Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi; Paul Benedict Inkum; Obed Atta-Asamoah; Lv Jiufang; Zhihui Wu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

| Peer-Reviewed

Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi, Paul Benedict Inkum, Obed Atta-Asamoah, Lv Jiufang, Zhihui Wu

Published in American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 4)

Received: 15 November 2021 Accepted: 9 December 2021 Published: 24 December 2021

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Symbolic wisdoms; distinguished but communicative wisdoms in the form of imagery (designs or symbols) by which a country, tribe, or ethnic group use to convey its rich culture and philosophies, have since been used in many mediums to communicate to people. Among the Ghanaians, the most popular symbolic wisdom “Gye Nyame” which translates as “except God”, symbolizing God’s supremacy and omnipotent is not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in traditional Ghanaian furniture items. Among the Chinese, Dragon (Lóng), which symbolizes imperial power and authority, protection, good luck, male vigor, and fertility, is the most popular Chinese distinguished symbolic wisdom not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in the traditional furniture items they use. There are more symbolic wisdoms used by the two countries in their Traditional furniture industry. They are to serve as a vessel for expression, posing a question or suggesting a possible answer. It is, however, a worry that though most Ghanaians and Chinese users of Traditional Furniture items with wisdoms conveyed in them know and can mention some associated with them respectively, they do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. Given this, the study primarily aimed at researching the various symbolic wisdoms conveyed in the traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items, to educate users to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of their preferred symbols when conveyed in furniture items. The survey research design using the qualitative approach was adopted. The convenience and purposive sampling techniques were considered to select a sample size of 25 respondents each from the two countries for the study (50 respondents). A significant percentage; 55% and 43% users respectively of Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items with symbolic wisdoms conveyed in them do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. The study is expected to help educate the users to get in-depth knowledge and understanding of the message the symbols carry rather than just picking and using crafty symbolic wisdom(s). Both Ghanaian and Chinese users are encouraged to find out the meaning and the message a preferred symbolic wisdom carries before it is used. Again, further studies need to be done on the influence symbolic wisdom(s) has/have on users, and how it/they corelates with their behaviour. Furthermore, studies on other peculiar symbolic wisdom conveyed in furniture items found in temples, churches, mosques, etc. needs to be researched.

Published in	American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
Page(s)	127-133
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Distinguished, Furniture Items, Symbolic Wisdom, Symbols, Traditional

References

[1]	Agbo, A. H (2011). “Values of Adinkra Symbols”. Kumasi, Ghana Bigshy Designs and publications.
[2]	Appiah-Kubi, O. P; Na, Y.; Wu, Z. (2021). “A Comparative Analysis of The Factors Influencing the Choice and Purchase of Furniture Items: A Case of Ghana and China Furniture Customers”. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, Volume 12, Issue 2, February-2021. ISSN 2229-5518. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33064.70409.
[3]	Appiah-Kubi, O. P; Lyv, J.; Wu, Z. (2021). “Historical Overview of the Chinese Traditional Furniture”. Asian Journal of Science and Technology, 12, (05), 11704-11708.
[4]	Arthur, K. (2001). “Cloth as metaphor: (re)reading the Adinkra cloth symbols of the Akan of Ghana”. Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
[5]	Asenov, K. (2013). ‘Meaning in Furniture Design: Interpreting the Myth of Creation’. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Furniture Design Department in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Furniture Design. Savannah College of Art and Design.
[6]	Dagan, E. A. (1988). Tabourets Asante Stools Monteal: Galerie Amrad African Arts.
[7]	Inkum, P. (2016). ‘Design Criteria for The Production of Upholstered Living Room Furniture Founded on Asante Traditional Stool’. A project report submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
[8]	Lentz, C. (2008). ‘Traveling Emblems of power: The Ghanaian ‘Seat of State’’. Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Department of Anthropology and African Studies. Working Papers 94: 1-20.
[9]	Lin, J. (2010). “A Nomadic Furniture Design for College Students”. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Art and Design with a concentration in Industrial Design in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Urbana, Illinois.
[10]	Ratnasingam, J; Ioras, F. (2005). “The Asian furniture industry: the reality behind the statistics”. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff (2005) 63: 64–67. DOI 10.1007/s00107-004-0536-4. Published online: 12 January 2005 © Springer-Verlag 2005.
[11]	Ratnasingam, J. (2003). “A matter of design in the South East Asian wooden furniture industry”. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 61 (2003) 151–154 © Springer-Verlag 2003. DOI 10.1007/s00107-003-0375-8.
[12]	Wei, Z, and Xu, R. (2018). “The Influence of Art Symbol of Ming Dynasty furniture on Contemporary Home Furnishing”. Journal of Arts & Humanities. Volume 07, Issue 01, 2018, 32-35.
[13]	Xu, M. (2003). “Structure of traditional Chinese furniture style and modern style. Furniture”, vol. 6, pp. 53–56.
[14]	Yu, D. H. (2011). “Research on digital preservation for Chinese traditional furniture”. International Conference on Computer-Aided Industrial Design & Conceptual Design Vol. 2: 1002-1004.
[15]	Zhang, X. (2008). “Chinese Furniture: Exploring China’s Furniture Culture”. China Intercontinental Press, Beijing.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi, Paul Benedict Inkum, Obed Atta-Asamoah, Lv Jiufang, Zhihui Wu. (2021). Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(4), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi; Paul Benedict Inkum; Obed Atta-Asamoah; Lv Jiufang; Zhihui Wu. Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(4), 127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi, Paul Benedict Inkum, Obed Atta-Asamoah, Lv Jiufang, Zhihui Wu. Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(4):127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13,
  author = {Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi and Paul Benedict Inkum and Obed Atta-Asamoah and Lv Jiufang and Zhihui Wu},
  title = {Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {127-133},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210604.13},
  abstract = {Symbolic wisdoms; distinguished but communicative wisdoms in the form of imagery (designs or symbols) by which a country, tribe, or ethnic group use to convey its rich culture and philosophies, have since been used in many mediums to communicate to people. Among the Ghanaians, the most popular symbolic wisdom “Gye Nyame” which translates as “except God”, symbolizing God’s supremacy and omnipotent is not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in traditional Ghanaian furniture items. Among the Chinese, Dragon (Lóng), which symbolizes imperial power and authority, protection, good luck, male vigor, and fertility, is the most popular Chinese distinguished symbolic wisdom not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in the traditional furniture items they use. There are more symbolic wisdoms used by the two countries in their Traditional furniture industry. They are to serve as a vessel for expression, posing a question or suggesting a possible answer. It is, however, a worry that though most Ghanaians and Chinese users of Traditional Furniture items with wisdoms conveyed in them know and can mention some associated with them respectively, they do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. Given this, the study primarily aimed at researching the various symbolic wisdoms conveyed in the traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items, to educate users to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of their preferred symbols when conveyed in furniture items. The survey research design using the qualitative approach was adopted. The convenience and purposive sampling techniques were considered to select a sample size of 25 respondents each from the two countries for the study (50 respondents). A significant percentage; 55% and 43% users respectively of Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items with symbolic wisdoms conveyed in them do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. The study is expected to help educate the users to get in-depth knowledge and understanding of the message the symbols carry rather than just picking and using crafty symbolic wisdom(s). Both Ghanaian and Chinese users are encouraged to find out the meaning and the message a preferred symbolic wisdom carries before it is used. Again, further studies need to be done on the influence symbolic wisdom(s) has/have on users, and how it/they corelates with their behaviour. Furthermore, studies on other peculiar symbolic wisdom conveyed in furniture items found in temples, churches, mosques, etc. needs to be researched.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture
AU  - Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi
AU  - Paul Benedict Inkum
AU  - Obed Atta-Asamoah
AU  - Lv Jiufang
AU  - Zhihui Wu
Y1  - 2021/12/24
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
SP  - 127
EP  - 133
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-7802
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
AB  - Symbolic wisdoms; distinguished but communicative wisdoms in the form of imagery (designs or symbols) by which a country, tribe, or ethnic group use to convey its rich culture and philosophies, have since been used in many mediums to communicate to people. Among the Ghanaians, the most popular symbolic wisdom “Gye Nyame” which translates as “except God”, symbolizing God’s supremacy and omnipotent is not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in traditional Ghanaian furniture items. Among the Chinese, Dragon (Lóng), which symbolizes imperial power and authority, protection, good luck, male vigor, and fertility, is the most popular Chinese distinguished symbolic wisdom not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in the traditional furniture items they use. There are more symbolic wisdoms used by the two countries in their Traditional furniture industry. They are to serve as a vessel for expression, posing a question or suggesting a possible answer. It is, however, a worry that though most Ghanaians and Chinese users of Traditional Furniture items with wisdoms conveyed in them know and can mention some associated with them respectively, they do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. Given this, the study primarily aimed at researching the various symbolic wisdoms conveyed in the traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items, to educate users to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of their preferred symbols when conveyed in furniture items. The survey research design using the qualitative approach was adopted. The convenience and purposive sampling techniques were considered to select a sample size of 25 respondents each from the two countries for the study (50 respondents). A significant percentage; 55% and 43% users respectively of Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items with symbolic wisdoms conveyed in them do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. The study is expected to help educate the users to get in-depth knowledge and understanding of the message the symbols carry rather than just picking and using crafty symbolic wisdom(s). Both Ghanaian and Chinese users are encouraged to find out the meaning and the message a preferred symbolic wisdom carries before it is used. Again, further studies need to be done on the influence symbolic wisdom(s) has/have on users, and how it/they corelates with their behaviour. Furthermore, studies on other peculiar symbolic wisdom conveyed in furniture items found in temples, churches, mosques, etc. needs to be researched.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi

College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Paul Benedict Inkum

College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Obed Atta-Asamoah

Department of Languages, Mim Senior High School, Mim, Ghana
Lv Jiufang

College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Zhihui Wu

College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi, Paul Benedict Inkum, Obed Atta-Asamoah, Lv Jiufang, Zhihui Wu. (2021). Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(4), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi; Paul Benedict Inkum; Obed Atta-Asamoah; Lv Jiufang; Zhihui Wu. Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(4), 127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi, Paul Benedict Inkum, Obed Atta-Asamoah, Lv Jiufang, Zhihui Wu. Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(4):127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13,
  author = {Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi and Paul Benedict Inkum and Obed Atta-Asamoah and Lv Jiufang and Zhihui Wu},
  title = {Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {127-133},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210604.13},
  abstract = {Symbolic wisdoms; distinguished but communicative wisdoms in the form of imagery (designs or symbols) by which a country, tribe, or ethnic group use to convey its rich culture and philosophies, have since been used in many mediums to communicate to people. Among the Ghanaians, the most popular symbolic wisdom “Gye Nyame” which translates as “except God”, symbolizing God’s supremacy and omnipotent is not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in traditional Ghanaian furniture items. Among the Chinese, Dragon (Lóng), which symbolizes imperial power and authority, protection, good luck, male vigor, and fertility, is the most popular Chinese distinguished symbolic wisdom not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in the traditional furniture items they use. There are more symbolic wisdoms used by the two countries in their Traditional furniture industry. They are to serve as a vessel for expression, posing a question or suggesting a possible answer. It is, however, a worry that though most Ghanaians and Chinese users of Traditional Furniture items with wisdoms conveyed in them know and can mention some associated with them respectively, they do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. Given this, the study primarily aimed at researching the various symbolic wisdoms conveyed in the traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items, to educate users to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of their preferred symbols when conveyed in furniture items. The survey research design using the qualitative approach was adopted. The convenience and purposive sampling techniques were considered to select a sample size of 25 respondents each from the two countries for the study (50 respondents). A significant percentage; 55% and 43% users respectively of Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items with symbolic wisdoms conveyed in them do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. The study is expected to help educate the users to get in-depth knowledge and understanding of the message the symbols carry rather than just picking and using crafty symbolic wisdom(s). Both Ghanaian and Chinese users are encouraged to find out the meaning and the message a preferred symbolic wisdom carries before it is used. Again, further studies need to be done on the influence symbolic wisdom(s) has/have on users, and how it/they corelates with their behaviour. Furthermore, studies on other peculiar symbolic wisdom conveyed in furniture items found in temples, churches, mosques, etc. needs to be researched.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Symbolic Wisdom Conveyed in the Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese Furniture Culture
AU  - Obed Persie Appiah-Kubi
AU  - Paul Benedict Inkum
AU  - Obed Atta-Asamoah
AU  - Lv Jiufang
AU  - Zhihui Wu
Y1  - 2021/12/24
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
SP  - 127
EP  - 133
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-7802
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.13
AB  - Symbolic wisdoms; distinguished but communicative wisdoms in the form of imagery (designs or symbols) by which a country, tribe, or ethnic group use to convey its rich culture and philosophies, have since been used in many mediums to communicate to people. Among the Ghanaians, the most popular symbolic wisdom “Gye Nyame” which translates as “except God”, symbolizing God’s supremacy and omnipotent is not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in traditional Ghanaian furniture items. Among the Chinese, Dragon (Lóng), which symbolizes imperial power and authority, protection, good luck, male vigor, and fertility, is the most popular Chinese distinguished symbolic wisdom not only conveyed in textile design and architectural buildings but also in the traditional furniture items they use. There are more symbolic wisdoms used by the two countries in their Traditional furniture industry. They are to serve as a vessel for expression, posing a question or suggesting a possible answer. It is, however, a worry that though most Ghanaians and Chinese users of Traditional Furniture items with wisdoms conveyed in them know and can mention some associated with them respectively, they do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. Given this, the study primarily aimed at researching the various symbolic wisdoms conveyed in the traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items, to educate users to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of their preferred symbols when conveyed in furniture items. The survey research design using the qualitative approach was adopted. The convenience and purposive sampling techniques were considered to select a sample size of 25 respondents each from the two countries for the study (50 respondents). A significant percentage; 55% and 43% users respectively of Traditional Ghanaian and Chinese furniture items with symbolic wisdoms conveyed in them do not know the meaning or message the symbolic wisdoms carry. The study is expected to help educate the users to get in-depth knowledge and understanding of the message the symbols carry rather than just picking and using crafty symbolic wisdom(s). Both Ghanaian and Chinese users are encouraged to find out the meaning and the message a preferred symbolic wisdom carries before it is used. Again, further studies need to be done on the influence symbolic wisdom(s) has/have on users, and how it/they corelates with their behaviour. Furthermore, studies on other peculiar symbolic wisdom conveyed in furniture items found in temples, churches, mosques, etc. needs to be researched.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download