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A - L
Indice
M
mamnian putao:
Allover grape pattern. Term used in Gegu yaolun (The Essential Criteria of Antiquities) for the pattern on the burl of nan wood.
mati: Horse-hoof foot, which may be inward or outward curving.
matibian: Horse-hoof edge.
matou: Mortise-bearing frame member. If the frame is rectangular the term refers to the two short pieces with mortises; if square, it indicates the pieces with mortises. On the thick top boards of most trestle tables there is a matou at each end but no tenon-bearing frame member. In this instance the tenons, and sometimes also a tongue, are on the top board itself. Sometimes an everted flange is made from the same piece of wood. Also a short horizontal frame member, connecting the two long verfical members of a screen, partition or door.
mazha: Folding stool. Common term for jiaowu.
meiguiyi: Rose chair. Small armchair with back and armrests at right angles to the seat. See also wenyi
mencang: Hidden storage, in a coffer.
menhuchu: Coffer. General term for a coffer, which may have one, two or three drawers and hidden storage below.
mensun: Hidden tenon.
menweizi jiazichuang: Canopy bed with front railings.
menzhou: Door pivot of a round-corner cabinet. It is the tenon-bearing frame member of the door extended outward, upward and downward to fit into mortises in the top and the stretcher below.
menzhu: Door pillars, the two pillars on the front of the alcove of a canopy bed.
mianpenjia: Washbasin stand. Term which includes both the simple washbasin stand and the washbasin stand with towel rack.
miantiaogui: Noodles cabinet. Common name for round-corner cabinet.
mianxin: Floating panel, inset in a frame.
mianye: Face plate. Large back plate for pulls and pierced knobs.
mingsun: Exposed tenon.
muqian: Wood inlay.
mushubei: Comb-back, the back of a chair having many vertical straight rods under the top rail.
muzhoumengui: Wood-hinged cabinet.

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N
nanbai: Southern cypress.
nanguanmaoyi: Southern official's hat armchair. Armchair whose back does not have protruding ends.
nanmu: Nan wood, Phoebe nanmu.
nanyu: Ju wood, name used in the north.
ningmahua: Twisted rope pattern. Form of mould­ing resembling a fried dough twist; also called shengwen.
niubi: Lock knob. Knob with a hole through which the rod of a lock passes. Also suobi.
niumaoduan: Ox hair crack pattern, found on the surface of aged lacquer.
niutou: Pierced knob. Metal knob with hole through which a lock or securing rod passes; found on boxes and cabinets.
niutoushiyi: Ox head side chair. Chair whose top rail bends backwards resembling the horns of an ox.

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P
paizi: Hasp. Hinged racket-shaped metal plate usually used to fasten the lid of a chest.
paizishi jingtai: Collapsible mirror platform.
paozhangtong: Fire-cracker-shaped opening. Southern craftsmen's name for a kind of yumendong opening which is the shape of a long oval and used as a motif on the waist.
pengya: Outward-curving apron.
penmianshi: Protruding top.
pietui: Frontward-curving legs; also called xianglutui (incense burner legs).
piliao: Split moulding. Convex moulding made from a single piece of wood which is usually divided evenly into two (also three or four in late Qing times) segments.
pingdi: Smoothed ground of an area with relief decoration.
pingfeng: Screen. General term which includes folding screens and screens set in a stand.
pingfengshi jingtai: Screen-type mirror platform.
pingji: Armrest.
pingtouan: Flat-top narrow recessed-leg table, without everted flanges.
pingxiang: Flush. Term referring, on furniture, to the relationship between the floating panel and its frame or between metalwork and the surrounding wood surface. Also pingzhuang.
pingxin: Central panel of a screen set in a stand.
pingzhuang: Flush; also pingxiang.
pinzi lingge: Alternating-square-openings lattice, the pattern resembling the character pin.
pishui yazi: Slanted apron. Craftsmen's term derived from architectural masonry; used on screens and late Cantonese furniture.
pitiaoxian: Leather-strip moulding. Moulding which is rather flat and broad.
n jia wa'er: Leather-strip moulding and beaded moulding with concave.

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Q
qiangweimu: Rosewood, Pterocarpus indicus, another name for one type of zitan wood.
qianluodian: Mother-of-pearl inlay; also luodian­qian.
qiaotou: Everted flange.
qiaotouan: Recessed-leg table with everted flanges.
qiazihua: Decorative strut.
qibianxian: Edge beading.
qijianbang: Straight shoulder joint. The T-shaped joint of two members, so called because the tenon-bearing piece has a straight edge and is not mitred.
qilin songzi: Boy riding a qilin, an auspicious motif used on wedding paraphernalia in the hope of its auguring the birth of a good child.
qingtingtui: Dragonfly leg, the long slender cabriole legs of incense stands.
qinzhuo: Narrow rectangular table with corner legs; also tiaozhou. This is the moe common meaning of the term and refers to tables of various sizes. Also lute table, a small narrow rectangular table specially made for playing the lute.
qipingfengshi luohanchuang: Luohan bed with seven-panel screen. Bed whose back and sides have seven panels.
qisimao: Food cupboard, for storing food and kitchen utensils, usually of unfinished wood with lattice on doors and sides. The name means literally vexing the cat.
qiyatiao: Unmitred joint of apron and leg. The joint used in the form of waisted table in which the two ends of the aprons meet the legs in vertical lines.
qizhuo: Chess table, with removable top under which there are usually a double-sided chess board and a board for playing the game of Double Sixes.
qizimu: A variant name of jichimu.
quankou: Four-sided inner frame.
quankou: Arch-shaped inner frame. Three-sided frame usually found under the seat of a chair or on open shelves.
quankou yazi: Arch-shaped apron, beneath the seat of a chair.
quanti: Hourglass-shaped stool.
quanyi: Armchair with curved rest; also yuanyi.
quchi Ian 'gan: Railing decorated with carpenter's-square lattice, which is in the shape of the square used by carpenters to make right angles.
quchishi: Carpenter's-square lattice, in the shape of the square used by carpenters to make right angles.
queti: Bracket, architectural term for a weight-bearing member which has some similarities with the apron on furniture. See also tatou.

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R
ruanti: Soft mat seat made of cane, palm or woven silk, for stools, chairs and beds. See also tengti.
ruyiyun baogu quhua zhanya: Shoe-foot with cloud ends, flower-patterned embracing drums, and standing spandrel. Term used in the Qing Regulations to describe the base of screens and lampstands.

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S
snjie: Three joined pieces. Term referring to the curved rest of an armchair formed of three pieces of wood with two joints.
sanpingfengshi luohanchuang: Luohan bed with three-panel screen. Bed whose back and sides have three panels.
sanwantui: Cabriole leg, an S-shaped leg ending in an outward-curving horse-hoof foot.
shangzheshi jiaowu: Upward-folding stool.
shanhuo: Completed part. General term applicable to all kinds of structures.
shanmianzhuo: Fan-shaped table. Two can be put together to form a hexagonal table.
shengwen: Twisted rope pattern. Form of moulding resembling a fried dough twist; more commonly called ningmahua.
shige: Food box. Term used in Lu Ban jing (Lu Ban's Classic) for a medium-sized picnic box.
shizicheng: Crossed stretchers.
shu 'an: Recessed-leg writing table with drawers.
shuan'gan: Central removable stile, between two doors of a cabinet.
shuangfeng chaoyang: Pair of phoenixes facing the sun.
shuanghunmian ya bianxian: Double convex moulding with flat edges.
shuangtaohuan qiazihua: Decorative strut in the form of double interlocking circles.
shuchu Book cabinet, Suzhou name for a medium-sized round-corner cabinet.
shuge: Book shelf, another name for shujia.
shujia: Book shelf, another name for shuge.
shuzhuo: Wide corner-leg writing table with drawers.
sichutou guanmaoyi: Armchair with four protruding ends.
sicuyunwen: Four-cloud motif, carved from a board or made by assembling the curved.
sijiangui: Compound wardrobe in four parts, con­sisting of two lower cabinets and two upper cabinets; also called dingxiang Iigui.
simianpingshi: Straight form. Term used to describe furniture with straight flat sides derived from the box construction.
sixianzhuo: Four Immortals table. Small square table suitable for four.
sizhuchuang: Four-post canopy bed.
suncao: Groove, such as that in which the tongue of a floating panel is inserted.
sunmao: Mortise and tenon.
suobi: See niubi.
suoxiao: Lock tongue. The. bolt of a lock which en­gages with the lock receptacle to secure a drawer.
suoyao: Waist. Inset panel between the top and the apron.

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T
Ta: Daybed, a light bed without railing.
tachuang: Footstool, a Song dynasty term. Also jiaochuang and jiaota.
tajiaocheng: Footrest stretcher, usually referring to the front stretcher of a chair. When used in the context of a stool, it refers to the base stretcher.
taohuanban: Ornamental panel.
tatou: Bracket. Term used in Yingzao fashi (Building Standards) for what was called queti in Qing times.
tayao: Sag. Condition caused when the top of a piece of furniture droops due to overloading. Occurs mostly in long pieces of furniture of inferior material and craftsmanship.
tengti: Soft mat seat, made from woven cane. See also ruanti.
tiangualeng Melon-shaped moulding. See gualeng-xian.
tiaoan: Narrow rectangular table with recessed legs.
tiaodeng: Long narrow bench.
tiaoji: Waistless narrow rectangular table, usually made from three thick boards meeting at right angles.
tiaozhuo: Narrow rectangular table with corner legs. See also qinzhuo.
tiban: Shelf; also jiage.
tielimu: Tieli wood, Mesua ferrea. Wood which resembles jichi wood but which is slightly inferior in colour and grain.
tihe: Hand-carried box. Term used by Beijing crafts-men for a small picnic box.
tihuan: Handle.
toubainan: Burl of nan wood. Term used in Gegu yaolun (The Essential Criteria Antiquities). Also doubainan.
toudiao: Openwork carving.
touguang: Opening.
tuanchiwen: Stylized hornless dragon design in medallion.
tumian i: Convex surface or moulding. Term used in Yingzao fashi (Building Standards) and by cabinetmakers today; also called gaimian and hunmian.
t
uoni: Continuous floor stretcher, to the top of which the legs are joined and below which there are separate small feet.
tuosai: Stepped apron moulding. Term used in the Qing Regulations and by craftsmen for a moulding between the waist and the apron, which may be in one with the apron or made from a separate piece of wood.
tuozi: Side floor stretcher. Stretcher on the short sides of a table with recessed legs. At each end are usually low feet which are sometimes separate pieces of wood attached with glue.

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W

waifanmati: Outward-curving horse-hoof foot. Type of foot which often terminates a cabriole leg.
waishuacao: Floating panel with lowered edges on the outside. Panel which slopes gently towards the sides in order to retain a certain thickness and at the same time to allow it to fit into the grooves of the frame. It is often used in floating panels with raised centres.
wamian: Concave moulding; also aomian or dawa.
wandai: Curved transverse brace, used under a soft mat seat.
wanli gui: Wanli display cabinet. Display cabinet consisting of a cupboard with open shelf above, resting on a separate low stand. Also called Wanli ge.
wanzi: Wan motif. Auspicious motif based on the character wan.
wanzi Ian 'gan: Endless wan motif railing. Railing decorated with continuous pattern of auspicious motifs based on the character wan.
waque: Carpenter's-square leg. Leg from which about one-half is cut away from the inside so that in cross-section it resembles a carpenter's square. This type of leg preserves more traces of the platform construction than legs terminating in horse-hoof feet.
watangdu: Lowered centre apron, often found on chairs with an arched apron.
weiping: Folding screen.
weizi: Seat railing, on beds and chairs.
wenyi: Writing chair. Southern name for rose chair. See meiguiyi.
wocao pingxiang: Flush metalwork.
wojuexian: Indented corner moulding.
wudeng: Stool. Term more commonly used in north China than deng.
wujie: Five joined pieces. Term applied to curved rest of an armchair formed of five pieces of wood with four joints.
wumomen: Door with five horizontal members.
wumu: Ebony.
wupingfengshi luohanchuang: Luohan bed with five-panel screen. Bed whose back and sides have five panels.
wusuoyao: Waistless. Type of furniture without inset panel between the top and the apron, a tradition derived from wooden architectural construction.

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X
xiang: Chest.
xiangji: Incense stand.
xianglutui: Frontward-curving legs in the manner of legs on incense burners; also called pietui.
xiangqian: Inlay.
xiangsimu: Alternative name for jichi wood, some-times translated as boxwood.
xianjiao: Moulding. General term for all types of moulding.
xianwen: String moulding, on round stools.
xiaoding: Wood or bamboo nail.
xiaoxiang: Small chest.
xiedingsun: Peg tenon joint, used on curved members.
xieju: Blood ju wood, a kind of ju wood which is reddish and comes from old trees.
xiewanzi: Slanted wan motif.
xinhuali: New huali wood. See huali.
xinjichimu: New jichi wood. See jichimu.
xiudun: Embroidery stool, another name for zuodun and gudun (drum stool).
xumizuo: Buddhist pedestal, a waisted pedestal.

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Y
yabianxian: Flat edges of a moulding.
yangfu lianwen: Up-and-down lotus flower design. Ornament consisting of two lotus blossoms, one upright and the other inverted, with the top of their petals touching.
yangfu shanzi: Up-and-down mountain design. Ornament consisting of two shun characters
yanping: lnkstone screen.
yaoxiang: Medicine chest.
yaqian: Ivory inlay.
yatiao: Apron.
yatou: Apron-head spandrel. Spandrel attached to the apron.
yazi: Apron and spandrels. General term which includes aprons, apron-head spandrels, spandrels and hanging spandrels.
yi: Chair
yideng: Seat.
yifengshushi: One-part square-corner cabinet. Type of square-corner cabinet, resembling in shape a case (tao ) of traditional Chinese books.
yijia: Clothes rack.
yikuaiyu: Solid piece of jade. Term used to describe a single piece of wood for the top of a piece of furniture, especially a trestle table or narrow rectangular table with recessed legs.
yindingsun: Dovetailed tenon.
yingmu: Burl wood.
yingmu: Shadow wood, another name for burl wood.
yingjimen: Cabinet without a central removable stile.
yingti: Hard seat. Category of seats which includes wooden and hard mat seats.
yingzi: Burl wood, alternative name for yingmu.
yinnang: Cushion.
yinxing: Ginkgo wood, Ginkgo biloba.
yiquan: Curved rest of a chair.
yituisanya: Three spandrels to one leg. Type of corner where one leg joins two apron-head spandrels and an additional spandrel along the outer edge.
yituisanya luoguocheng: Three spandrels to one leg and a humpbacked stretcher. A feature that commonly occurs on a type of square table.
yizhuxiang: One-incense-stick beading. Single row of beading down the centre of the leg of a recessed-leg table.
yousuoyao: Waisted. Type of furniture with inset panel between the top and the apron, tradition derived from Buddhist pedestals.
yuandeng: Round stool.
yuandiao: Three-dimensional carving.
Yuanhoubei jiaoyi: Folding chair with curved rest.
yuanjiaogui: Round-corner cabinet. Splayed wood cabinet with hinged doors and rounded-edged top which protrudes beyond the side posts.
yuanyi: Armchair with curved rest. Term used in Sancai tu hui (Pictorial Encyclopaedia of Heaven, Earth and Man) for quanyi.
yuedongshi dachuang: Large bed with full-moon opening.
yueliangmen: Full-moon opening.
yueyazhuo: Half-moon table.
yumendong: Decorative opening, generally found on the waist. General term which includes different specific shapes such as rectangular openings with stepped corners and the long oval openings referred to as paozhangtong. Term used in the Qing Regulations, and more popular in south China.
yuntouwen: Cloud-head design, a symmetrical motif.
yunwen: Cloud design.
yusaiban: Outer panel. Panel between the door and outer frame of a cabinet.
Z
zaisun: Planted tenon. Tenon which is not made from the same piece of wood as the member but is a separate piece fitted into the member.
zuohuomen: Opening with cusped upper edge. Term used by Beijing craftsmen because of the resemblance of the opening to that of a country stove.
zasun: Slide lock tenon. Southern name for zouma-xiao (running horse tenon).
zhanya: Standing spandrel. Any two spandrels facing each other against a post, such as those found on stands, clothes racks and screens.
zhedieshi jingtai: Folding mirror platform.
zhedieshi mianpenjia: Folding washbasin stand.
zhedieta: Folding daybed.
zhendeng: Bench-shaped pillow.
zhenliangshang: Twice attached. Term used when the waist and apron are made of two separate pieces of wood. Also refers to the method of construction whereby the apron and the apron moulding are made from a single piece of wood and the waist from another piece of wood. Used interchangeably with jiasanshang.
zhenping: Pillow screen. Small screen placed on beds.
zhensanshang: Thrice attached. Method of construc-tion whereby the waist, stepped apron moulding and apron are each made from a separate piece of wood. Most post-Qianlong period furniture is made by this method of construction, which is not as strong as the twice-attached method.
zhezhihua: Floral sprays.
zhicheng: Straight stretcher.
zhihoubei jiaoyi: Folding side chair.
zhizu: Straight leg. Leg without a horse-hoof foot.
zhongpaizi: Central panel of a clothes rack or washbasin stand with towel rack. Cabinetmakers' term.
zhouding: Metal pivot, the metal rod put through the legs of a folding chair as a pivot.
zhuang: Tiers. Southern term.
zhuangban: Panel tongued-and-grooved into a frame. Panel may be flush or recessed.
zhujiewen: Bamboo-shaped.
zhuo: Corner-leg table.
zhuoan: Tables. Term referring to both corner-leg and recessed-leg tables.
zhuodi guanjiaocheng: Floor base stretcher. Combination of the base stretcher and side floor stretchers on recessed-leg tables.
zikuang: Inner frame.
zikou: Indented box lid. Box lid which has a narrow indentation along its inner edge; the edge of the box has a wider indentation along its outer edge so that the lid can be securely closed.
zitan: Zitan wood, Pterocarpus santalinus. Purplish wood, one of the most important furniture woods.
zongjiaosun Mortise-and-tenon joint at which three square members meet at one corner. Name derived from the resemblance of the joint to the corners of parcels of sticky rice wrapped in leaves which are eaten at the Dragon Boat Festival.
zoumaxiao: Running horse tenon. Planted tenon which is tapered and stepped at one end. It is inserted in the larger end of the mortise and slid to the smaller end, thereby locking the joint. To separate the two members the tenon must be pushed back to the large end of the mortise. See also zasun.
zuomu: Zuo wood, Quercus dentata. Type of oak which is semi-hard and yellowish-brown in colour, with grain lines a few centimetres long and pointed at both ends.
zuopingfeng; Screen set in a stand.

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