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Online version of mortise and tenon
From:Shanghai Daily  |  2020-10-15 08:29

LIKE Wang Zhenhua, there are many Chinese organizations and individuals committed to keeping the ancient skill of mortise-and-tenon joinery along. One of them is 36-year-old game maker Tian Haibo.

Four months ago, a game called “5th Invention: Mortise & Tenon,” developed by Tian and his team EB Games, made its debut on Google Play and App Store. It allows game users to do woodworking techniques on digital, three-dimensional models and then connect the parts to make different structures, like carved furniture. Their completed pieces or buildings are added to their online collections.

The game, which has won several awards, has been translated into English, Japanese and other foreign languages, and hit overseas markets on October 1. The game has been promoted by Apple on its App Store for China.

“I used to study and work abroad and found that many foreigners didn’t know much about China,” Tian told Shanghai Daily. “I wanted to introduce them to this great country. I had worked in the architecture field and noticed that modern buildings are gradually replacing the old ones. I wanted to show people the charm and philosophy of traditional Chinese architecture.

“Sunmao’s origin can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), with the technique reaching its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1973, people discovered many wooden objects made with mortise-and-tenon joinery at the Hemuduarcheological site in Zhejiang Province.”

To create his game, Tian visited old carpenters, did woodworking on his own, searched online materials and read professional books about mortise and tenon.

“I once met a customer who showed me a half-completed small wooden bench he made at a store where people can try their hand at woodworking,” Tian said. “He told me that the legs of the bench connect tightly to the seat with no gap because they are attached by mortise and tenon. That made me realize that everyday people could enjoy this form of construction.”

It took him four years to complete the game. Most of his original team of three or four people left before the project was completed. There was always a shortage of money.

Tian left Shanghai for Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and made a new start with a team of six. One programmer told him that the project was more satisfying than other games he had worked on.

When the game was launched for public trial on the domestic mobile games sharing platform TapTap in December 2018, the feedback was a score of 9.9 out of 10.

“It shocked us,” Tian said of the rating.

The game now has about 30,000 five-star ratings on App Store.

“In this digital era, the Internet allows us to learn traditional culture at home,” Tian said. “In our game, players learn while playing.”

He said the team’s next game will involve China’s 24 solar terms.

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