The Very Existence of the Table

FEISI LANG

The most intriguing object I found in my grandparents’ house was a piece of old and dull furniture with all sorts of Chinese characters carved on its surface. This particular piece of furniture was unique to my family because it had been around for over sixty years. It had survived over half century, and witness numerous historic events since World War II.

Although China wasn't really involved much in World War II, China was still under the control of Qing Dynasty. I was told that underneath the table there were weird symbols that specially identify the maker of the desk. On the surface, my uncle carved some sort of propaganda which praised the communist government.

The table was very standardized with four supported legs and a surface. The paint was mostly invisible which left with a natural color of the wood. The contour lines of the wood was destroyed by the curvature, so the surface was very uneven. I am not very clear what kind of wood the table was made with.

I know that my grandfather brought the furniture some time before World War II. We used it as the office desk, then dinner table, then a kitchen table, and finally we used for laying junks on it. The each transformation of usage had a story behind it. I call it “the glory days of my grandfather.” During the 1930s, my grandfather owned a factory and sold the products to the Japanese. He worked day and night behind this particular desk. Then World War II started, and the Japanese invaded China. He shut down his business brought this table home, where my grandmother serves dinner; hence, we used it as dinning table. Finally the war was over, both my mother and my uncle were married and we all still live together. The dinner table is too small to support a family of six, so we used it to prepare food. Now, my grandparents are over eighty years old, and they seldom cook again. The table was just there in the corner with plies of pots and dishes on it.

I am always infuriated when they refuse to get rid of the old furniture. I question them why won’t they get new furniture. They reply: “it reminds them the old days, where they tried so hard to thrived in this world, worked so laborious to provide the best for the us.” Furthermore, the table was a historical witness to our family, because it recorded the growth of a typical family during some of the hardest time in China. The very existence of the table might tell historians that my family struggles financially, or else we would’ve got new furniture to replace the old one. The curvature might represent the influences of society on my uncle. When he was younger and naïve, he was pretty much brain-washed by the government. The stains of grease and source might indicate a traditional Chinese family likes to dine together with freshly cooked food.