What does the beast on the drum stone mean?

What should be used for the pattern of drum stones? The patterns of the remaining corn stones are rich and colorful, which can be divided into auspicious clouds, flowers and birds, insects and fish, assorted utensils and so on. From the carving position, it can be divided into three categories: drum base, drum surface and drum top. There are peony, lotus, hibiscus, sunflower, ruyi pattern, grass scroll pattern, Xiangyun pattern and other patterns on the drum platform, which express the meaning of good luck and longevity and are symbols of good flowers and wealth; The decorative patterns on the drum surface include low relief patterns and high relief lions. If there are spiral patterns, there are also three lions playing ball (three generations of playing wine), four lions sharing the same top (four generations sharing the same top), five lions guardrail (five generations of Fulu) and other patterns; The top of the drum is generally carved into the shape of a lion, including a standing lion, a squatting lion or a lying lion. The lion, the king of beasts, was a symbol of the majesty of giants in the old society. There is a long history of carving animal heads on doorpillows. It is said that it has the function of town house to ward off evil spirits. For example, in the existing Chinese History Museum, the stone coupon gate of the tomb of the Northern Wei Empress Feng (built in 484 AD) was made into a tiger's head outside the door pillow stone.

In addition, there are winged beasts in Tang Dynasty (existing Wuta Temple), Shi Hu in Liao and Jin Dynasties (existing Wuta Temple) and Shishi in Yuan Dynasty (existing Miaoying Temple). Judging from the collected pictures and materials, it is no coincidence that most of the South and North Drum Stones choose lions in decorative techniques. Because this is not an ordinary lion, but a pepper picture of a dragon born with nine sons, which is a figure of a Swiss beast called "swallowing mouth" by the people. Its real name is Pepper Map. Legend has it that the dragon has nine sons, each with his own strength and personality, and his looks are different. Yang Shen's Collection of Mountaineering Temples has the following words: "It is said that a dragon gives birth to nine children, but not a dragon, and each has his own strengths. Nine days pepper map looks like a snail, so it stands at the door … "So Pepper Map is like a snail in the water, with coils of lines, like a stone lion in front of the door. Therefore, the drum-hugging stone at the entrance of Huizhou Ancestral Temple looks like a snail, while the drum-hugging stone in Taiwan Province Province is mostly made into a snail's spiral shape on the drum surface (there is a similar drum-hugging stone at the gate of Huqiu Mountain in Suzhou). The symbolic meanings they refer to are the same, but they are homogeneous and heterogeneous, all of which come from the beautiful legend of pepper map of Longsheng Jiuzi.

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