榫卯Chinese Joinery
Furniture

Waisted kang table

A kang table is a low table used on the heated brick platform (kang) of a northern Chinese house. Waisted kang tables are built like waisted tables, only low and wide.

Low table (kang zhuo), 1600s–1700s · Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0
Low table (kang zhuo), 1600s–1700s · Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0

1Top frame and panel

Mitred frame grooved for a floating panel, with battens underneath.

2Leg tops

Long and short blind tenons into the underside of the frame, the deeper one in the long side.

3Leg, waist and apron

The baojian joint; the best old examples cut waist and apron from one piece.

More furniture

Waisted square table →Square-corner cabinet →Roundback armchair →Recessed-leg table →