What was the function of huabiao in ancient times?

From the history of our country, the origin of Chinese watches is very early. According to legend, Yao and Shun paid attention to erecting wooden signs on the main roads so that people could write advice on them, which is called "slander wood", or "huabiao wood" for short. Huainanzi? Master Mu Xun recorded: "I heard Yao Shun, remonstrated drums and slandered wood, and established the court." At first, this kind of "gossip tree" was erected on the main roads of traffic, for people to write admonitions and comment on current politics, and at the same time, it can also play the role of a road sign.

In the Han dynasty, huabiao wood developed into a symbol of thoroughfare avenue. Because this sign looks like a flower from a distance, it is called "Hua Biao" (ancient "flower" and "Hua" are homophones). In the Han Dynasty, it was also important to erect China watches in the postal kiosks, so that the messengers would not get lost. "Speaking?" Jinbei ":"Huan, pavilion post table also. Xu Kai, an ancient man, further explained: "The pavilion column stands on the tree and is used as a table." ... and the table stand in pairs as one Huan. "So HuaBiao also called huan table.

Later, huabiao gradually developed into a decorative building, which was set in front of bridges, palaces, city walls or tombs as a symbol. Standing in front of the mausoleum is called "tomb table", which is mostly made of stone. The column body is carved with dragons and other decorative patterns, and the top is a cloud disk or a squatting beast. The beast crouching on the table is called "looking up to heaven". In the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival painted by Zhang Zeduan, a great painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, there are two pairs of tall Chinese watches at each end of the Hongqiao in the capital of song dynasty, with white cranes standing on the top, which is vivid. Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in a poem: "The white crane is cold in China, and the blue dragon sees the sunset water." Built in the 29th year of Jin Dading (1 189), the stone arch bridge, the famous Lugou Bridge, also has four huabiao at both ends, which is 4.65m high. The upper end of the stone pillar spans the cloud plate, and there is a lotus plate at the top of the column. The stone lion is carved on the plate, which is solemn and beautiful, and the momentum is extraordinary, adding ethnic decoration to the stone bridge. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, when Chengtianmen (now Tiananmen Square) was built, two pairs of China watches were also built.

The exotic animals on the top of the Hua Biao are magical animals in ancient legends. Its characteristic is good at growling, which is called "roar" (also called "roar"). The huabiao in the palace gate faces north and is called "Wang". Whenever there is a disaster among the people, the king tells the king to leave the palace. On the huabiao outside the palace gate, he shouted "Wang" to the south. If the king plays outside the palace for too long, Wang Guijun will remind him: Come back, king.

Regarding the Chinese watch, Mr. Liu Shahe once wrote that "Chinese watches are used to tell time", which said:

"Today clothes qiu, hair to the inside. The ancients wore clothes and fur, and their hair went out. Therefore, the ideographic seal script is composed of the words clothes and hair, which means that fur is the table of fur. Since then, the meanings of appearance, instrument, surface and performance have been extended. Ancient officials widely set up wooden posts and posted notices, asking people to write criticisms on the posts to show the openness of government affairs, hence the name Huabiao. Qin was extremely dictatorial and abolished watch violence. Wu Qin Han Xing, reset Hua Biao. Ancient democratic spirit, weak line inheritance.

At the top of the huabiao column, two trees cross each other, each pointing east, west, north and south, so it is also called Jiaowumu. The cross is orthogonal, which was called the turn of the afternoon in ancient times. Observe the projection of China's watch in the sun. If it points to true north, it will be twelve o'clock local time. It can be seen that Hua Biao has the function of telling time. Today's clocks, called watches, are also Chinese watches.

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Ancient astronomers set up a benchmark to measure shadows, inferred the summer solstice and winter solstice according to the length of the benchmark, and then worked out a calendar to teach people. That pole is called a watch, and this is the embryo of Hua Biao. After that, it is the standard watch. Just insert a wooden sign on the inclined gauge board and read the time according to its projection. This is a sundial.

From this point of view, the use and connotation of huabiao are quite rich. It not only embodies the spirit of democracy, but also symbolizes power in a sense. It is also used for timing and decoration. It is really a perfect combination of practicality and artistry.