Northern Elm (Ulmus L.) is the most common furniture-making wood found throughout northern China. It is referred to throughout the catalogue as Northern Elm to differentiate it from the somewhat similar appearing Zelkova, which is also commonly called elm, or Southern Elm.
The sapwood of Northern Elm is yellowish-brown; the heartwood, a slight chestnut brown. The material is very resistant to decay and easy to work. Because the wood is ring porous, with a wave-like patterning in the growth rings of the late wood, the tangential surface often reveals a layered, feather-like figure that is popular for furniture-making.
Classical Chinese Furniture embraces the artistry and craftsmanship of the finest traditional Chinese furniture. Understanding joinery and construction further enhances the connoisseurship of Chinese hardwood furniture. To the aesthetically inclined observer, the study of joinery may seem at first an unusual approach, yet the techniques employed play an important part in the overall effect. The animation and harmony experienced when viewing masterpieces is often the result of a unity that lies beneath the surface—members are not only connected together to form a functional object, but also manifest integrated conceptualization. Techniques of wood joinery were born from an ancient technological culture and developed through continuous evolution of timber architectural systems. Further heights of sophistication and refinement were reached during the Ming and early Qing dynasties along with the manufacture of hardwood furniture.