Study of Mortise-and-Tenon in Nantong-style Furniture. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

A new book cataloging 270 traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joints has been released after four years of work between a veteran carpenter and his son.

Study of Mortise-and-Tenon in Nantong-style Furniture is co-authored by Wang Jinxiang, a provincial‑level practitioner of the craft with four decades of experience, and his son Wang Xi, a graduate student in furniture design at Nanjing Forestry University.

The volume systematically documents 270 joinery structures across 18 categories. More than 100 of these were rediscovered from historical records, while nearly 100 were newly identified and named from surviving pieces of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

Each entry is supported by photographic evidence, physical node samples, data‑analysis charts, 3D renderings and assembly diagrams. The book is designed as a practical professional tool — Wang noted that anyone with basic carpentry skills can follow it directly, and beginners can learn by studying the illustrations.

Wang Jinxiang shows a mortise and tenon joint. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

To ensure absolute precision, the elder Wang personally hand‑crafted two complete sets of 540 joinery samples — one set for permanent archiving and the other for public exhibition at the family museum.

His dedication was forged in the 1980s, when he witnessed antique dealers buying up fine furniture from Nantong and he could do nothing. Later, he started his own workshop and scrimped to buy back old pieces, disassembling each and creating 1:1 scale hand‑drawn technical drawings. For pieces he could not obtain, he traveled to examine them and recreated the structures from memory.

His son brought a contemporary skill set to the project, handling all digital modeling, data analysis and technical illustration. Wang Xi now conducts field research across the region, documenting traditional tools, taking measurements and photographs, and interviewing elderly carpenters to preserve their techniques and oral histories.

Looking ahead, Wang Jinxiang has already begun work on a new book exploring the aesthetics of furniture lines, and is planning an exhibition showcasing master‑apprentice works from Nantong's folk arts community.