摘要
唐代之前，中國人主要席地而坐，没有坐椅子的習惯。圖像與文献资料顯示，到了唐代有一些人開始使用椅子。盛唐俊，椅子日益流行，而最遲在宋初已经相當普遍。坐姿由低向高發展的趋势，引起了很多其他坐化。改用椅子以後，窗户的位置及屏風舆屋顶的高低也因此改變；飲食習惯舆衣著也跟随著家具改變，甚至人的心理狀態可能也受到影響。在此轉變過程中，椅子的出现是重要因素之一。因此，提宋代以来有不少學者探討椅子的來源。 本文先陳述歷來學者對椅子渊源的各種推測，接著利用佛教的文獻及圖像资料来说明佛教在中国人接受椅子的過程中所扮演的角色。最後，本文討論此现象封中圈佛教史研究的意義。
並列摘要
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.