Construction Forms and Seismic Performance of the Ancient Chinese Buildings Joined by Tenon–Mortise Joints

Abstract

Zijincheng, also known as the Forbidden City, is the largest and best-preserved ancient palace-type wooden building in China, built without using a single nail. Since it was built in 1420, it has served as a palace where the emperor lives and works. Almost 600 years old, it has gone through two dynasties (i.e., the Ming and Qing dynasties (AD 1368–AD 1912)) and 24 emperors. It has survived more than 200 devastating earthquakes throughout its history, and it is still standing strong. In this paper, the authors introduce the construction technology of the ancient Chinese wooden structure as well as the greatest secret of the well seismic performance of the Forbidden City. The study found that the secret to the Forbidden City’s ability to withstand many powerful earthquakes lies in the flexibility of its timber structure, which is mainly reflected in the application of the tenon-mortise joints, energy-dissipation capacity of Dougong brackets and shallow-buried columns. The seismic responses of a 1:5 reduced-scale model of Shoukang Palace of the Forbidden City under different earthquake magnitudes are studied through a series of shaking table tests.