As the first wood at the very top of the list, there is 紫檀 (zitan) as the “king.”^[1]最后的”老三样”：大红酸枝也已渐行渐远！ [The last of the “old three”: Dalbergia cochinchinensis is also gradually moving away!]. (2017, June 9). Haisibot. … Continue reading This wood has a very high density, a deep reddish purple color, and a very fine grain able to take intricate carved details. These characteristics made it an ideal species for the emperor’s wood, and its use dates back to at least the year 1287.^[2]Zhang, W. (2023). 红木家具用材的演变与发展趋势 [The evolution and development trend of hongmu furniture materials]. Zhongguo Linye Chanye, 12(4), 25–30.

Sitting beside this wood is the estimable 海南黃花梨 (Hainan huanghuali, or simply just huanghuali) as the “queen.” Hailing from the southernmost Chinese island province of Hainan, huanghuali is a proper and true tropical rosewood species of the Dalbergia genus. While not quite as dense as zitan, huanghuali boasts a golden honey to orangish red heartwood color, along with a host of figured and light-refracting grain patterns. (One of the most sought after is the 鬼臉 ghost-face pattern, usually stemming from a knot or area of circular grain, giving it an eerie, humanoid-like appearance—bocote (Cordia elaeagnoides) is another hardwood known better to Western woodworkers that also commonly displays this type of grain as well.)

But eventually, this king and queen pair were more or less tapped out, and other similar woods needed to be sought out to fill the void. This is where the original hongmu 红木 “red wood” comes unto play. If hongmu woods were a deck of playing cards, the Siamese rosewood be at the level of a jack.

Expanding the List Outward

As a wealthier middle class began to emerge in China, demand for traditional hongmu furniture began to grow to unsustainable levels. As time passed on, more and more species began to be imported and used in Chinese furniture. Some were counterfeits being passed off as the genuine article, while others were just lesser known or lesser utilized. So in addition to the three previously mentioned species, there are 26 other officially recognized hongmu species, for a total of 29 species divided into eight separate categories.

Because there was so much confusion and counterfeits, the Chinese government established an official document outlining the standard hongmu species and the criteria that must be met in order to be considered genuine. That standard first appeared back in 2000 as GB/T 18107, but has since been updated by a newer standard, officially designated GB/T 18107-2017.^[3]General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China, & Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. (2017). … Continue reading

A crucial distinction is that these standards include both the botanical name as well as a minimum density requirement (not to mention anatomy, color and scent requirements). On a practical level, what this means is that it’s not enough simply to have correctly identified the wood in question, the piece must also be of sufficient weight in order to be qualify for the proper hongmu status. Not only does this serve to exclude most counterfeits, but it can also end up filtering out faster-grown plantation trees whose wood may not meet the minimum threshold, but are nonetheless of the correct species.

Aside: While on the surface this practice of grading wood based on weight may seem to some to be “unfair,” I see it as a very good idea and something of great practical utility. As a woodworker in America, I’ve seen people worry over whether or not their flooring planks are true hard maple (Acer saccharum) or not. Yet what would be much more useful would simply be to weigh a few of the planks and see if they’re dense enough—and therefore hard enough—regardless of whatever species of maple they might end up being!