第一章 七千年前的發明Chapter OneThe Invention from 7,000 Years Ago

中國的榫卯結構起源于新石器時代。距今7000年前，河姆渡人(生活在今天的浙江余姚地區的一個原始部落)在建造干欄式建筑時，已經使用榫卯技術。從河姆渡文化遺址出土的木構件大到柱、梁、枋、板，小至欄桿的木楞，都無一例外地采用了這種先進的密合連接方式。正因如此，榫卯被稱為早于漢字歷史的民族符號。

The mortise and tenon structure in China originated from the Neolithic Age. 7,000 years ago, the technology of mortise and tenon had been adopted when the people of Hemudu, who lived in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province as a primitive tribe, built stilt style houses. The wooden components unearthed from the Hemudu civilization site, such as pillars, beams, tie beams, boards, battens of railings, are all made out of the mortise and tenon structure which was more advanced than others on the compactness of connections, making it a national symbol which was earlier than the history of Chinese characters.