What is a cylindrical tile?

These are two kinds of tiles, pipe tile and slab tile, which are common building tiles in ancient buildings in China. There are two kinds of tiles used in ancient buildings: slab tiles and pipe tiles, most of which are pottery tiles. Slate tiles are laid flat on the roof, and pipe tiles are covered between two rows of slate tiles. From the appearance, the radian of slab tile and pipe tile is different. The radian of pipe tile is large, and some are close to semicircle, while the radian of plate tile is very small. In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered various types of slab tiles, pipe tiles and half tiles in the architectural ruins of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Fufeng, Shaanxi. Therefore, it can be concluded that the appearance of pipe tile should be in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The manufacturing method of the pipe tile is to build a cylindrical ceramic blank with a clay tray, then cut the pipe, then cut it into the pipe tile, and then fire it in a kiln. The ancients called cutting tiles "cutting" and after cutting, it was called "disintegration". The common tile is a part of the tile, that is, the head of the tile, which mainly plays a role in protecting the eaves from wind and rain erosion, and also has a decorative role. Generally, tiles in ancient buildings have tile nails and tile rings to fix the position of tiles.

This traditional tile can be seen in some ancient temple buildings, such as Confucius Temple and Confucian Temple and Pagoda Temple built in various places. In addition, some private buildings and villas with retro style are also decorated with such tiles.