Environment design

The use of traditional chinese mortise and tenon joints in contemporary furniture

УДК: 684.4
DOI: 10.47055/19904126_2023_1(81)_26

Abstract

Introduction

The mortise and tenon structure is the essence of Chinese classical furniture joinery. The formation method of traditional Chinese wooden utensils is to divide the wood into different shapes such as length, height, and size. The protruding part is called tenon, and the concave part is called tenon. Screws and other materials, and can meet the long-term use of utensils. [1]According to archaeological findings, the mortise and tenon structure has a history of more than 7,000 years, and first appeared in the Neolithic Hemudu Culture in Zhejiang Province, China. During the Warring States Period (770 BC-476 BC), mortise and tenon structures were widely used to make various living utensils. At this time, dovetail tenon（燕尾榫）, rebated tenon（凹凸榫）, Dovetailed tenon(银锭榫), Grid Corner tenon (格角榫), etc.have appeared [2].

Since ancient times in China, according to different carpentry techniques, the wooden frame for building a house is called "big carpentry", and the building decoration and wooden furniture are called "small carpentry". And the "mortise and tenon structure" constitutes the basic framework of traditional Chinese wooden buildings and furniture. In ancient China, "big carpentry" was the main source of learning and imitating "small carpentry", that is to say, the mortise and tenon structure of Chinese classical architecture was imitated and borrowed by classical furniture. In ancient China, the mortise and tenon structure in furniture began to develop rapidly after the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). This is due to the change of the sitting posture of the ancient Chinese, from the original sat on the floor to the current sit in the chair.

The change in sitting posture results in an increase in seat height. The increase in seat height leads to an increase in the number of seat components and forces on the chair, such as armrests and seat surfaces. Therefore, high hardness furniture materials and a stable and powerful seat structure are required. Correspondingly, wooden furniture has undergone continuous technical improvements in the structure of mortise and tenon.

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) was the peak period of the development of mortise and tenon technology. During this period, the frame furniture structure was mature, and new forms of mortise and tenon structures such as Grid angular paneling（格角镶板）, Elongated bridle joint（夹头榫）, insertion of shoulder tenon（插肩榫）, etc. appeared in wooden furniture. By the middle and late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the use of mortise and tenon structures in Ming-style furniture had become very mature. After thousands of years of evolution and improvement, the mortise and tenon structure can fully meet the very high requirements of users for the function and form of wooden furniture [3]. According to Wang Shixiang, a well-known Chinese traditional furniture research expert, "Traditional Chinese furniture developed from the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty to its peak, Furniture of this period is made of hardwood of fine quality, tightly crafted mortise and tenon. The components can be organically connected to achieve such success. It is because of the decisive role played by those tenons and eyes that avoid mutual concession but complement each other. The Yellow Fish Glue is only an auxiliary means of using mortise and tenon to make it easy to be straight up and down, thin and slanting, well connected, well-faced, precise, tight-knit, and endless [4].

The improvement and development of traditional Chinese furniture mortise and tenon structure is a process from rough to fine, from simple to complex. For example, exposed mortise was often seen in early furniture. This structure originated from the wooden beam structure in ancient Chinese architecture. Tenon came out of mortise, also called Bright Mortise. It was also common in early Ming Dynasty furniture until Ming Dynasty. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty that the tenon was concealed, which was called concealed Mortise, which was beautiful without affecting its stability [5].

Therefore, the mortise and tenon structure is the most far-reaching technology that has influenced ancient Chinese wooden furniture. Until now, it still has a certain influence on the development of modern design in China and the world.

The traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure has the following two characteristics:

1. Smart use of mechanical principles The mortise and tenon structure technology shows a strong mechanical effect, relying on the friction force generated by the bite of the wood itself, thus forming a tightly interlocking shape between the parts, and the tightly interlocking parts are finally combined into a complete, firm and strong whole . There is a certain gap in the connection between mortise and tenon. The mortise and tenon structure makes full use of the elastic characteristics of wood materials. It deforms under the action of external force, and returns to its original shape after the external force is released. When the cyclic load reaches the maximum value, the opposite force is applied to strengthen its supporting force.[6]The bonding method of the mortise and tenon structure does not have the auxiliary reinforcement of other elements such as iron nails. The reason is that ancient Chinese furniture craftsmen believed that the iron nails themselves would continue to age and the wood cracks left after the use of iron nails would affect the service life of wooden furniture [7].

The use of mortise and tenon structure furniture in the key parts of the force point is also very smart and appropriate. For example, "Three spandrels to one leg and a humpbacked stretcher painting table"（一腿三牙罗锅杖画桌） in the Ming Dynasty, as shown on the right in Figure 1, one-leg and Three spandrels are professional terms for furniture craftsmanship in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and they are also the structure of this painting table.This shape comes from the beam structure in classical Chinese architecture, as shown in the upper left of Figure 1. "one leg" refers to the legs of the table, "three spandrels" refers to the long spandrel on both sides of the table and the table to undertake the weight of the desktop A piece of horn tooth" ."Three spandrels" are composed of "Apron"（牙条） and "Apron-head spandrel"（牙头）, using the Elongated bridle joint structure（夹头榫）.The table legs penetrate and connect Apron, Apron-head spandrel, and the tabletop, and lift the tabletop from three directions, perfectly explaining the principles of mechanics. At the same time, the horizontal "Humpbacked stretcher" (罗锅杖) cylinder is used to cross the tenon at right angles to connect the table legs, so that the four table leg parts form a whole with the seat surface, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1.“Three spandrels to one leg and a humpbacked stretcher painting table” with architectural comparison.
Source: https://k.sina.com.cn/article_6877871793_199f3feb100100q6gb.html 

Figure 2.“Elongated bridle joint structure”
Source: https://k.sina.com.cn/article_6877871793_199f3feb100100q6gb.html 

The traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure perfectly expresses ancient Chinese philosophy and aesthetics The mortise and tenon structure is the combination of concave and convex, and in ancient Chinese philosophy, it is the combination of yin and yang, expressing harmony through the combination of Yin and Yang. The Bracket model structure （斗拱）used in ancient Chinese architecture, as shown on the left in Figure 2, is composed of hundreds of small components connected into a large component through mortise and tenon, and a large number of nodes are generated to resolve external forces and transfer weight [8].

The many nodes of the mortise and tenon structure of the bucket arch have a good effect on resisting external forces such as earthquakes, which embodies the idea of "overcoming rigidity with softness" in Chinese Taoist philosophy, so as to achieve harmony with nature. Dougong is also divided into different levels and grades, which also reflects the hierarchical concept of "etiquette system" mentioned by Confucius, that is, the higher the social status, the more the size and number of layers of Dougong. In addition, the shape of the dougong is similar to the shape of the Big Dipper and points to the sky, and the columns rise from the ground, which also shows the ancient Chinese concept of "universe". The style and machine structure of the above-mentioned "Three spandrels to one leg and a humpbacked stretcher painting table" furniture are derived from the bucket arch structure.

Under the background of the rapid development of science and technology today, the production mode characterized by batch, standardization, modularization and assembly of furniture has become the status quo of furniture production. However, the production mode of traditional Chinese furniture based on the structure of mortise and tenon cannot fully adapt to modern furniture production standards. The traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure mainly has the following problems:

1. The complex structure of traditional Chinese mortise and tenon is not suitable for standardized and standardized assembly line production. For example: Mortise-and-tenon joint at which three square members meet at one corner（粽角榫）, Elongated bridle joint（插肩榫）, Assembling a mortised-and-tenoned frame with floating pane（攒边打槽装板）, etc. These mortise and tenon structures are very complex in shape, interspersed, occluded, and morphologically complex and changeable.

2. Traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structures use a single material and have high requirements on material performance, mainly expensive hardwoods, such as: Huali wood, (rosewood), Zitan wood (rosewood), Tieli wood (iron wood), etc. [9].

3. Traditional Chinese mortise and tenon have high structural precision and strong dependence on labor. The production of structural parts requires experienced and high-level craftsmen to complete [10].

While most traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structures cannot adapt to modern furniture production, they also have modern furniture design concepts such as detachability, modularization, and environmental protection. Therefore, the inheritance of the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure requires survival of the fittest and design improvements to make it adapt to the requirements of modern furniture production.

Traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structures are still widely used in the modern furniture market. Part of it is to optimize and innovate the structure itself on the basis of the mortise and tenon structure, so that it can meet the functional needs of contemporary people for furniture, as well as meet the requirements of modern craftsmanship and production. The other part is to inherit and innovate the classic form formed by the mortise and tenon structure, so that it can inherit the classic aesthetic form of Chinese classical furniture.

The youth population in China is also a representative population in China's urbanization process. According to research and analysis, they have the characteristics of low income, small living space, liking online shopping, pursuing high quality of life, moving frequently, and liking to keep pets. They need flexible and multi-purpose, space-saving, easy-to-transport furniture with simple and stylish shapes to improve their quality of life. For this group of people, the Chinese designer Xu Le team designed the "Square and Round" multifunctional chair,As shown in Figure 3，which is easy to transport, save space, easy to disassemble, and flat. The design of the wood material part of the furniture uses the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure Dovetailed tenon（银锭榫 ). Dovetailed tenon cleverly combines four parts together, and the whole set of furniture is extremely convenient to disassemble. On the one hand, the design of the acrylic part is to re-fix and create the carrying function of the object, either to sit on people or to hold objects. On the other hand, the transparent feature of acrylic perfectly shows the beauty and ingenuity of the mortise and tenon structure of the wooden part. The work inherits the style and function of the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure in the application of the mortise and tenon structure, and at the same time shows the structural aesthetics and decorative features of the mortise and tenon structure. The overall design does not use any metal for easy assembly. The "Square and Round" multifunctional chair is the winner of the German Red Dot Award 2019.

Figure 3. "Square and Round" multipurpose chair with Dovetailed tenon.
Source: https://home.163.com/17/1113/16/D34S4HBD001097VF.html 

The "Flat Shelf" designed by Chinese designer Zhai Weimin, as shown in Figure 4, is also based on the improvement of the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure "Elongated bridle joint", using environmentally friendly bamboo materials. This work is extremely convenient to disassemble and assemble, and has multi-functional features. It can be endowed with different functions according to the height of the laminates, such as low-level coffee tables and high-level storage racks, etc., can all be satisfied. The improvement and simplification of the "Elongated bridle joint" in this work is very clever. On the one hand, the tenons of the "Elongated bridle joint" structure are removed, and the legs of the shelf are hollowed out, retaining the shapes of "Apron" and "Apron-head spandrel". On the other hand, transforming the Apron-head spandrel into a Sawdust tenon structure that can be inserted into the rack legs can not only satisfy its convenient disassembly function, but also allow standardized and large-scale mass production.

Figure 4. "Flat Shelf". Source: http://www.jingqilin.com/index.php?m=Picture&a=show&id=86 

Chinese designer Shen Wenjiao designed a coat rack named NUDE. As shown in Figure 5, the coat rack is composed of six wooden sticks, three long and three short. Its form is inspired by the shape of a campfire, and its structure is inspired by the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure Luban lock. The interlocking structure has been improved to the simplest x-locking structure on this basis, similar to the Chinese instrument Huqin (Huqin) piano shaft, which can be fixed only by rotating and pushing. It has 13 effective hanging points and can bear up to 100kg. This coat rack maximizes the realization of the high-quality product features of the most simplified structure, the most simplified decoration, the most simplified process, the most simplified production line, and the most simplified weight. The work is innovated under the concept of traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure, which conforms to the design concept of green design, form follows function, and minimalism in modern design. This work won the German Red Dot Award in 2014.

Figure 5. "NUDE Coat Rack". Source: https://www.swedishwood.cn/inspiration/interior-and-furniture/nude/ 

Conclusion

The traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure is extremely robust and ingenious, and it is widely used in Chinese classical architecture and furniture. At the same time, in the context of modern technology, the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure, which is done by hand, is facing either obsolescence or significant transformation. In the application of mortise and tenon structure in modern furniture design, on the one hand, the inherited mortise and tenon structure will be more ingeniously and environmentally friendly applied to modern furniture design; on the other hand, the Chinese philosophical thinking contained in mortise and tenon structure will be under the interpretation of modern design, new connotations are given.

References

1. An Jie （2018). Innovative research into mortise and tenon construction. Journal of Nanjing University of Arts (Art and Design),No. 5, pp. 165-168.(in Chinese)

2. Mu Yao, Wu Zhihui (2021). Cultural embodiment of mortise and type construction in Chinese classical furniture and architecture. Furniture, 42 (03), pp. 82-86.(in Chinese)

3. Chen Yiyi (2014). Mortise and tenon structure in traditional Chinese furniture (1). Furniture and Interior Decoration, No. 3, pp.26-29.(in Chinese)

4. Wang Shixiang (2008). Ming-style furniture research. Hong Kong: Sanlian Publishing Co.(in Chinese)

5. Xue Kun (2012). Research on Mechanical Properties of Traditional Furniture Structure. Furniture and Interior Decoration, No. 11, pp.18-19.(in Chinese)

6. Li Jiawei (2006). Research on mechanical properties of straight tenon-wood joints in traditional Chinese buildings. Ph. D. National Taiwan University.(in Chinese)

7. Zhang Xun (2007). Exploration of Traditional Furniture Structure in Modern Materials and Technology. Ph. D. Jiangnan University.(in Chinese)

8. Ye Cong., (2011) Research on Chinese furniture based on modern lifestyle and indoor shape. Ph. D. Nanjing Forestry University.(in Chinese)

9. Kazakova, N.Yu., Qiu Qi. (2022).The use of digital technologies in the design of traditional furniture in China. Decorative Art and Physical and Spatial Environment. Bulletin of the MGHPA, No. 3, pp.117-125.(in English)

10. Zhang Tianxing (2011). Research on the innovation and development of traditional Chinese furniture. Ph. D. Central South University of Forestry and Technology.(in Chinese)

Citation link

Qiu, Qi, Kazakova, N.Yu. The use of traditional chinese mortise and tenon joints in contemporary furniture [Online] //Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education. – 2023. – №1(81). – URL: http://archvuz.ru/en/2023_1/26/  – doi: 10.47055/19904126_2023_1(81)_26

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