Incense Table and Flower Table: Designed for a Single Item

Two tall, slender small tables (xiangji and huaji). Their tops are circular or square, very small in size—diameter or side length only about forty centimeters, but their height reaches eighty to one hundred centimeters, making their proportion distinctly slender and tall. They have three to five legs, slender and curved, exhibiting a 'three-curved leg' form that arcs outwards then inwards, ending in outward-flaring horse-hoof feet; a thin stretcher connects the feet. Below the tabletop, there is a waist (shuyao) and simple apron panels (yatiáo). The wood is dark hardwood. Each table holds only one item: an incense burner, or a sparsely arranged potted plant. They stand alone by a wall or in front of a window, with ample negative space around them. Avoid: making the tables short and stout, using straight and thick legs, placing multiple items on the tables, using them as side tables for teacups and miscellaneous items.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

兩張高瘦的小几。它們的平面是圓形或方形,尺寸很小——直徑或邊長僅四十公分左右,但高度達八十到一百公分,比例明顯瘦高。腿有三到五條,細而彎曲,呈現向外弧出再向內收的三彎腿形式,末端是外翻的馬蹄足;腿之間有一圈細的托泥把腳連起來。面板下方有束腰與簡潔的牙條。木料是深色硬木。每一張几上只放一件東西:一只香爐、或一盆姿態疏朗的植物。它們單獨立在牆邊或窗前,周圍留白。避免:把几做得矮胖、使用直而粗的腿、在几上放多件物品、把它當成邊桌放茶杯與雜物。