16th Century China in 21st Century Boston

By Kanbe Mao

In the MFA’s ancient Chinese room, you’ll feel like you're in 16th century Ming China when you walk in! The moment you walk in, you’re greeted with a peaceful vibe, it’s even more peaceful because you’re able to sit on beautiful ceramic stones and a surprisingly comfortable massage chair.They even encourage you with a sign saying you should sit on it. Now the massage chair doesn’t have any fancy vibrations or electronics but it has four rollers below you that you put your feet on. It feels strange when you first attempt to massage your feet, but soon you sink in and start to feel at peace. Another interesting aspect of the room is an ancient office or study room. It’s nothing like an office room of today-no computers, no printers, not even a fancy rolling chair. Just a table, paper and a pen. It seems like it was built for a general at the time.There was elegant ancient furniture with interesting printings on them.The furniture consisted of elegant tables, beds, shelves and much more. I learned many things on this trip, but this room was one of the most interesting. I could sit there all day and meditate.The only thing missing was Ms.Donoghue’s Zen music...but I could live without it.