Although Chinese chairs are traditionally fitted with a foot rest stretcher, a separate foot rest was more comfortable, and in furniture arrangements the placement of a single foot stool often distinguished the highest ranked person. The beneficial use of the foot rest was described by Wen Zhenheng during the late Ming period - "Moving the feet back and forth over the rollers excites the vital energies (jingqi) to bubble upward like a fountain."

For a further discussion on footrests, see S. Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp. 213-4.