The Vision Of Past, Present & Future
To create exquisite Chinese objet d’art lifestyle pieces for the 21st century, one must be well-informed and deserving of the country’s 5,000 years of warmth, balance and grace in craftsmanship heritage. For Jiang Qiong Er, who in 2008 founded Shang Xia 「上下」, a design house rooted in China’s rich and vibrant aesthetic and culture, this unparalleled celebration of skill, detail and artistry is literally in her lineage. Her maternal grandfather, Jiang Xuanyi, was a famous painter and her father, Xing Tonghe, is the architect and curator of the Shanghai Museum, which houses China’s most valuable cultural objects from early porcelain masterpieces to paintings and calligraphy. As a young girl, Jiang found solace and inspiration in the beauty of Chinese landscapes while travelling the country with her parents; returning home, they would bring what they saw to life through drawings. Shang Xia, under the current patronage of French maison Hermés, is Qiong Er’s tribute to her inheritance of creativity, a continuation of the legacy designers and craftsmen before her have set in motion. The result is an ongoing dialogue of up and down, past and future, tradition and innovation, various energies that enliven balanced living. For Jiang, “up and down” – the literal translation of Shang Xia – stands for “the harmonious coexistence of all the contradictions we are surrounded by: people and nature, city and countryside, east and west.”
070 071
Entering any of Shang Xia’s three stores in Shanghai, Beijing and Paris, all designed by world-renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is like walking into a cloud. One immediately feels embraced by space and ephemerality emanating from exceptional furniture, stunning decorative curios, charming accessories and splendid garments – the perfect setting for how the Chinese traditionally welcome visitors with time-honoured rituals and gracious hospitality. Such as the illustrious tea ceremony, a prologue to any boutique visit that indelibly sparks conversations bridging old China with the modern one.
An Encounter of Asian Heritage and Innovation With just a beautiful tea set perched atop the most exquisite furnishing, Jiang
Craftsmanship &
Uncompromising Quality
has already immersed guests in the aura of highest quality craft and storied traditions that inform her visionary concept, expressed through limited editions that defy the seasonality of fashion, yet inherently relevant in enriching culturally concurrent Chinese lifestyles. Everyone leaves with unique tales and anecdotes of their epic experiences at Shang Xia, narratives that augment the mystique and charisma not found in any other luxury label boutique on earth.
072 073
Living Philosophy
that Transcends Time and Space
Shang Xia’s Da Tian Di collection is inspired by Ming Dynasty furniture crafted out of dark zitan, known more commonly as the Emperor’s wood. In two simple characters, Tian Di (天地) symbolises the supremacy of the heavens and earth which Shang Xia carpenters have worked a full 5,000 hours to re-create. Experimenting with dozens of forms to find perfect lines and arcs to reinterpret these cultural relics into contemporary rhetoric, resulting in pedigree products polished to needlepoint flawlessness. Take the Da Tian Di tea
Splendidly Simple tabletop, which slides open to reveal a tray fashioned from cool Duan calligrapher stone alongside an electric kettle whose cord disappears discreetly into the table leg – attention to detail, ornamented with elegance and utility, at its more precise. The walls of a Shang Xia store are equally magnificent, a chequerboard arrangement of tiles made from compressed tea leaves that subtly emanate a delicate herbal scent. This celestial backdrop is just one way Jiang describes the Shang Xia sphere as “splendid[ly] simple.” Her ultimate vision is to rekindle pride in Chinese heritage whilst nimbly dancing away from the glamour and glitz of its Western counterparts.
074 075
Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas was immediately captivated by Jiang’s ideals when they first met, uncanny coincidences that transcend the years and cultures between both labels. The partnership was made official in 2007 and from there, Jiang and her team travelled around China for months to uncover the best artisans who would invest their quality craftsmanship in this journey. Time was of crucial importance in sourcing and production; not in terms of speed, but patience. Beyond individual or one-off pieces, Shang Xia designers are recruited to cultivate series of items that will generate long-lasting visibility for artisanal crafts. This requires enduring commitment and the rare artisans whole-heartedly devoted to learning and understanding their work. Take Shang Xia’s porcelain tea set, which is fired at temperatures above 1300°C to attain its perfect glaze of white translucence with hints of jade. Cossetted in bamboo weaving, such inventive technique and application of material is a task only for the steadfast, confident master craftsperson, who dedicates up to three years to produce one such outstanding item. This, and other collectibles in Shang Xia’s catalogue, preserves the historical beauty borne of Chinese ingenuity, conveying messages of guardianship and remembrance that Jiang strives to bring back to everyday conservation. Text = Nicole Chan
Expressing 5,000 Years of Chinese Craft
076 077