Volume 3, Chapter 21,

Portable and Studio Tables and Stools

A ch’in table should be high and a ch’in stool should be low. There are two forms for tables. The first form is portable and the second is put in a studio (and is not portable). (The table) should be two feet and one or two inches tall. It should be four feet two inches in length and one or two feet wide. The surface of the portable table begins with a square frame [with the frame approximately one inch square]. In the center space (in the frame) put a cross-piece [one inch or so square]. This piece divides the inside into left and right. [The left space should be three feet, three inches. The right space is about five inches.] At the ends of the center cross-piece there should be two short pillars [each of which is five inches long, and one inch square]. (At the bottom) it should have a horizontal shelf. In addition, make a box that should be embedded on the left. [The box contains sound.] Also make two triangular shapes as frames. Each has three feet at its corners [about one and a half inches square]. These go on the left and right and make a support for the table’s surface (the top frame piece). This should be uniformly tall. [The top frame piece of the table and these triangle-shaped frames should together be about two feet one or two inches tall.] The left frame piece should also have a horizontal supporting shelf that should be level with the other cross piece. Taken together these shelves support the box. All of these pieces form the table.

As for a studio table, the form is similar. Only the top should be wider so that two ch’in can face each other. Don’t worry about the form as an exploded drawing is shown here.

Figure 1: Exploded portable table