CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
A review of
1 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS Glenn P. Wood
Identification, collection, economic &
environmental impact.
2 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
CONTENTS Page
Preface Introduction
3 5
Hongmu
6 6 7 9
Species CITES Report Blood Timber
Huang Hua Li Zangmu Eaglewood Tangmu Jichimu Nanmu Zi Tan Wumu Chinese Yew Huangyang mu Yumu / Jumu Yingmu post script
14 16 20 22 24 26 28 32 34 36 38 40 44
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
3 of 46
PREFACE What qualifies me to write this book? It isn’t any par9cular exper9se in exo9c hardwoods but perhaps a researcher’s persistant quest for clarity bourne of a doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, a lifelong interest in China and the surname “WOOD”, which must count for something. I also have a collec9on of an9que wooden ar9facts and a company based in China which has afforded me the opportunity to travel oIen to that country. AIer business was done I used spare 9me to visit museums and retail outlets. During recent visits to China I have been astonished by the appearance of furniture and ar9s9c decora9ons gracing the lobbies of hotels from Beijing to Kunming, from Chengdu to Shanghai all made of precious woods liOle known in the West. My curiosity about these exo9c woods raised many ques9ons in my mind and the answer to one ques9on inevitably led to another. The quest for answers led me to search out shops and galleries and the body of informa9on thus accumulated becomes a resource that merits sharing with others. So these pages contain a dis9lla9on of informa9on from reliable sources that has been checked and double checked in an effort to clarify some of the confusion and misinforma9on out there. There are four stakeholders in the western nomenclature applied to Chinese hardwoods. They are: - the lumber trade involved in the distribu2on and retail of lumber and veneers for many purposes, - botanists who provide a scholarly approach to the unambiguous classifica2on and naming of the tree species that yield the wood we are seeking to iden2fy, - an2que dealers whose job is to create interest in fine objects and maximise their selling prices and finally, - the Chinese themselves who have created their own terminology and documented wood usage over centuries making it difficult to link these to the botanical names today. For instance, ‘rosewood’ is a convenient catch all for an en9re family of woods coming from different genus of trees and from different parts of the world. Even when qualified with an adjec9ve, the terms ‘Indian rosewood’ and ‘Brazilian rosewood’ embrace families of tree species. How do they relate to the Chinese term ‘hongmu’ which is trending in western auc9on rooms and can be as confusing as ‘huanghuali’ or ‘zitan’, both of which terms command admira9on and high prices in part because of their mysterious meanings? So this modest monograph is intended to offer the thoughts and accumulated knowledge of an enquiring mind curious to delve deeper into the terminology. But unlike databases of la9n tree names, I couple the tree with the wood with the beauty of the final appearance and also include a liOle of the associated history. The final act of wri9ng all this down has led me to some horrifying realisa9ons about the sustainability of these exo9c 9mbers and the lives that are lost in the quest to sa9sfy the hunger of collectors. As with climate change and global warming, we are reaching a 9pping point where en9re forests are being destroyed and the possibility of replacing them becomes difficult. The purpose of this monograph is to shed a liOle light on all these aspects of wood, especially those na9ve to China or historically linked to that country. By doing so, we hope to add to the apprecia9on of the wood itself and thus s9mulate greater curiosity about it.
Glenn P. Wood York, PA, USA. January 2021.
4 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Scholar’s box for Ink Stone. Huang Hua Li, Ming Dynasty (Author’s Collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
5 of 46
Introduction Tradi9onal Chinese furniture is made from a variety of hard and soI woods, the most valuable of which are zitan, huanghuali and jichimu, three types of hardwood found on China’s largest island, Hainan and other parts of SE Asia. The furniture market is very material-driven so the price difference between a piece made of one of these woods and a similar piece in a lesser wood can be many thousands of dollars. Genuine huanghuali and zitan have beau9ful, lustrous quali9es. The woods are difficult to harvest and today mostly found outside China, making them even rarer. Since 2007, the Chinese appe9te for exo9c hardwoods has been rising exponen9ally with dangerous consequences on the supply side. There is con9nued and growing interest in the west for an9que furniture and ar9facts made from wood which can be described with the same exo9c Chinese names. I believe it is 9me to aOempt some unbiased comments related to Chinese exo9c woods in general and these woods in par9cular. The story begins at least 2,000 years ago in China. Here, we will only men9on that the growth, apprecia9on and use of very slow growing hardwoods in China and surrounding territories has a long history. These trees were considered very special. Nothing like them grew in con9nental Europe or USA. Their outstanding characteris9cs were high density, negligible open capillaries, visual beauty and oIen an appealing fragrance. Figure and color are somewhat secondary characteris9cs to the density which allowed them to take a high polish by careful abrasion alone. ‘Filling’ the grain or covering with paints and varnishes is not necessary. This final polishing is s9ll done in China. It’s a manual process, usually done by women, and making use of horsetail grass (equisetum). It’s laborious and only worth carrying when the quality and rarity of the wood jus9fies it. It is taught in the Imperial workshops and was oIen reserved for wooden furniture des9ned for the Emperor and his family. The unfortunate truth is that the perfect trees for producing the best results are almost non existent today. It’s not just a maOer of the tree species, it’s also the fact that the tree needed to be undisturbed un9l it had reached a great age. AIer hundreds or thousands of years the tree has reached a great height and girth with the heartwood squeezed to a uniformity such that the cross grain is as smooth as the radial cut. Such trees automa9cally display wonderful figure paOerns when planks are harvested by tangen9al or quarter cuang. This is due to the closeness of the annual rings and a cause for the ‘ghost eyes’ in huanghuali which needn’t rely on the presence of burl growths to account for the effect. Today, all we can do is aOempt to describe the woods which reached maximum apprecia9on during the Ming period ( 1368- 1644) but which are no longer available in the same quality to cabinet makers and sculptors today. The net has widened in the search for comparably beau9ful woods and that search has had some catastrophic consequences. But just because a tree can be correctly described as e.g. ‘rosewood’ doesn’t mean the wood will present the same quality to the woodworker today as it did to a worker hundreds of years ago. Nowadays, we do the best we can with it including something the Ming craIsmen never did and that is reduce it to the thickness of a veneer to stretch the limited supply. Staining and varnishing are also employed by modern workers in an aOempt to create a similar appearance to that seen on early classic furniture in museums. Not only do those pieces enjoy the incomparable magic that 9me alone has imparted to the the surface but they were created from beOer ingredients in the first place.
6 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
hongmu Meaning ‘red wood’ in Chinese, the term Hongmu refers to a range of richly hued durable tropical hardwoods used to produce high-end reproduc9on furniture, flooring and handicraIs. Curiously, there isn’t any official agreement to which tree species are included in the defini9on of what cons9tutes ‘hongmu’. Even different provinces in China have had their own defini9on with Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai and Jiangsu having different guidelines. Beijing tradi9onally considered only Dalbergia cochinchinensis to be genuine hongmu but this was extended more recently to include D.oliveri and D.bariensis. More recently (2000AD), a broader na9onal clasifica9on has been adopted covering 33 species (listed below). Interes9ngly, the list does not include the architypal red wood, mahogany.
territory
Species name
Common/trade names
ASIA
Pterocarpus santalinus Red Sandalwood cambodianus Pterocarpus dalbergioides Pterocarpus indicus Pterocarpus macrocarpus Pterocarpus marsupium Pterocarpus pedatus Dalbergia odorifera Dalbergia cultrata Dalbergia fusca Dalbergia la9folia Dalbergia bariensis Dalbergia cochinchinesis Dalbergia oliveri Diospyros ebenum Diospyros pilosanthera Diospyros poncei Diospyros philippensis Diospyros discolour Milleaa leucantha Cassia siamea
Red Sandalwood, Zitan Vietnamese Padauk, Th’nong Andaman Padauk, Andaman Redwood Malay Padauk, Amboyna, Burmacoast Padauk Padauk, May Dou Malabar Kino, Indian Kino Tree Padauk, Th’nong Huang Hua Li, Fragrant Rosewood Burmese Blackwood Black Rosewood, Yinzat Indian Rosewood Burmese Rosewood, Tamalan Siamese Rosewood Burmese rosewood, Tamalan Ceylon Ebony Bolong-eta Ponce’s Kamagong Kamagong Kamagong Sothon/Sathon [Laos] Siamese Senna
Pterocarpus erinaceus Dalbergia melanoxylon Dalbergia louvelii Milleaa lauren9i Diospyros crassiflora
Kosso, African Barwood, African kino Africa Blackwood Violet Rosewood, Bois de Rose Wenge, Bokonge, Awoung African ebony, Gabon Ebony
Dalbergia nigra Dalbergia spruceana Dalbergia stevensonii Dalbergia cearensis Dalbergia frutescens Dalbergia granadillo Dalbergia retusa
Brazilian Rosewood Amazon Rosewood Honduras Rosewood Kingwood Brazilian Tulipwood Cocobolo Cocobolo
AFRICA
LATIN AMERICA
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
7 of 46
While significant demand exists in Vietnam, China is the predominant consumer market for Hongmu. Hongmu is considered a safe investment by emerging middle classes. This demand has resulted in consequences both good and bad. As a natural resource, wood comes under the scru9ny of CITES (the Conven2on on Interna2onal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ). This is an interna9onal treaty to prevent species from becoming endangered or ex9nct because of interna9onal trade. In January 2016, CITES received a disturbing briefing on the global situa9on specifically related to Hongmu. It was produced by the Environmental Inves9ga9on Agency and its alarming conclusions merit careful considera9on. The introduc9on to the EIA report states: “The Hongmu sector is a significant threat to the select group of timber species targeted and constitutes a pressing conservation challenge for CITES and its Parties. Since 2009, Asian demand has boomed for luxury furniture made with rare, high-value and deeply hued rosewoods, mahoganies and ebonies. Principally targeting 33 species within the Pterocarpus, Diospyros, Dalbergia, Millettia and Cassia genera, sales in China’s Hongmu sector exceeded to $25 billion in 2014. The sector is driving systematic illegal and unsustainable extraction at unprecedented rates and scales. Across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the nature of the industry is the same – unsustainable extraction leads to domestic protection which is then undermined by smuggling aided by corrupt officials; finally, better governed range states seek CITES protections. Once CITES regulations come into force or when resources become exhausted, the criminal networks underpinning the trade are able to move quickly between species and countries. Key consuming countries – China and Vietnam – have no enforceable controls against illegally logged timber imports. CITES empowers these Parties as enforcement partners. Nascent proposals to list the entire Dalbergia genus and listings of other species involved are important initiatives. However, around 75 per cent of the global Hongmu trade is now focused on just three species – Pterocarpus erinaceus, Pterocarpus macrocarpus/pedatus, and Dalbergia oliveri/bariensis – none which are currently listed. CITES is failing to address the Hongmu challenge. Parties to CITES need to recognise the severity and the source of the problem and support proposals seeking to protect tree species affected by the Hongmu industry.”
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
8 of 46
The Chinese Hongmu industry depends on imports of raw materials (mostly logs) from Asia, Africa and La9n America. Tradi9onally, South-East Asia and India were the main sources, but in recent years Africa and to some degree La9n America have become increasingly important sources. (See Figure 1 below).
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
9 of 46
Blood Timber The Hongmu trade is also linked to, and drives, violence in source and transit countries. In West Africa, Hongmu species are increasingly known as “blood 9mbers” due to connec9ons between illegal Hongmu trade and rebel group uprisings; for example, in the Senegalese Casamance, in Cote d’Ivoire and in northern Nigeria in territories controlled by the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram.
In Thailand, more than 150 forest rangers, police, soldiers and illegal loggers have been killed in firefights during rosewood enforcement opera9ons in recent years.
Siamese Rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) being guarded in Phu Pha Yon NaBonal Park, Thailand, 2013
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
10 of 46
With the rapid deple9on of Siamese rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) in the greater Mekong subregion, most standing stocks are now restricted to protected areas. Thailand has some of the best-resourced protected areas in the region, staffed by a rela9vely wellequipped forest ranger force. Despite this high level of site-based protec9on, Siamese rosewood con9nues to be harvested illegally from the country’s protected areas, with even the roots of this species sought aIer. In the absence of effec9ve legisla9on regula9ng 9mber imports into China and Vietnam, and with the growing-value of this increasingly rare species, site-based enforcement will con9nue to be ineffec9ve and inefficient in controlling illegal logging for trade. The trade in Hongmu species is unsustainable. It is es9mated that in Myanmar, Pterocarpus macrocarpus and Dalbergia oliveri are predicted to become commercially ex9nct within the next 3 - 13 years. Another example concerns Dalbergia cochinchinensis (Siamese rosewood). In 2011, Thailand es9mated its standing stock at 63,500m3. In 2013, The stock was es9mated to have declined to 22,000m3. With the commercial ex9nc9on of Huang Hua Li (Dalbergia ordorifia) in China and Zitan (red sandalwood Pterocarpus santalinus) in India, and the CITES restric9on placed on the laOer, the trade in Siamese rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) grew rapidly and Siamese rosewood became the most soughtaIer Hongmu species globally. The main species now domina9ng the Hongmu trade in South-East Asia are Burmese rosewood (Dalbergia oliveri/ bariensis) and padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus/pedatus), distributed within the Mekong countries of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Since 2000, half of China’s Hongmu imports have come from these countries. The proximity of these countries to China, their weak forest governance and the presence of high-value Hongmu species have made them targets for the criminal networks that underpin much of the global trade. Stocks in Africa are being similarly depleted. The main African Hongmu species being harvested is Pterocarpus erinaceus, beOer known as ‘kosso’ in China. Petrocarpus erinaceus is found in the savanna forests of west Africa. Over a six year period, Chinese imports of kosso logs increased about 500-fold by value and volume, from 2,788m3 worth US$ one million in 2009 to 705,117m3 worth US$496 million in 2014. During the third quarter of 2015, approximately 42 per cent of the value and 65 per cent of the volume of China’s Hongmu log imports came from west Africa.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Hongmu log yard, Guanlan market in Shenzhen City, China, 2013.
11 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Hongmu furniture showroom, China, 2013.
12 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Antique bitong, Huali root (Author’s Collection)
13 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Huanghuali
14 of 46
- Dalbergia Odorifera
The Chinese term huanghuali literally means “yellow flowering pear” wood. It is a member of the rosewood family and is botanically classified as Dalbergia odorifera. In pre-modern 9mes the wood was know as huali or hualu. The modifier huang (yellowish-brown) was added in the early twen9eth century to describe old huali wood whose surfaces had mellowed to a yellowish tone due to long exposure to light. The sweet fragrance of huali dis9nguishes it from the similar appearing but pungentodored hongmu. The world is divided into those people who have lived and died and never smelled the fragrance of Dalbergia odorifera and those who have. The fragrance is fugi9ve and cannot be detected on wood that has been exposed to the air for a while but when freshly cut, the fragrance of roses is sweet and intoxica9ng. If the aroma had a color it would be pink. The best comes from Hainan island in China but it is also found growing naturally in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong. It has been appreciated in China especially for furniture, since the Ming dynasty but interna9onal interest in it has exploded recently possibly due to men9ons on the An9ques Roadshow. Because living trees are now rare and protected, the hunt is on for an9que pieces which are sold in the major auc9on houses for big money. Brushpots (bitong) from China can be found on ebay boas9ng signature ‘ghost eyes’, (spookey faces from burls), but whether this is genuine huanghauli seems doubvul. Other species produce burl features looking like ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch so their presence isn’t defini9ve for Huanghuali. The wood is admired by connoiseurs (including me) for the lovely streaky effects typically associated with members of the Dalbergia family. It doesn’t have much shimmer. It relies on the drama of the figuring caused by adjacent layers of contras9ng color. It also requires no varnish as it polishes to a high lustre. Boxes are interes9ng because the insides protected from the light, tend to display a pink color whereas the exterior fades to golden brown. I have a small Chinese table which only revealed itself to have a top panel of huanghuali when I cleaned it by sanding and no9ced that the drab brown turned to reddish pink as fresh surface was exposed. It’s value either immediately increased because elm suddenly transformed to Huali or decreased because I commiOed the sin of removing the natural pa9na. Today, Chinese craIsmen s9ll have a reasonable supply of huanghauli though not necessarily Dalbergia odifera or of the quality available to Ming workers. They also have unfortunate access to a waxy black stain which they or their distributors use to simulate age. These pieces are showing up in western auc9on houses and online auc9ons with dubious claims of age or authen9city. In consequence, it is possible to find nice pieces which greatly reward the careful removal of the black coa9ng. Underneath, some spectacular wood can be found. To a European accustomed to the use of ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ woods in furniture, it comes as a surprise to find some of these pieces in huanghuali constructed of the solid wood, even drawer sides and boOoms are solid dalbergia which greatly adds to the weight and interest of the piece.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Endgrain figure seen on fresh cross section of Dalbergia Odifera
Spookey eyes as seen on tangential cut close to a branch.
15 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
16 of 46
(Author’s Collection)
Zhangmu - camphor wood Cinnamomum camphora is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphor wood or camphor laurel. Camphor is easily extracted from this tree which occurs in China, Taiwan, and Japan. Camphor wood is used in Chinese furnishings not only for its beau9ful grain, but also because it acts as an insect repellant similar to aroma9c cedar in deterring moths (hence its wide use in storage trunks.) It is na9ve to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern Japan, Korea and Vietnam and is cul9vated for camphor and 9mber produc9on. The produc9on and shipment of camphor, in a solid, waxy form, was a major industry in Taiwan prior to and during the Japanese colonial era (1895–1945). It was used medicinally and was also an important ingredient in the produc9on of smokeless gunpowder and celluloid. Primi9ve s9lls were set up in the mountainous areas in which the tree is usually found. The wood was chipped; these chips were steamed in a retort, allowing the camphor to crystallize on the inside of a crystalliza9on box aIer the vapour had passed through a cooling chamber. (Camphor has the property of sublima9on which means it can pass from the solid state to the vapor without an intermediate liquid phase. This tendency to vaporise explains why it cannot be smelled on exterior surfaces exposed to the air but enclosed boxes and chests retain the odor almost indefinitely). It was then scraped off and sent to government-run factories for processing and sale. Camphor was one of the most lucra9ve of several important government monopolies under the Japanese. The camphor tree was introduced to the con9guous United States around 1875. It has become naturalised in many southern states and has been declared a category one invasive species in Florida. The fragrance of camphorwood made it desireable for making clothing dressers because of the scent’s ability to repel insects. That doesn’t explain its use for wri9ng slopes but it was used in Hong Kong for exactly that purpose. Not only is any box highly fragrant when the lid is raised but it can display wild and aOrac9ve figuring making it very decora9ve. (see facing page) The fragrance immediately transports me back to my sickly childhood when mother would apply Vick’s vapor rub to clear the sinuses and assist sleep.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
17 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
18 of 46
Slab cut Camphor wood showing buttery color and wild grain.
Writing box of wild grain camphorwood. Made in Canton c. 1820 for China trade export. (Author’s Collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Budai Buddha, Qing Dynasty, carved from Camphor wood (Author’s Collection)
19 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
20 of 46
Eaglewood - Aquilaria Agalocha Although not used for furniture, this wood is highly prized in China for its ability to produce one of the world’s most expensive fragrances, ‘aloes’ or ‘agar’. The highly valuable wood can be harvested and used for small items such as brush pots where it is appreciated for its uncanny appearance of its outer surface to the soI feathers of an eagle. The trees are found in many parts of S.E. Asia and are known by a variety of local names applied to two species whose scien9fic name is Aquilara Malaccensis Lam. or Aquilaria agallocha. The fascina9on with these trees is because occasionally the trunk and roots of trees are infected by a parasi9c mould, Phialophora parasi9ca, and as a response, the tree produces a resin high in vola9le organic compounds that aids in suppressing or retarding fungal growth. While the unaffected wood of the tree is rela9vely light in colour, the resin drama9cally increases the mass and density of the affected wood, changing its colour from a pale beige to dark brown or black. In natural forest only 7 % of the trees are infected by the fungus. This fungally affected core of the tree is called Aloeswood (also Agarwood) and can be found in China Hainan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, with 2010 prices for superior pure material as high as US$100,000/kg. It is the source material for Oudh oil which is dis9lled from it, and fetches high prices depending on the oil's purity. The current global market for agarwood is es9mated to be in the range of US$6 – 8 billion and is growing rapidly. The odour of agarwood is complex and pleasing, with few or no similar natural analogues. In the perfume state, the scent is mainly dis9nguished by a combina9on of "oriental-woody" and "very soI fruity-floral" notes. The popularity and value of Oudh, especially in the Middle East, has led to programs to ar9ficially innoculate trees with the fungus and thus increase the yield of this valuable commodity. Natural forests have been the main resource for Aloeswood collec9on for many years. However, hunters usually cut down the whole trees to find the resin and this prac9ce has brought the species close to ex9nc9on. Major harves9ng was recorded between the 1980s and early 1990s in Indonesia caused by high demand and diminishing supply from countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. Illicit hun9ng occurred in Papua aIer illegal hunters landed in 1996 that has led to defensive ac9vity by the Indonesian government. In November 1994, Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk. was ini9ally listed in CITES Appendix II to prevent this species from ex9nc9on. However, con9nual excessive exploita9ons have then put two genera Aquilaria and Gyrinops in CITES, Appendix II.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
21 of 46
The ‘bitong’ or brush pot pictured opposite, is made from the eaglewood leI behind aIer the precious aloeswood has been extracted from its woody heart.
Eaglewood Brush Pot (Author’s Collection)
Artificial innoculation of Aquilaria trees
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
22 of 46
Tangmu The term ‘Tangmu’ pops up occasionally and merits explana9on. The term "Tangmu" rarely appears in Chinese written work. It is a general term used by experts in Japan and timber scientists who study the history of ancient Chinese civilization. It refers to precious wood used for handicrafts originating in China.
According to Japanese wood scientist Sudo Akira, Tang Mu is used in fine woodworking because the wood has a beautiful appreciation value and can be used in high-quality furniture, joinery and other crafts. The term can include rosewood, ebony, iron knife wood, etc., Including incense, Gala, Mei Tan and other incense wood. From this it is clear that the term ‘tangmu’ was not historically related to any particular wood or tree but was a generic term for a family of imported woods deemed to have quality and value.
The name of Tang Mu is due to the fact that timber was imported by the Chinese during the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). From today's perspective, the so-called precious wood is a decorative material from the leguminous and persimmon families, such as the sandalwood rosewood of the Leguminosae (which is the rosewood used in Ming and Qing furniture) and the rosewood produced in South and Southeast Asia such as Barry Dalbergia, Dalbergia japonica, Cambodian Dalbergia, Knife-like Dalbergia, Broad-leaved Dalbergia (also known as Indian rosewood or Mumbai blackwood), Dalbergia japonica, Burma's O. dantea (also known as Dalbergia japonica, flowering branch) (Or rosewood) and Indian Dalbergia.
The wood of the genus Dalbergia is divided into red rosewood and black rosewood. In addition to the Tangmu category, some of the wood species in the persimmon family are known by the Japanese as ebony and are also classified as Tangmu.
If a single wood could be called ‘Tangmu’ today it would be Pometia Pinnata Forst. It has edible fruit similar to lychee. The wood was used to make precious woodworks and handicrafts so the term ‘Tangmu’ has found use in the antiques market for its association with that craft trade but today it is used for construction material, beams, flooring and the like.
The heartwood is basically brown or red and rarely with streaks. The color of sapwood is light red brown. Under the trade name ‘Taun’ it is appreciated because of its obvious growth ring, no special odour, cross grain, even structure, excellent shrinkage factor, resistance to rot and good hardness. I would not categorise it as ‘exo9c’.
23 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Taun solid wood flooring sourced from Malaysia or Indonesia
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
24 of 46
Jichimu Chicken wing wood Ji Chi mu » - Phoenix tail or chicken wing wood Jichimu is revered by the Chinese for its beauty. Jichimu, literally translates from the Chinese as 'chickenwing wood’. The botanical name is Milleaa leucantha Kurz. The common name describes a wood whose deep brown and gray paOerns contain all the fine detail of bird feathers. The tree is very slow growing so the annual rings are very close together but it is only when the trunk is ‘slab cut’ that the fine markings are most evident. When quarter cut, only a series of parallel lines corresponding to the annual growth rings are seen. A common misconcep9on is that the tree is indigenous to Hainan. Many exo9c Chinese woods are ascribed to Hainan origin but the truth is that a related tree, Hainan ormosia / Ormosa Howii wasn’t discovered there un9l the 1950s and is thought to be already ex9nct. M. leucantha is found in southern China notably Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. There are other woods with somewhat similar appearance but a good guide to determine whether the piece being offered is genuine could be the price - a bread board made of genuine chicken wing wood costs $200-300, a brush pot $1000. Milleaa Leucantha Kurz should not be confused with Milleaa lauren9i, commonly known as ‘Wenge’ and a na9ve of Africa. Wenge is cheaper, darker and more readily available than Chinese chicken wing wood. It doesn’t have the feathery delicacy of the Chinese wood Pheasantwood / Senna siamea comes from SE Asia, notably Thailand, Vietnam and Burma and is so similar in appearance to chicken wing wood that it is also called jichimu in China. But these countries are a liOle further south and warmer so the annual growth rings are liOle more spaced. The highly related Cassia Siamea is a na9ve of Indonesia and even Hawaii. It also resembles pheasant tail feathers but, to this author’s personal view, not with the same subtlety or delicacy ot the genuine Chinese chicken wing wood. To add to the confusion, Milleaa stuhlmannii, commonly known as panga panga, has a vary similar appearance to all of the above. A true botanical specialist might be able to dis9nguish between these species by observing the cross sec9onal endgrain through a lens, but this author cannot. Milleaa stuhlmannii is a na9ve of Africa so, by logical deduc9on, if a dense tropical hardwood with pronounced stria9ons appears in a piece with obviously Chinese provenance, it is most likely to be jichimu. In summary, Chicken wing wood, pheasantwood, wenge and panga panga are very similar in appearance. Milleaa Leucantha Kurz should be recognized as the true jichimu and is listed in the database of ‘Flora of China’ as being na9ve to southern Ynnan province but it should be men9oned that it grows also in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Bitong (Brush Pot) made from old growth Jichimu (Author’s Collection)
25 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
nanmu
26 of 46
Phoebe zhennan
This wood is na9ve to China where it occurs in Guizhou, Hubei and Sichuan provinces It is under second-class na9onal protec9on in China owing to threatening loss of habitat. In the past, wood from this tree, referred to as nanmu in China was so valuable that only royal families could afford their use. The trees that produce nanmu wood are tall and straight so whole logs of Phoebe zhennan wood were used to create pillars for the Forbidden city. The pillars, so familiar to visitors owing to their painted red color, were harvested in the thousands (300,000 logs according to some reports) for the construc9on of the iconic building complex. The Taihe Hall alone used 72 precious Phoebe nanmu 9mbers that were one meter in diameter and painted red. According to incomplete sta9s9cs, the Forbidden City’s various halls used nearly 35,000 great wooden pillars of nanmu. In the Ming dynasty, Nanmu was described as a durable soIwood. It seems that the term covers a family of woods ranging in quality from splendid to inferior. Of most interest to connoisseurs is zhennan nanmu which can be polished to a shimmering surface and has fine smooth texture. Shimmering characteris9cs also qualify that which is termed 'jinsi' (golden-thread) nanmu. It has a brilliant golden shimmer also referred to as golden silk wood. In 2019, I was fortunate enough to acquire a small tea tray in one of the specialty wood shops in Chengdu. It is made of a recently discovered log of nanmu that had been submerged in water for several thousand years. This natural process converted it to wumu and it was described as such when I bought it. This natural treatment has imparted a more chocolatey tone to the wood which s9ll takes a fine polish, without varnish, and shimmers under strong light. The carved lotus flower is dull because it is unpolished and shows evidence of some boring insects in the stem. It was not cheap!!
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Golden thread Nanmu
Nanmu darkened by submersion for 3000 years (Wumu) (Author’s Collection)
Columns of Nanmu in the Imperial Palace, Beijing
27 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
28 of 46
ZITAN (Tzu-t’an) I remember the opportunity I had to examine carefully a screen in the house occupied by Puyi, the last Chinese emperor. The western style house in Tianjin is now a museum and displays many of the emperor’s possessions (including golf clubs!). The screen is of solid, black wood with a slight purplish cast. It is finely carved with hundreds of Chinese characters in high relief. Only the most skilled craIsmen would be allowed near to such a piece of wood and their excep9onal talent is displayed well owing to the grainless quality of the wood. Numerous searches for genuine pieces in the an9que shops of Beijing and Shanghai have resulted in few small carvings and brushpots with a price tag in thousands of dollars. In Chinese documents going back 1,000 years, zitan is refered to in revered terms as the pre-eminent wood for furniture. It is now agreed by most experts that the wood referred to comes from a tree which is a member of the rosewood family with scien9fic name Pterocarpus santalinus also known as Red Sandalwood. There is no commonality between this wood and the fragrant white sandalwood (Santalum Alba) except that both are indigenous to India from where zitan was historically imported. The term ‘zitan’ has become very popular recently. If anyone selling a Chinese ar9fact of dark, almost black, wood there is a strong tempta9on to describe it a ‘zitan’ in the expecta9on of a premium price. The truth is that it’s not easy even for the prac9ced eye to iden9fy Pterocarpus santalinus. The rosewood unique to the island of Madagascar, Dalbergia Mari9ma, is very similar. OIen given the French name of Bois de Rose, it could be mistaken for ebony except that it has a more reddish hue and is slightly streaky. I have a set of violin tuning pegs made from it because the wood turns beau9fully and takes a high natural polish. There is no doubt that it is an exo9c hardwood in its own right but I have no evidence it has made its way to China for working over there. In any case, the grain structure is straighter than zitan which has a more interlocking appearance on careful examina9on.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
29 of 46
Scholar’s Box and stand with Paktong metal fiPngs in ruyi form (Ming Dynasty) (Author’s collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Pierced box with huangtong fittings & MOP inlay, Chinese or Vietnamese. (Author’s Collection)
30 of 46
31 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Antique stand of zitan finely carved with insects and scrolling plants. (Author’s Collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
32 of 46
wumu The designa9on ‘Wumu’ means that the wood has become semi fossilised by immersion under the silt of a river or lake for thousands of years. It is a process rather than a species of wood. Submersion under mud is cri9cal to create anaerobic condi9ons which protect the wood from the destruc9ve effects of bacteria. Such wood cannot be produced to order. The logs pop up from 9me 9me 9me as lakes are dredged and their discovery, in the last few decades, have created na9onal news but before 1970 they were considered a nuisance and afforded no special aOen9on. It follows that logs discovered under such remarkable condi9ons don’t necessarily belong to a single species. Phoebe zhennan is a tree species endemic to China where it occurs in Guizhou, Hubei and Sichuan provinces. Today, the species is threatened by habitat loss and so is under second-class na9onal protec9on in China. In the past, wood from this tree, referred to as nanmu in China was so valuable that only royal families could afford their use. Notably, whole logs of Phoebe zhennan wood were used to create pillars for the Forbidden City in Beijing. Nanmu wood is par9cularly valuable when has become semi-fossilized, and is then referred to as 烏⽊木 Wu Mu, or "Black Wood". The price on the 2012 market could be as high as over $10,000 per cubic meter. ‘Mu’, in Chinese, means wood/tree so any wood described in English with the suffix ‘mu’ means we are here looking at exo9c woods equally mysterious to the western markets. A giant 1,200 year old nanmu tree recently discovered in Hubei province is described in Chinese reports as a Lindera megaphylla, a flowering tree of the lauraceae family. An occasional ebony tree has been found leading to the erroneous asser9on that all wumu is ebony. It is not. Most logs discovered aIer several thousand years buried under river mud are dark in color but that doesn’t mean they are ebony .
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Dredging a wumu log from the river silt
33 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
34 of 46
Chinese Yew - Taxus Chinensis Taxus Chinensis has survived in China for 100 million years. It is a variety of yew and can be found only in China: Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, S Gansu, N Guangxi, Guizhou, W Hubei, NE Hunan, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, E Yunnan and Zhejiang and northern Vietnam adjacent to Yunnan province in China. In China it is found at eleva9ons of 1100 to 2700 m in evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest, oIen along streams, oIen in areas with bamboo thickets. It is classified "Endangered" as logging has reduced the distribu9on of this species, especially in Vietnam, and harves9ng for medicinal purposes (primarily Taxol extrac9on) has certainly done so, leading to a large and rapid reduc9on in the species' area of occupancy. The popula9on of wild Chinese yew is es9mated to around 800,000 individuals. This popula9on has decreased by more than 50% since 1990 aIer scien9sts found that it can produce taxol used to treat cancer. In China, this species (under the name of Taxus wallichiana var. chinensis) is listed as a Category 1 protected species, meaning exploita9on is prohibited. All forms of harves9ng wild plants were banned in 2003 and the government has gone to the level of labeling individual trees in an effort to maintain an inventory and protect them. Interna9onally, this species is listed on CITES Appendix II and in China planta9ons have been established with the aim to harvest foliage for pharmaceu9cal purposes. The wood of Taxus chinensis has been used in China for construc9on, barrel making, furniture, and for wood carving and turning. Extracts of many parts of the plant (roots, wood, bark and leaves) are used in tradi9onal medicine, while in modern 9mes it has been used as a source of an9-cancer drugs such as Taxol which is derived from the bark and leaves. The seeds contain oils that are also extracted, but treatment is necessary to neutralize the poisonous alkaloids. It is doubvul whether this species is in cul9va9on outside China and Vietnam, though it can be found in a few botanical gardens. Chinese yew is a unique species surviving from the Cretaceous period of dinosaurs in China. Fortunately, the Chinese government recognizes this heritage and is taking extreme measures to protect its own. Woe be9de anyone who cuts down a tree without authorisa9on. If such an act should be carried out - and such things can happen accidently in the countryside- the value of the wood is such that in the hands of an expert carver a work of art can be created that would fetch thousands (or even tens of thousands) of US dollars. Check eBay!!!!
35 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Kuanyin carving skillfully showing the difference in color between heartwood and sapwood. Also the log from which it was carved. (China - Private collection, Zang Haiming)
36 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Huangyang Mu
Boxwood
Westerners are familiar with ‘box’ (Buxus Sempervirens) as a very small, slow growing shrub. Owing to the small stature of the plant (one can hardly call it a tree) the wood is never available in large pieces. In appearance, it is very close to Ivory in that there is no no9ceable grain and the colour is a pale yellow turning to a warm brown yellow aIer exposure. Unlike yew, there is no dis9nguishable difference between heartwood and sapwood. The Chinese term Wangyang mu crept in to the western an9ques trade nomenclature rela9vely recently but it is just as ambiguous in English as it is in Chinese. In English, ‘huang’ means yellow and so the Chinese term is much less specific than the English term ‘box’ or ‘boxwood’ which has been used for centuries for fine, small objects like musical instruments and violin pegs. Because of its very fine capillaries, It is ideal for detailed carving, takes a beau9ful polish and doesn’t crack or split. The truth is that the term Huangyang mu must be considered a generic one because the genus Buxus encompasses about 70 species in the family Buxaceae of which maybe 17 are found in China. Small decora9ve and carved pieces can be found coming from China and purpor9ng to be boxwood or huangyang and yet they range in color from light yellow to dark brown, light in weight to quite heavy and inexpensive (sugges9ng it can be carved easily and rapidly) to very expensive. The wood cannot be from the same plant in all of these cases and it is unlikely that any of it derives from Buxus Sinica which is too small and ornamental (think bonsai trees) to be of much use in the 9mber trade.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Arhat immortal antique carving from huangyang mu boxwood. ( Author’s collection)
YUMU
37 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
38 of 46
Northern Elm (Ulmus L.) China has more than 20 varie9es of elm tree. Tradi9onally, they have been a more affordable op9on for furniture making and recently have aOracted aOen9on in the west as offering possible alterna9ves to the western elm popula9on which has been devastated by Dutch elm disease. It is the most common furniture-making wood found throughout northern China. It is oIen referred to as Northern Elm to differen9ate it from the somewhat similar appearing Zelkova, which is also commonly called elm, or Southern Elm. There are over twenty varie9es of elm which are widely distributed tree throughout China, but more highly concentrated in the northern regions. Northern varie9es noted for producing furniture-making 9mber include the Japanese Elm (chunyu (U. davidiana var. japonica)), which reaches 30 meters in height and 1 meter in diameter, and the somewhat smaller Manchurian Elm (lieye yu (U. laciniata)). These, along with the more broadly distributed Siberian Elm (bai yu (U. pumila)) all share similar characteris9cs. The sapwood of Northern Elm is yellowish-brown; the heartwood, a slight chestnut brown. The wood is difficult to dry and easily develops cracks. The material is of medium density (.59-.64 g/cm3) and hardness, and with the excep9on of Siberian elm, has rela9vely low strength. The material is somewhat resistant to decay and easy to work. Because the wood is ring porous, with a wave-like paOerning in the growth rings of the late wood, the tangen9al surface oIen reveals a layered, feather-like figure that is popular for furniture-making. (See example on facing page).
JUMU Southern Elm (Zelkova Schneideriana) This is also a member of the ulmaceae family. It’s fast growing (and therefore highly figured and available) and much appreciated in Japan. It’s a popular furnituremaking wood in the Suzhou region. It is dis9nguished from its northern counterpart (yumu) by a more refined ring porous structure that is apparent in the tangen9al surface, and by small medullary rays that are visible as fine reflec9ve flecks across the radial surface. Southern Elm is also compara9vely denser and stronger. Southern Elm is widely distributed throughout China with concentra9ons found in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces as well as Korea and Japan, where it is commonly known as keyaki. The tree reaches 30 meters in height and the trunk, 1.5 meter in diameter. The sapwood is dis9nguished from the slightly darker heartwood, which varies in tonality from yellowish brown to coffee-brown. Jiangsu craIsmen tradi9onally divide jumu into three types: yellow ju (huangju), red ju (hongju), and blood ju (xueju). Factors including the age of the tree are thought to account for these varia9ons in color as well as ranging densi9es (63 - 79 g/cm3). Blood ju, with a reddish-brown coffee color as well as some feathery like figure in the tangen9al surface, is the most highly prized.
39 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
A provincial 18thC stool with 3-way lap joint on stretchers from the northern province of Shanxi.Yumu Elm (Author’s Collection)
Detail of Antique Altar Table made of Chinese Southern Jumu Elm (Author’s Collection)
Yingmu
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
40 of 46
This is a term that has found increasing use in the western an9ques trade over the last decade. Its adop9on has been provoked by two factors, the increasing appearance of wealthy Chinese bidders in Western auc9ons keen to repatriate their cultural heritage and the convenient fact that a precise iden9fica9on of the wood species is not required. The term means ‘burl’, a nobbly lump which is not exclusive to any par9cular tree species. It can appear on many types of trees for reasons that aren’t clear. It usually forms on the trunk and doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect on the health of the tree. The internal structure is of a wild and undiciplined grain much admired by connoiseurs. The interlocked nature of the grain within a burl makes it very resistant to spliang or cracking and its appearance, when polished, is very aOrac9ve. It is par9cularly suited to the produc9on of wooden bowls and similar which can be turned on a lathe. A huge burl would be needed to produce a plank or panel suitable for use in furniture so it is more frequently found in smaller items such as boxes or brush pots such as those illustrated on the following pages. Quite oIen, small suckers sprout from burls and the result inside the burl is a structure looking like a small eye hence the features which cause bird’s eye maple to have its name. They are undoubtedly the cause of the ‘ghost faces’ frequently associated with Huanghuali and not typical of the larger boards harvested from the trunk of an unblemished tree.
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
18thC Yingmu Brush pot made of huali wood. The burl can be seen completely encircling the trunk or branch. (Author’s Collection)
41 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
42 of 46
Yingmu circular box showing the complete anatomy of the burl from the core to the exterior. This can be stated with certainty even though the type of wood and age are unknown. (Author’s Collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
43 of 46
Covered tsampa bowl from Tibet. Yingmu possibly rhododendron wood. 19thC (Author’s Collection)
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
44 of 46
post script At the end of this attempt at a clarification of what is meant by the various terms and designations of exotic Chinese woods, it is only fair to point out that this is a difficult if not impossible task. The importers and distributors of wood supplied to the carpentry trade in China, then as now didn’t use botanical names. They used descriptive names which didn’t necessarily apply to a single species of tree. Just as the meteoric rise in value of art objects ranging from Rembrandt paintings to Stradivari violins, has stimulated objective scientific analysis such as microscopy, dendrochronology, X-ray fluorescence, chromotography, so it will become necessary to apply some of these techniques to pieces of Ming furniture which are beginning to reach astronomical prices. The so-called ‘experts’ who claim to be able to determine a particular wood by eye are frequently deluding themselves and misleading the public. It shouldn’t be surprising. The task of identification is difficult. The precise characteristics of a natural product such as wood are as much determined by the age of the tree, where it is grown, how the log was cut and where in the log the wood was extracted, as by the particular species. Incredibly, the anatomy of trees and the study of how they are constructed and function is an emerging science. Microstructures within the trunks are responsible for raising water from the roots to the leaves and also returning food to the roots. Other structures store ‘food’ within specialised cells and only the microscopic examination of these structures can definitively point to the identification of the species from which it came. As always, the ultimate criteria are the beauty of the wood, whether old or new, and the skill with which it has been worked. Beauty is somewhat subjective but is largely determined by color, figure and chatoyance. We have refrained from using this last term as it is unknown to most non-specialists but it is an optical effect whereby adjacent areas of light and dark within the wood change positions as the light or viewing angle changes. Commonly seen in curly maple (and the violins of Stradivari), the light colored stripes become dark and the dark ones light as the piece is rocked from side to side. It seems as if the wood is alive and reminds us that fine wood is a gift of nature, worthy of respect and exciting admiration from whosoever studies it no matter what culture they represent.
GPW 8 February, 2021
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
45 of 46
CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
46 of 46
No trees were damaged in the publication of this book. It exists only in digital form.
