Seeing from the Details: The Cosmopolitanism and View of Nature in Haipai (Shanghai Style) Furniture Design, 1912–1949

Haipai 海派 furniture (also known as Shanghai style Furniture), as a transitional form of Chinese furniture design from tradition to modernity, is an integration of Chinese and Western styles, representing the material culture after the hybrid of Eastern and Western cultures. This paper is based on a serious of Haipai furniture collected by Jin Ze Arts Centre and carries out an imaginative reconstruction of Shanghai-style furniture and social life from 1912 to 1949. Three questions were raised about this cultural imaginary: How to understand the cosmopolitanism in the design and handcraft of Shanghai-style furniture; How historical memory and emotion is reflected in the details of the furniture; And what is the future of nostalgia about Shanghai-style revival. Boym(The future of Nostalgia, Basic Books, 2002) stated “Nostalgia is not always about the past: it can be retrospective or future-oriented. The fantasies of the past are shaped by the needs of the present and directly affect the realities of the future… Unlike melancholy, which is limited to the plane of individual consciousness, nostalgia is Biography of the individual and the biography of the group, the biography of the nation, the relationship between individual and collective memory.” “The city offers an option for a ‘localized cosmopolitanism’ that incorporates both national and international elements.” Haipai furniture, serving as a vessel of collective memory, assumes the profound duty of nurturing the sustainable development of history and culture. Furthermore, this embodiment of ‘Cultural Sustainability’ has expanded the dimensions of ‘Sustainability’ issues. Moreover, within the discourse surrounding nature and artifacts, Haipai furniture, stemming from the fusion of Eastern and Western cultural elements, artfully integrates natural motifs into its intricate craftsmanship, thus conveying a perspective on NATURE that is harmoniously distinct from the purview of Western civilization. This article attempts to establish new connections between Eastern and Western cultures and nature through the study of Haipai furniture, and based on this premise, drive new design innovations.