Dougong: interlocking bracket-set system
Dougong: sistema de ménsulas encajadas
- Date
- c. 200 BCE · confidence low
- Place
- Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Credited to
- Han Chinese carpenters
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A set of wooden blocks (dou) and arms (gong) stacked and interlocked without nails on top of the column to extend the eave overhang and spread the roof load. It acts as a shock absorber in earthquakes because the pieces dissipate energy by friction.
Simple brackets appear on Western Zhou bronzes and Han ceramic models; the oldest surviving buildings with them date to the 8th century (Nanchan Temple, Shanxi, 782). Complex sets became standardised in the Tang dynasty.
What it led to
- deep eaves that protect timber walls from rain
- the standardised cai-fen module of the Yingzao fashi
- spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam