From Structural Logic to Visual Semiosis: Genealogical Trajectories and Digital Translation of Mortise-and-Tenon Craft

Abstract

This study investigates the traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon craft through an interdisciplinary framework, exploring its transformation from practical structural logic to a visual symbolic system. Drawing on Foucauldian genealogy, the research analyses the historical rupture and reconstruction in the knowledge system of mortise-and-tenon joints, tracing the shift from tacit embodied skills, transmitted through master-apprentice lineage, to explicit graphic representations such as those found in Yingzao Fashi. By integrating visual language theory and digital media studies, this paper proposes a three-tiered model of “Encoding–Abstraction–Dissemination”. At the encoding level, parametric tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper deconstruct physical structures into geometric units. At the abstraction level, these components are semantically distilled into visual morphemes embodying aesthetic values of East Asian craftsmanship. At the dissemination level, AR interfaces and digital platforms recontextualise these symbols into culturally resonant narratives. The study reveals semantic stratification in the digital visualisation of mortise-and-tenon joinery. While its surface layer expands cultural dissemination through 3D modelling, its deep layer suffers sign deconstruction of structural logic due to commercial conversion. Although conceptual in orientation, the study highlights pathways through which theoretical models may inform creative multimedia practices in areas such as cultural exhibition, interface design, and heritage visualisation. This research provides a transferable visual syntax framework for the digital preservation of intangible cultural heritage, and its methodology for constructing visual language can be applied to cultural and creative industries and exhibition design.