What is mortise and tenon structure?

Tenon and mortise structure, ancient Chinese architecture with wood, brick and tile as the main building materials, wood frame structure as the main structural method, by the columns, beams, purlins and other major components built from the nodes between the components to the tenon and mortise coincide, forming a flexible framework. The mortise and tenon joint is an extremely ingenious invention, and this way of connecting the members makes the traditional Chinese wood structure become a special flexible structure beyond the contemporary architectural rows, frames or rigid frames, which can not only withstand a large load, but also allow for a certain amount of deformation, and offset a certain amount of seismic energy through deformation under seismic loads to reduce the seismic response of the structure.

Tenon and mortise is a kind of concave-convex joint used on two wooden members. The protruding part is called a tenon (or mortise and tenon); the concave part is called a mortise (or mortise and tenon, mortise and tenon groove), and the tenon and mortise bite together to make a connection. This is the main structure of ancient Chinese architecture, furniture and other wooden instruments. Mortise and tenon is a combination of mortise and tenon, a clever combination of more and less, higher and lower, longer and shorter pieces of wood, which can effectively limit the twisting of wood in all directions. In its most basic form, mortise and tenon construction consists of two members, the tenon of one being inserted into the mortise of the other to join and secure the two members. The part of the tenon that extends into the mortise is called the tongue, and the rest is called the shoulder.

Tenon and mortise construction is widely used in architecture and also in furniture, reflecting the close relationship between furniture and architecture. When mortise and tenon construction is applied to house building, it can withstand great pressure as a whole, although each member is relatively thin. This structure does not lie in the individual strong, but combined with each other, supporting each other, this structure became the basic model of future generations of architecture and Chinese furniture.