ABSTRACT
There exist in China a large quantity of traditional buildings of timber frame structures and mortise-and-tenon joinery produced with local workmanship. No monumental architecture, these folk buildings are ignored, and their technologies may disappear with the onslaught of modernity. This chapter examines one such system in Fujian in southern China, focusing on its structural carpentry, the core of the construction, to reveal a mature building system. It covers a hierarchical training and organizational practice, a set of rules for the chuandou structure constituting core skills of the chief master, and a system of visual communications with unique drawings and tools.
