To　protect　Chinese　ancient　building,　aseismic　behaviors　of　Chinese　ancient　tenon-mortise　joint　are　studied.　Based　on　actual　sizes　of　some　part　of　Tai-He　Palace　in　the　Forbidden　City,　wooden　frame　models　with　a　scale　of　1:8　of　the　prototype　structure　are　built　considering　Yan-wei　type　of　tenon-mortise　connections.　By　low　cyclic　reversed　loading　tests,　M-θ　hysteretic　curves　as　well　as　skeleton　curves　of　the　joints　are　obtained;　the　energy　dissipation　capability,　stiffiness　degradation　and　deformation　performance　are　analyzed,　then　restoring　force　model　is　also　studied.　Results　show　that　M-θ　hysteretic　curves　of　tenon-mortise　joint　are　mainly　of　Z　shape　with　obvious　rheostriction　property.　With　the　increase　of　joint　rotation　angle,　its　skeleton　curve　tends　to　be　flat　which　reflects　its　good　ductility　performance;　however　its　energy　dissipation　capability　and　stiffiness　decrease,　and　the　tenon-mortise　joint　has　low　bearing　capability.