Page 60 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Eternal Music in Chinese art

‘The way of nature is, at the root, non [affected]-action; if one can grasp This guqin table has a simple and elegant three-plank construction,
non [affected]-action then there is being. Nothing should be done to with a floating single-board top panel of well-selected old wutong
order nature, so that nothing can be left undone by doing such’. wood, tongue-and-grooved to the top frame, the bottom of the
panel further supported by transverse braces, with a rectangular
By Wang Weiyi (d.1326 AD), in Dao ming pian chamber set below the top frame to form a ‘resonator’, each
narrow side cut with a slim ‘fish-eye’ aperture for extension of the
Zhuangzi (circa 269-286 BC) stated in Tian Dao (The Way of sound waves, all supported on two C-curved legs of plank section
Heaven) that ‘Vacancy, stillness, placidity, lack of taste, quietude, terminating in scroll feet.
silence and doing-nothing are the root of all things...... (such men)
by their stillness become sages; and by their movement, Kings. The present table is very special in its construction. Whilst it retains
Doing nothing, they are honoured; in their plain simplicity, no one in the simple yet elegant forms of classical Chinese furniture, the
the world can strive with them (for the palm of) excellence.’ construction of the top frame and legs is rather unconventional.
Instead of setting the top panel into a rectangular frame and joining
‘Wuwei’, literally meaning ‘Non-action’, is the central concept of its corners to the legs, each side of the top panel is seamlessly
Daoism and emerged during the Spring and Autumn period. The joined directly with the C-curved legs, resulting in a streamlined and
concept encouraged acolytes to free themselves from any artificial elegant design.
bonds or actions and to keep aloof from politics and earthly
obsessions so that one could ‘leave nothing undone by doing The careful selection of fine materials, the construction of hidden
nothing coercively.’ tenon-and-mortise joints and rounded corners, together with its
elegant yet classical silhouette, form a perfect understatement of
In Zhuangzi’s opinion, the world is in the process of continuous the contemporary interpretation of classical Chinese furniture.
and random transformation, and being part of the process was
what he considered to be the essence of beauty. He believed The exterior of this table is further decorated by applying multiple
that understanding the interactions between human beings and layers of raw lacquer, polished and wrapped with a hemp cloth with
their interdependence on the environment, is critical for a free and further coatings of lacquer, through several meticulous and time-
authentic mind. consuming procedures of scraping, polishing and applying lacquer,
resulting in harmonious combinations of purple and brown irregular
Therefore, beauty can be found in a free and authentic mind, through the pattern on a red ground.
process of restoring and appreciating the natural order of the universe.