Finding comfort in art

"It is said emperors of the Ming Dynasty were amazed at the patterns of huanghuali wood when Zheng He, an explorer who led expeditions to Asia and Africa, first brought it back to China, so they ordered furniture made with such wood."

In the bed exhibition area, there is a huanghuali bed with six pillars carved like bamboo.

Bamboo has a similar pronunciation to "master" in Chinese. In ancient China, it means the bed belongs to head of a clan.

"Moreover, patterns of pine, bamboo and plum blossoms－three plants reputed to be 'three cold-resistant friends of winter' in China－are carved into the bed, representing the integrity of the bed's owner. The headboard resembles the hat of a monk, which represents the high rank of the person who sleeps in the bed," says Yu Zhaofeng.

The museum also exhibits a Qing Dynasty "fridge" made from huanghuali. It looks like a big box into which people put a large block of ice. They would dig a hole in the ice and put food inside it to keep it fresh and chilled.