Canopy bed

Even in very modest homes, hanging a simple curtain across a room was not uncommon to shield the bed from cold drafts and create a division between living and sleeping spaces.

These beds can be seen in manuscript illuminations, paintings, and engravings, showing cords suspending the front of the canopy to the ceiling.

[5] In pre-Republican China, until 1911, the family's canopy bed was the most important piece of household furniture and often part of the bride's dowry.

As status signifiers, these beds were often intricately decorated with auspicious motifs, particularly regarding fertility, longevity, and a happy marital union.

Wood, metal, or a combination of the two is used to construct modern canopy beds, which usually have little to no detail on the foot and headboards and often feature sharp, geometric designs.