Why is there always a monster with a "ring" in its mouth on the ancient door?

The ring in the monster's mouth that we often see on ancient doors is actually a knocker. Strictly speaking, the base embedded in the door is called a paving head, and the copper ring in the opening of the paving head is called a knocker. Together, it is called "paving head ring".

In fact, the first shop didn't make knockers for children, but made handles on both sides of bronzes, and it was decorated with gluttony at that time. According to Shan Hai Jing, gluttony is an ancient god beast, but the gluttony pattern has no fixed shape, such as dragon, deer, tiger, cow and phoenix. This animal face pattern is collectively called "gluttony" by later generations.

The head ring was used as a door handle in Qin and Han dynasties, which can be used as both a door handle and an object for knocking at the door. But at this time, the pattern is no longer gluttony, but a monster called pepper map, which is said to be the fifth son of the dragon, but these are legends, and the ninth son of the dragon is also a folk story.

Of course, it doesn't matter to ordinary people. This is just a fresh story. The ancients said that Jiao Rabbit was born with wealth, shaped like a snail, and some were autistic, most disgusted with others entering its nest. It is a typical symbol of "a good man at home" and "a miser", so it is most suitable for guarding the door.

But the manufacturing process of this kind of paving ring is complicated, how can ordinary people afford it? All we can see are the big families like the Forbidden City or the nobles and dignitaries of the palace. Although ordinary people can also use the first bit ring, they are all streamlined.

Walking in the old streets of Gu Xiang now, you can often see the old knocker in front of the old house. They are weather-beaten and covered with verdigris, but they still stand there quietly, waiting for people to gently pull them forward and witness the past and present.