The clear sunlight was shining, and An Chuyu's waist-length black hair had a warm luster. A faint lotus fragrance drifted around, a scent that Yunluo liked very much, and it was the fragrance of his girlfriend that he was used to.
The mighty and beautiful Husky Lord, with its handsome dog face, can freely enter Wuzhen. The merchants in Wuzhen are very sharp-eyed and can recognize that the dog chain of Husky Lord is silver and the dog tag is gold. If you are not a rich man, you can't afford to keep this cute Husky.
It seemed that An Chuyu had planned a trip to Wuzhen a long time ago. He took Yan Chenyu, Xiang Chuchunzi, Yunluo and Jueye directly to the Jiangnan Bed Museum, which is the first museum in China that specializes in collecting and exhibiting Jiangnan ancient beds.
The hotel has collected dozens of representative Jiangnan ancient beds from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and modern times, including all kinds of wooden beds used by wealthy businessmen to ordinary people, from one bed for one room to one bed for multiple rooms, with dressing rooms, toilets, servants' rooms, etc.
The exhibition is a collection of Chinese bed culture, showing both the luxury of the nobles and the frugality of the common people. The Jiangnan Hundred Beds Museum is mainly divided into three exhibition halls. The first exhibition hall displays beds with wooden frames, the second exhibition hall displays wooden carved beds with complex craftsmanship and fine production, and the third exhibition hall displays leisure and practical beds.
An Chuyu brought Yunluo here to see various ancient beds, but it was not a casual visit. An Chuyu whispered to Yunluo that they should put an ancient bed in the new house when they got married, but An Chuyu had not yet decided on the specific style.
Yunluo could feel that when An Chuyu talked about marriage, the cold and beautiful Yan Chenyu's heartbeat was not right. It would be a lie to say that Yan Chenyu was not angry, but Yan Chenyu would not confront her best friend and turn the table.
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The museum displays dozens of exquisite ancient beds from the Ming and Qing dynasties and modern times, including the Qing Dynasty Babu Qiangong Bed, Miss Bed, Double Dragon Foot Carved Bed, Ming Dynasty Horseshoe Brush-Shaped Bed, Double Happiness, Ruyi, Mirrored Red Wood Carved Bed, Inlaid Frame Bed, etc. These beds are exquisitely carved, unique in style, gorgeously decorated, and luxurious, all of which are exquisite among the ancient beds in Jiangnan.
The antique beds displayed in the first exhibition hall are made of wooden frames. They are simple and plain in shape, well-proportioned, and emphasize the linear image of the furniture body, reflecting a bright artistic style. At the same time, they make full use of the color and texture characteristics of hardwood without any carving. They are mostly painted with original wood, giving them a natural look.
Yun Luo walked into the exhibition hall with An Chuyu and Yan Chenyu in silence. Xiang Chu Chunzi followed behind with the husky Lord. The first bed that came into view was the oldest one in the collection of this exhibition hall: a Ming Dynasty horseshoe-footed large pen-shaped frame bed, which has a history of at least 400 years. Ming-style furniture is simple and generous, with exquisite materials. The whole bed is made of yellow beech wood.
The ancient beds in the second exhibition hall are made of fine materials, with complex craftsmanship and excellent production. They are the best among wood-carved beds. This Qing Dynasty Babu Qiangong bed is known as the treasure of the museum. The so-called Babu refers to the pedal outside the bed, and the so-called Qiangong means that it takes a craftsman three years and one thousand hours to make such a bed.
There are 106 figures carved on this wedding bed, which are lifelike and exquisitely crafted. There are patterns such as Sanniang teaching her son and Tianguan bestowing blessings. In ancient China, 108 was considered an auspicious number. 106 figures plus the newlyweds inside are exactly 108, which means auspiciousness.
This bed covers an area of more than six square meters. There are four depths in total. The first one is used to store foot binding cloth. Girls in the past had to bind their feet. Foot binding cloth smells very bad, so it is hung on the outside. The second one is the dressing room, and the third one is the toilet, which was called the descendants' barrel in ancient times, which is now the bathroom. The innermost floor is the bedroom. The whole bed is fully equipped, equivalent to a small suite with three bedrooms and one living room.
There is a small flat plate behind the bed. It is used to worship the bed master and bed mistress. The most distinctive part of the bed is the wooden sign hanging in the air. This was given to the bed owner by the carpenter who made the bed in the past, which is equivalent to a greeting card today. It is said that carpenters did not make beds in the early days, as making beds would shorten one's life.
There is a saying in the industry: It is better to build a beam than to make a bed. In order to make money by making beds without shortening one's life, carpenters carve a plaque with auspicious words on it after making the bed. The owner does not pay the worker but gives a red envelope. It is said that this will not shorten one's life.
Yunluo and Yan Chenyu looked at each other and smiled, thinking of the thousand-work bed in Miss Zhen Mi's boudoir. The workmanship of that bed was even more exquisite than the one in front of them.
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After looking at the Qiangong bed, An Chuyu walked inside, followed by Yunluo, Yan Chenyu and Xiang Chuchunzi. In this entrance, they could see three beds of the same style, a combination of Chinese and Western styles. There were two Western-style Roman columns on both sides of the beds, and peony flowers hanging on the bed. Peony is the national flower of modern China, representing wealth. There are also grapes and double happiness. Grapes represent many children and grandchildren, and many children mean good fortune.
Double Happiness is a symbol of happiness used by Chinese people when they get married, which means this bed was also used for weddings at that time. This bed was left over from the early Republic of China and is made of mahogany. Bats and lions are also carved on this bed. Bats represent good fortune, and the majestic lions also play a role in warding off evil.
An Chuyu saw most of the double beds in front, and then walked in to see the two young lady beds. Yunluo hooked Yan Chenyu's hand and comforted the little fish baby. Xiang Chuchunzi looked at her quietly and said nothing, and the Lord tilted his head curiously.
A modern bed with a carved herringbone plaque was used by a 13- or 14-year-old girl. Although it was a bed for a young lady, most of the patterns carved on it were military generals, which showed that this little girl did not like women's makeup but military generals, a type of Hua Mulan. Her ambition was also very high. When she looked up, she could see two lines of words: "I want to grab the moon in the sky with both hands, and I want to break the sky in my heart with a stone."
The other one is a lady's bed from the Qing Dynasty. The color of this lady's bed is brighter, red. It is made of a relatively precious silver lacquer, and the figures on the bed are all gold-plated.
This rattan couch can also be called an Arhat bed. It is like the sofa in people’s homes today. You can drink tea, play chess, chat, smoke, etc. on it. It is also equipped with a bed table that can be taken down or put up according to needs.
Opposite the Luohan bed we can also see these two sister beds. The reason why they are called sister beds is not because they are for sisters to sleep on, but because the two beds were made by the same local carpenter with similar styles and designs. They are put together for exhibition and therefore named sister beds.
The ancients believed that one third of a person's life is spent in bed, so the Chinese have always been very particular about beds. It is said that the Chinese did not have the concept of beds at first. They worked during the day and spread a straw mat on the ground at night. This was called sitting on the ground.
Later on, beds were invented. From the wooden lacquer beds unearthed from the Warring States Period, we can see that they were relatively short, about 20 centimeters, and very wide. The function of the bed at that time was not just for sleeping, it could also be used for entertainment and discussion of national affairs.
The beds really developed greatly during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The beds of the Ming Dynasty were simple and smooth, and paid attention to the wooden frame structure and texture characteristics. The beds of the Qing Dynasty absorbed the characteristics of foreign culture and focused on lacquer work and inlay, appearing elegant and luxurious.
These ancient beds with exquisite carvings and a long history are dazzling in the Jiangnan Beds Museum. Some of them are exquisitely carved and unique in style, while others are gorgeously decorated and luxurious. All of them are the best of Jiangnan wooden beds, which makes people sincerely sigh at the profoundness of Chinese culture.
The purpose of visiting the Hundred Beds Museum is not to find out how many beds it can hold, but to savor the rich history and life connotations carried by each bed. It may be for peace or for many children. When beds can be carved like this, people must be peaceful and happy. This is the state of mind of the ancient Chinese.
An Chuyu took a look around and carefully examined each antique bed, thinking about which antique bed to use for the newlyweds. She also discussed it with Yunluo. Yan Chenyu also said a few words, but Xiang Chuchunzi pretended not to understand Chinese and was very innocent and charming.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
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Wuzhen has many century-old brands that emphasize both business and culture and have a profound cultural heritage.
The old pharmacy called Xiangshan Hall that An Chuyu brought Yunluo, Yan Chenyu, Xiangchu Chunzi and Husky Jueye to has a history of more than 120 years.
The furnishings in Xiangshan Hall are all left over from the past. There are three medicine cabinets on the east and north walls of the store. The top layer has many porcelain and tin cans, which are used to store some precious medicinal materials, such as angelica and astragalus. The climate in the south of the Yangtze River is humid, and medicinal materials are easily affected by moisture, so they are placed in these tin cans to prevent moisture.
The many small drawers below are called "hundred-eye cabinets" and are used to store various commonly used Chinese medicines, which can store about 400 kinds of Chinese medicines. The bottom large drawer is used to store some coarse and cheap medicinal materials, such as loofah, dried mulberry leaves, etc. There is a L-shaped counter facing the street, which is the workbench for picking medicines in the pharmacy.
On the left side of the pharmacy lobby, there is a table where the old Chinese doctor used to sit in the outpatient clinic. The old doctor would use the four diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, questioning and palpation to examine the patient and write a prescription for him. The patient could then go to the counter next door to get the medicine with the prescription, which was very convenient.
Wuzhen is a typical ancient water town in the south of the Yangtze River, with crisscrossing rivers and lakes, gurgling water, and numerous small bridges. There are pools of green water and quaint rainbows everywhere. The town is connected by water, with bridges and canals interdependent, making the distances between the various bridges in the town of different forms and styles closer, and making it more convenient for local aborigines and today's tourists to travel back and forth.
There is a unique ancient bridge here - Fengyuan Double Bridge, which is also called a covered bridge because it has a covered shed on it. There is a water fence under the bridge, which was a checkpoint for waterways in ancient times, equivalent to a water city gate. Legend has it that there is a custom that men walk on the left and women walk on the right when walking on the double bridge. To walk across the bridge once, you must walk the left and right halves, so it is said that walking on this bridge can bring you both sides.
An Chuyu stood on the Fengyuan Double Bridge, which was a great viewpoint for viewing Caishen Bay, one of the most beautiful sights in Wuzhen. The willows on the south bank of Dongshi River and the winding water pavilions on the north bank were refreshing. Yunluo leaned lazily against the willow tree, playing a silly game of palm-to-paw with the husky Sir.
Xiang Chuchunzi stood quietly beside Yunluo, with clear eyes, pure and charming, a very seductive little fox. Yan Chenyu took a SLR camera to take a picture of An Chuyu on the bridge, and with a click, the fleeting time stopped. (To be continued...)