The role of eaves decoration in the Forbidden City

Animals (decorations on the eaves of ancient palace buildings in China)

Animals, also known as small animals, were used as decorations on the eaves of ancient palaces in China. According to the size of the building, the number of buildings used is generally singular, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony uses 10, which is a special case. Its order is dragon, phoenix, lion, Tianma, hippocampus, sister-in-law, gambling on fish, sister-in-law, bullfighting and walking, and most of them are symbolic legendary animals.

Animals are located at the lower ends of vertical ridges and ridges, where several slopes meet the upper ends of tiles. In order to cover the upper opening of the brick at the intersection line, it is necessary to cover the ridge tile on the brick; Because it is inclined downward, if no measures are taken, it will inevitably fall down, so most of them need nails to strengthen the beams. In order to cover up the traces of nails, a series of images of small animals were added to the nail cap to beautify the building. Later, with the continuous development of building technology, there is no need to add nails to the eaves, but the image of animals has remained, becoming a symbol of building grade and a decorative component of buildings.