What is the meaning of the spiny beast on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing?

The moral of Sleeping Beast is that in ancient times, dragons were totems of clans and tribes; In the imperial period, the dragon was the embodiment of the royal identity; Today, the dragon symbolizes the Chinese nation. Because of its majestic image and auspicious meaning, it is deeply loved by people. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it symbolized the emperor, who claimed to be the real dragon emperor, so this dragon was a symbol of imperial power.

There are 10 small animals sitting in rows on the vertical ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. From front to back, they are dragon, phoenix, lion, Tianma, hippocampus, sister-in-law, gambling fish, sister-in-law, bullfighting and walking.

According to the records in Qing Hui Dian, the order of these glazed animals is dragon, phoenix, lion, Tianma, hippocampus, sister-in-law, gambling on fish, sister-in-law, bullfighting and walking. Among them, the positions of Tianma and hippocampus, sister-in-law and fish can be interchanged.

According to legend, Phoenix is the king of birds. The male is called "Phoenix" and the female is called "Phoenix". Phoenix Qi Fei is a symbol of good luck and harmony, which indicates good weather, peace and prosperity.

The ancient people thought that the lion was the king of beasts, brave and majestic. So people use its image to guard the palace.

The beast in the sky is a good friend of the dragon. It is a horse like a seahorse, but it has a pair of wings, which can travel thousands of miles every day and chase the wind every day. With its image on Miaoling, "I am a maverick" has the potential to stand out from the crowd and expand the territory.

Swiss beasts in the sea of seahorses. It is shaped like a horse, and it is said that it can enter the sea to meet the deep and turn the tide into luck.

A lion-like beast with a long mane on its head. Legend has it that it is one of the nine sons of the dragon. It is fierce and can eat tigers and leopards. It is said that this is just a "bad hobby"-similar to fireworks, so it often appears on the legs of incense burners.

Swiss beast in the sea of fish. He is covered with scales and has a fish tail behind him. Legend has it that it can make clouds and rain, put out fires and prevent disasters. "Gambling" means "in charge", so it is the leader in charge of ornamental fish.

The legendary Swiss beast is the embodiment of loyalty and justice, and also the symbol of justice in ancient China. Legend has it that it has a horn on its head that can tell right from wrong. When people fight with each other, it will use it to overthrow evil and unreasonable people.

Bullfighting is a legendary dragon without horns, which has the same function as gambling on fish. It was once said to be a water-saving beast, and it was once a place where ancient floods flooded. Standing on the ridge of the temple has the function of suppressing evil spirits and protecting the hospital.

Shi Hang ranks tenth, hence its name. This is a kind of bijuu with a monkey face with wings.

In addition to these ten little beasts, there is also a "man riding a phoenix" walking in the front. It is said that this fairy is the incarnation of King Qi Min in the Warring States Period. He lost in the battle and was pursued by the enemy. At the critical moment when he was cornered, a phoenix suddenly flew from the horizon. King Qi Min rode out of danger. Impatiens riders sitting on the roof are symbolic of saving lives and turning the corner.

Extended data:

Squatting beast, also known as kissing beast: kissing beast on the roof of a temple is a decorative building component. In ancient China society, the shape and installation position of components were superstitious. According to Tang Yao Hui, there is something similar to "owl tail fish" in Bailiang Temple in Han Dynasty, which means "avoiding fire".

In the records after the Jin Dynasty, the word "tail" appeared. After the middle Tang Dynasty, the word "tail" became the word "kiss", so it was also called "kiss". On the front ridge and vertical ridge of the roof of the official building, kissing animals with different shapes and names represent the level of the temple by their size and number.

Kissing animals are usually placed on the roofs of ancient large buildings as "evil spirits". It is said that they can drive away the invading ghosts, protect the peace of their homes, and hope to have plenty of food and clothing and a prosperous population. Therefore, regardless of the level of the building, the owners decorate "dragons" at both ends of the roof and corners to ward off evil spirits, so as to show the authority and status of the owners.

There are strict regulations on the arrangement of kissing animals, and the number varies according to the level of the building, most of which are decorations on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. This is unique in the history of China Palace architecture, which shows its supreme importance. Generally, other ancient buildings use up to nine kinds of animals. There are strict hierarchical boundaries, and only the Hall of Supreme Harmony can accomplish all kinds of things.

The Jinxi Hall (Hall of Supreme Harmony) in the Forbidden City in Beijing is the court of feudal emperors, so there are the most small animals. The Golden Hall is a "pointed hall" building, with main ridge 1, vertical ridge 8 and surrounding ridge 4, with a total of temple ridge 13. The kissing beast is located on the ridge of the temple, and there are two positive kisses at both ends of the ridge. Because of its upright spine, it is also commonly known as the spine-swallowing beast. There are/kloc-0 animals on each vertical ridge of the main hall, and 8 animals on 8 ridges.

There is 1 platoon running beast in front of the hanging beast. From front to back, the front leader is the person riding impatiens, and then in turn: dragon, phoenix, lion, Tianma, hippocampus, lion, fish, cow, line, and so on. There are 80 vertical ridges. In addition, there are two horned animals at both ends of each ridge and eight horned animals at four ridges. This adds up to 106 kissing animals.

If you count the animals on the beams of the temples, there are 1 14 kissing animals. Gan Qing Palace is the place where the emperor lived and handled daily affairs, second only to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. There are nine small animals under the eaves. The Palace of Kunning used to be the queen's bedroom, with seven small animals. Concubines live in six rooms, and the number of small animals is reduced to five. Some halls only have 1.

Ancient palaces were mostly wooden structures, which were flammable. Legend has it that these small animals can avoid fire. Due to the decoration of deified animals, the emperor's palace became a fairy palace.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-spine beast