唐代之前，中國人主要席地而坐，沒有坐椅子的習慣。圖像與文獻資料顯示，到了唐代有一些人開始使用椅子。盛唐後，椅子日益流行，而最遲在宋初已經相當普遍。坐姿由低向高發展的趨勢，引起了很多其他變化。改用椅子以後，窗戶的位置及屏風與屋頂的高低也因此改變；飲食習慣與衣著也跟隨著家具改變，甚至人的心理狀態可能也受到影響。在此轉變過程中，椅子的出現是重要因素之一。因此，從宋代以來有不少學者探討椅子的來源。
本文先陳述歷來學者對椅子淵源的各種推測，接著利用佛教的文獻及圖像資料來說明佛教在中國人接受椅子的過程中所扮演的角色。最後，本文討論此現象對中國佛教史研究的意義。
Up to the Tang, Chinese for the most part sat on the ground, on mats. Through the Han, while various sorts of low couches and platforms came into use, chairs were unheard of. In the Tang all of this began to change. We have a few scattered references to chairs in the Tang, as well as a representation of a figure seated in a chair in an early Tang tomb mural. More evidence appears in the late Tang and Five Dynasties period. By the Southern Song, use of the chair had spread throughout Chinese society, and has continued to maintain its position as a basic element in Chinese interiors ever since. Already in the Song, thoughtful writers contemplated the origins of the Chinese chair, and modern scholars have proposed a number of theories for the chair’s origins as well.
In this article, I begin by tracing the rise of the chair in China, and recounting the various proposals for its origin. Next, based on evidence in the Buddhist canon, murals, stelae, poetry and travelogues, I argue that the chair was first brought to China by monks as a form of monastic furniture, and eventually spread from monasteries to the rest of Chinese society. In my conclusion, I reflect on the significance of these findings for our understanding of the impact of Buddhism on Chinese culture.
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