of three representative brands: SHANG XIA, FNJI, and U+. The analysis is based on product images, brand narratives, design statements, and relevant historical literature. The findings show that contemporary continuation is not achieved through direct formal replication, but through the adaptive reorganization of material values, structural wisdom, proportional order, lifestyle imagination, and embedded emotional meanings. Warmth, dignity, calmness, craftsmanship spirit, and cultural belonging emerge as key emotional dimensions reactivated in the modern context. This study argues that the reinterpretation of traditional furniture reveals the living continuity of Chinese aesthetic culture and offers insights for culturally sustainable design, local identity construction, and non-Western approaches to modern design.