What did Mortise and Tenon Joinery System look like?

Timber members are processed with protruding tenons and recessed mortises at their ends. When interlocked, they form a robust joint. Hundreds of mortise-and-tenon variants exist: dovetail tenons, straight tenons, wedged tenons, and more.

How did Mortise and Tenon Joinery System work?

Timber members machined with tenons and mortises → components precisely interlock → loads transmit through tenon-mortise faces → joints are not rigidly fixed, allowing micro-deformation → during earthquakes, tenon-mortise micro-movement and friction dissipate energy → the entire structure exhibits flexible seismic resistance.

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榫卯体系

Mortise and Tenon Joinery System

A nail-free, glue-free timber joinery system that disperses stress and allows micro-movement to dissipate seismic energy. The Yingxian Timber Pagoda has survived nearly a millennium and multiple major earthquakes without collapse.

榫卯体系

Scientific Principle

Semi-rigid joints: mortise-and-tenon connections can transmit compression/shear while also allowing micro-rotation — intermediate between hinged and rigid connections. Structural dynamics: hysteretic energy dissipation at the joints provides superior seismic performance.