Furniture Design Lotus Guest Chair by Ming-Li Chang Lotus is a guest chair designed to bring forth a translation of traditional Ming Dynasty chair design for a modern space. The design was inspired by a Ming Dynasty folding chair that was created to allow high-class generals to maintain a gesture of status during an outing. There's a Chinese idiom that describes the growth of a lotus flower, out of the mud yet unstained. Kindness, warmth, generosity, and pureness of heart are all emotions the chair hopes to convey.