Monday, November 13, 2006

Ching wedding bed

A beautiful antique bed I acquired last week. Full size without mattress. I intend to use it as my work station/tea house. Cushions added for comfort, a small Kang table as a work table/tea table. It would be an ideal oyster environment for tea drinking. It also makes work enjoyable as well. Ahhhhhhhh....

It comes with little drawers in the middle, perfect for storing stationeries and tea utensils. The top of the drawers can be used as book shelf. How ideal!!!



The wood carving here on each footers is a bird on blooming prune tree branch. Xi que 喜鹊 (magpie) literally happy bird, prune flower is Mei Hua, the combination of the 2 in a design is a symbolic notion of Xi Shang Mei Shao 喜上眉梢(happy, up, eyebrows, branch tip). A happy bird up on a prune branch sounds like happiness up on eyebrows in mandarin. I am increasingly more intrigued and fascinated by Chinese literature and its subtle meaning in every phrase. Simply amazing!

I contemplated about the phrase Xi shang mei shao in an half asleep state of mind during sleep. Why happiness on eyebrows tip 喜上眉梢? Smile at a mirror and you'll find out why! Facial muscles uplift to the temple area where the tip of the eyebrows are when smiling, see it?! Gosh a little 4 characters phrase containing a story, logic, descriptions of physical reaction and emotion! Endless wisdom in Chinese culture!

8 comments:

~ Phyll said...

Wow, beautiful! How cool!

Imen said...

It's nice huh.. The style is from the Fu Jian region, simple enough and not too enclosed like beds from regions such as Shan Xi or Zhe Jiang. I love the practicality of this bed for my use, since I need an area devoted to tea, but don't have the luxury of having a tea house at my apartment.

TeaMasters said...

Excellent idea! Amazing idea! It's so good, I wonder why I didn't think of it first ;)
Will you add some tatami floor on the bed to make it less hard to sit on, or just cushions?

I've had the opportunity to sleep in such a bed 3 years ago in a hostel in Hsin Chu county. It's a unique experience one doesn't forget! I got usd to sleep on a hard mattress in Taiwan and feel it's quite healthy. Really an excellent idea: bed and teahouse in one!

I hope you have a good sense of humour, because you'll probably hear lots of jokes playing with the fact that you usually don't make tea in a bed!
But jokes aside, this bed really makes for a very romantic place to have tea.
Thanks for sharing!

Imen said...

Stephane,

Amuse me! tell me the jokes about making tea in bed.. :)

Imen said...

Stephane,

I will use cushions only, perhaps add a bamboo xi zi for protection and easy cleaning.

~ Phyll said...

Blimey, I'm curious about the joke, too! Do tell, Stephane. The more X rated, the better! :)

Imen said...

phyll,

Just let's say I would not invite stranger to have tea on "a" bed! :P

~ Phyll said...

Imen, I agree. I prefer Champagne in bed with a stranger. ;)