Chinese JoineryChinese Joinery
中文
Doors and lattice
花罩
huāzhào

Huazhao (花罩): How a Carved Room Divider Is Pinned into Its Frame

Carved screen · 花罩 · 几腿罩

By · Updated

Rich interiors divide their rooms with carved openwork screens.

They are pinned in, not glued, so they can be taken down and moved.

Chinese
花罩 · huāzhào
Joins
Screen frame to the hanging sill and jambs
Found in
Interior partitions between columns
Signature parts
Pins up into the sill · through-pin at the foot
Compare
Loose pins
Drag to rotate. Slide to take the joint apart, or press Assemble to watch it go together.

How it works

The screen

Carved screens (花罩) come in several forms: with two short legs like a table, falling to the floor, with railings at the sides, or as a full partition with a round or octagonal opening. The screen itself is a frame round a carved board, usually of fine hardwood 1.5–2 cun thick, which keeps a plain border on its edge; the border is joined to the frame with tongues or pins.

Pinned in

Because interior screens are meant to be moved, the whole screen is fitted with pins: pins on the top rail go into holes in the hanging sill, and a decorated pin passes through the foot of each side stile into the frame. Pull out the two pins and the screen comes down.

The carving is not modelled; sizes are illustrative.

Proportions in the model are illustrative.

How it's made

  1. Screen
    Step 1

    Screen

    A carved screen in a doorway.

  2. Panel
    Step 2

    Panel

    Panel held in the frame by its edges.

  3. Pins
    Step 3

    Pins

    Pins on the top rail.

  4. Up into the sill
    Step 4

    Up into the sill

    Into holes in the sill.

  5. Through-pin
    Step 5

    Through-pin

    A pin through the stile into the jamb.

  6. Removable
    Step 6

    Removable

    Pull the pins and it comes out.

Variations

Railing screen (栏杆罩)

Two extra uprights with railings divide the opening into three.

Round or octagonal opening

A full partition with a round or eight-sided doorway.

Can you CNC this?

Possible, with design or setup changes

Frame, pin holes and grooves are straightforward; the carved openwork panel is a separate 2.5D or 3D carving job.

Free STL downloads (one file per part)

Before cutting or printing, read the CNC and 3D-printing notes on tool radius, scaling the STL files and their licence.

Questions

Is the screen glued in?

No, it is pinned so it can be removed.

What wood is used?

Fine hardwoods such as rosewood or nanmu.

Is the carving modelled?

No, the panel is shown plain.

Further reading
  1. 马炳坚《中国古建筑木作营造技术》第二版（Ma Bingjian, Timber Construction Techniques of Traditional Chinese Buildings, 2nd ed.），第 287–290 页，图 7-24、7-25
  2. 马炳坚《中国古建筑木作营造技术》第二版（Ma Bingjian, Timber Construction Techniques of Traditional Chinese Buildings, 2nd ed.），第 290–291 页