Secret: Do you know what these beasts in ancient buildings represent?

An important feature of ancient buildings in China is that the roofs are decorated with many animals. On the cornice of an ancient building, there is a row of small figures. At the front is a little man riding a phoenix, followed by a row of small animals, and finally there is a bigger animal head called "hanging beast" The outermost figurine on the cornice is called immortal, also called real person or hades. It is said that this immortal is the incarnation of King Qi Min. There is also a folk saying that King Qi Min of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was defeated by Le Yi, fled in a panic, hit a wall everywhere, and was cornered. Later, he was saved by a flying phoenix. Putting this "fairy riding a phoenix" on the roof probably has the symbolic significance of saving lives and turning them into blessings. On the cornice, the small animals between hanging animals and immortals are collectively called "beasts". They all squat with their heads held high. Everyone has a name, and everyone has a magical legend. Take the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing as an example: dragon, phoenix, lion, Tianma, hippocampus, gambling fish, eldest sister-in-law, Ni, bullfighting and lion awakening. Choose these mythical animals as ornaments, first of all, to highlight the majesty of the temple. Secondly, it also symbolizes the meaning of eliminating disasters, turning evil into good, cutting off evil and upholding justice. Put them on the roof, hoping that the weather will be good and the country will be safe. The posture of the "beast" is very different, but in the queue, the squatting posture is unified, forming a similar shape, and only the immortal has a special posture at the front of the queue. Looking at this row of small gods on the high eaves in the distance, these small animals are often arranged in turn on the bright high eaves in the sky, so in people's impression, they are more often a beautiful silhouette picture. Two, one fairy and ten beasts are arranged in a row of figurines on the eaves of ancient buildings. At the front is a little man riding a phoenix, followed by a row of small animals, and finally there is a bigger animal head, that is, "hanging animals" Hanging beast is a glazed product, with double horns and hollowed out in the middle, which is used to nail hanging animal piles. In the eyes of many laymen, it is only a decorative component, but its practical function is to strengthen the intersection of roofs. There are also such animal heads in other parts of the roof, and the one on the roof is called "animal head". The so-called "trapped beast" on the corner beam is also hollowed out in the middle to trap the corner beam head to ensure that the beam head will not be eroded by rain and strengthen the roof. The outermost figurine on the cornice is called immortal, also called real person or hades. It is said that this immortal is the incarnation of King Qi Min. There is also a folk saying that King Qi Min of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was defeated by Le Yi, fled in a panic, hit a wall everywhere, and was cornered. Later, he was saved by a flying phoenix. Putting this "fairy riding a phoenix" on the roof probably has the symbolic significance of saving lives and turning them into blessings. On the cornice, the small animals between hanging animals and immortals are collectively called "beasts". They all squat with their heads held high. Everyone has a name, and everyone has a magical legend. Take the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing as an example: the animals in the Hall of Supreme Harmony are dragons, phoenixes, lions, horses, seahorses, fish gambling, sisters-in-law, bullfighting and pedestrians. Dragon: It is said that it can swim in the water, fly in the clouds and walk on land. It can call the wind and rain, and the clouds are scattered. It combines the virtues of various animals and has infinite power. Phoenix: the legendary king of birds, is a symbol of good luck; Its appearance indicates world peace and people's lives will be happy. Lion: the king of beasts, the king of gold, the king of Buddhism, a symbol of courage and majesty. Tianma: Like a horse, it can travel thousands of miles a day, chase the wind every day and shine in the sky. This is what people think. Hippocampus: Being able to enter the sea and the deep will turn good luck into good fortune. Tianma and Haima are brave beasts. Betting on fish: Betting on fish is an exotic animal in the ocean. It is said to be an "expert" in making clouds and rain, fire fighting and disaster prevention. It is a combination of fish and beast, and it is also the embodiment of good luck. Sister-in-law: (Pinyin: Suān ní), shaped like a lion, has a long mane on her head, so it is also called the Beatles. Legend has it that Dragon Wuzi likes to sit still and enjoy fireworks all his life, so the foot ornaments on the Buddha incense burner are his portraits, and then he smokes. According to legend, this kind of sister-in-law decorated on the Buddha's seat was introduced to China by Indians with Buddhism in the Han Dynasty. Hui Lin, a monk in the Tang Dynasty, said, "Sister-in-law is also a lion, leaving the Western Regions.". By the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism had been widely used in China. This style was created by China folk artists, which makes it have the traditional style of China. Later, he became the fifth son of the dragon, and his layout was mostly in front of the Buddha and Bodhisattva sitting cross-legged or cross-legged. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the dragon-shaped decoration in the middle of the collar of the stone lion or bronze lion is also an image of the lion entering the tiger's mouth, which makes the traditional China gate lion more powerful. It is fierce and eats tigers and leopards. The Avengers: It is the legendary God sheep. It is shaped like a sheep, with a horn and four blue feet. It is brave and upright, so it stands in front of the prison and is the embodiment of justice. Bullfighting: a stubble with a bull's head and a scaly body, which can fly in the clouds when it rains and turn misfortune into luck. How to do it: it looks like a monkey, but it has wings on its back, holding a pestle, which has the effect of reducing demons; Because its shape is very similar to the legendary Lei Gong, it was placed on the roof for lightning protection. Choose these mythical animals as ornaments, first of all, to highlight the majesty of the temple. In addition, these animals also have the meaning of eliminating disasters and putting them on the roof to pray for good weather, peace and prosperity. However, animals also have practical functions. Because the roof has a certain inclination, the roof tiles may slide down, so it needs to be fixed on the beam with multiple nails. In order to cover up the ugly nail marks and protect them from the rain, craftsmen decorated these glazed animals on the nail caps. These big kisses and beasts on the roof are beautified based on the needs of function, which embodies the interweaving of rationality and romance. Seen from a distance, there is a faucet-shaped component at both ends of the main ridge of the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Shaped like a dragon, its four claws are flying, its mouth is open and its spine is swallowed, and its tail is curled and its sword is inserted. This is the "big kiss". Because it is placed on the positive ridge of the building, it is also called "positive kiss". Because of its image like a dragon, it is also called "dragon kiss". The big kiss evolved from the tail of an ancient building. Tang Yao Hui recorded a story to the effect that Bailiang Temple, a palace in the Han Dynasty, was burned down. The wizard in the moon flute said that there is a kind of fish in the sea. Its tail is shaped like an owl, and it can rain by flapping the waves. Putting this animal on the roof can put out fires and eliminate disasters, so people began to put owl tails on the roof. Then the tail gradually evolved into a kiss. The image of an owl's tail is different from that of a dragon's kiss. The owl's tail highlights the tall and vigorous tail; The big kiss highlights the big mouth and swallows the ridge, so it is called "kiss". Although the images are different, they all mean to put out fire and eliminate disasters. According to folklore, the dragon gave birth to nine sons, and the second son "speaks like a beast, and his nature is good." This is the first beast. " This is the animal. As for the sword on its back, it is said that it was inserted stably for fear of its escape. Big kisses are not only used for decoration, but also have certain practical functions. It swallows the intersection of the positive ridge and the vertical ridge, and has the function of strengthening the intersection and strengthening the firmness. There is also a small opening above the big kiss for filling, and the hilt is actually a plug to close this opening. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the highest-ranking building in the Forbidden City, and the scale of Big Kiss is also the largest in the Forbidden City. Taige Hall Kiss is 3.40 meters high, 2.68 meters wide, 0.52 meters thick and weighs about 4.3 tons. It is composed of 13 pieces of glazed components, which is the biggest kiss among the existing ancient buildings in China. In ancient times, the big kiss on architecture was regarded as a god beast and was highly valued. After the big kiss is done, send a senior official to meet you at the kiln factory. Burn incense and kneel down to show respect when pretending to be a big kiss. The Qing dynasty had strict regulations on the use of kissing. Dragon kiss can only be used in official buildings, not in folk buildings. The size of the family depends on the size of the palace and the level of the building, and it is not allowed to go beyond the system. The number of animals depends on the size of the palace and the level of the building. The number of animals can reach up to 9 at most, which decreases with the decrease of building level. The reduction of small animals is from the last "line" to the front in turn. The number of animals in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest, and it is also the only special case with ten kinds of animals in ancient buildings in China. Animals' postures were originally very different, but in the queue, they all adopted squatting posture, forming a similar shape, and only the posture of the immortal was suitable for it in the front position. From a distance, this row of figurines on the high eaves looks like a beautiful silhouette against the sky.