Glossary
Chinese furniture and joinery glossary
Writing on Chinese furniture uses a vocabulary of its own. Each term below is explained in a sentence or two, with its hanzi and pinyin, and linked to a joint guide where you can find it in the 3D model.
Parts of a piece
- 大边 dàbiānLong frame member
- The two long members of a mitred frame (a table top, seat or panel). The mortises are cut in the long members and the short members carry the tenons. See the joint →
- 抹头 mǒtóuShort frame member (end rail)
- The two short members of a frame, whose ends carry tenons into the long members at mitred corners. See the joint →
- 面心 miànxīnFloating panel
- The panel set into a frame’s groove, often glued up from thin boards. It floats in the groove so it can move with the seasons. See the joint →
- 穿带 chuāndàiDovetailed batten
- A batten slid across the underside of a panel in a dovetailed housing, its ends tenoned into the frame, to keep the panel flat. See the joint →
- 束腰 shùyāoWaist
- The recessed band between the top and the apron that defines “waisted” furniture. See the joint →
- 牙条 yátiáoApron
- The horizontal board under the top that runs between two legs, both bracing and decorating the piece. See the joint →
- 牙头 yátóuApron spandrel
- The shaped end of an apron where it meets the leg; on recessed-leg tables it is clasped by the leg together with the apron. See the joint →
- 托腮 tuōsāiTray moulding
- An extra moulded strip between the waist and the apron, found on grander pieces. See the joint →
- 枨 chéngStretcher
- A rail that braces the legs: foot stretchers, humpbacked stretchers, the diagonal “hump” brace and others. See the joint →
- 霸王枨 bàwáng chéngS-shaped diagonal brace
- A curved brace running from the inside of the leg up to the batten under the top, used instead of stretchers between the legs. See the joint →
- 管脚枨 guǎnjiǎo chéngFoot stretcher
- A stretcher near the bottom of the legs; on chairs the front one doubles as a footrest. See the joint →
- 矮老 ǎilǎoShort strut
- A short vertical post between a stretcher and the top or apron above it. See the joint →
- 角牙 jiǎoyáCorner spandrel
- A small bracket fitted into the angle where a horizontal and vertical member meet, bracing and decorating it. See the joint →
- 托泥 tuōníBase frame
- A frame under the feet so that the legs do not stand directly on the floor. See the joint →
- 腿足 tuǐzúLeg
- The leg of a piece, square or round in section. See the joint →
- 围子 wéiziRailing panel
- The low panels enclosing three sides of a luohan bed or couch, usually attached with loose tenons so they can be removed. See the joint →
Joints and joint parts
- 榫卯 sǔnmǎoMortise and tenon; joinery
- The fitting of a projecting tenon (榫) into a hollow mortise (卯); by extension, all of Chinese wood joinery.
- 榫头 sǔntóuTenon
- The projecting part cut on the end of a member. See the joint →
- 卯眼 mǎoyǎnMortise
- The hole or slot that receives a tenon. See the joint →
- 透榫 tòusǔnThrough tenon
- A tenon that passes right through and shows its end grain on the far face; also called an exposed tenon (明榫). See the joint →
- 半榫 bànsǔnBlind (stub) tenon
- A tenon that stops inside the member and cannot be seen from outside. See the joint →
- 肩 jiānShoulder
- The face at the root of a tenon that bears against the other member; mitred, rounded and “floating” shoulders are all variants. See the joint →
- 格角 géjiǎoMitred corner
- Two members each cut at 45° so that only a diagonal seam shows on the face. See the joint →
- 燕尾 yànwěiDovetail
- A tenon wider at its end than at its root, so it cannot be pulled straight out. See the joint →
- 挂销 guàxiāoHanging pin
- A pin narrow at the top and wide at the bottom with a half-dovetail section; an apron hung onto it from above is drawn tighter as it slides down. See the joint →
- 销 xiāoPin; loose tenon
- A separate small piece inserted into two members, as in the loose tenon (栽销) or the sliding lock (走马销). See the joint →
- 楔 xiēWedge
- A tapered piece driven in to tighten a joint, such as the wedge that splits a through tenon or the wedge pin of a scarf joint. See the joint →
- 走马销 zǒumǎ xiāoSliding lock
- A pin fixed in one part with a dovetailed head that locks when slid along a slot; used for parts meant to come apart. See the joint →
- 粽角榫 zòngjiǎo sǔnThree-way mitre
- A corner where three members meet with a mitre showing on all three faces, said to resemble the corner of a zongzi. See the joint →
- 抱肩榫 bàojiān sǔnWaisted-leg corner joint
- The joint that brings leg, waist and aprons together at the corner of waisted furniture. See the joint →
- 夹头榫 jiātóu sǔnClasping-leg joint
- A slot in the top of the leg clasps the apron and spandrel, and tenons above enter the top. See the joint →
- 插肩榫 chājiān sǔnInserted-shoulder joint
- Similar to the clasping-leg joint, but the top of the leg is cut to a mitred shoulder that fits into a groove in the apron, leaving the faces flush. See the joint →
- 长短榫 chángduǎn sǔnLong-and-short tenons
- Two tenons at right angles on the top of a leg, the long one entering the long frame member and the short one the end rail. See the joint →
Furniture forms
- 有束腰 yǒu shùyāoWaisted
- Furniture with a waist under the top; the corners are made with the waisted-leg joint. See the joint →
- 无束腰 wú shùyāoWaistless
- Furniture without a waist, the legs usually running straight to the floor. See the joint →
- 四面平 sìmiàn píngFlush-sided
- A form in which top, legs and apron are flush on the outside, the corners usually made with a three-way mitre. See the joint →
- 案 ànRecessed-leg table
- A table whose legs are set in from the ends of the top, such as the flat-ended, everted-end and painting tables. See the joint →
- 桌 zhuōCorner-leg table
- A table with its legs at the four corners of the top. See the joint →
- 圈椅 quānyǐRoundback armchair
- An armchair whose back rail and arms form one continuous curve, the curved rail usually scarfed with wedged joints. See the joint →
- 罗汉床 luóhàn chuángLuohan bed
- A couch-bed enclosed by railings on three sides, used for sitting as well as lying. See the joint →
References
Wang Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture / 明式家具研究, glossary of terms (名词术语简释); the joint guides on this site and the sources they list. Further reading →