Pay attention to the "gate pier" in front of traditional houses in China

Pay attention to the "gate pier" in front of the traditional houses in China.

Pier is a kind of stone, which is used to support the door frame, threshold and door leaf of the gate or middle gate of China quadrangle. It lies on the edge of the door frame, like a pillow, so it is also called the door pillow stone. The pillow stone supports the door inside, and the outside is often decorated with birds and beasts, also known as the drum-holding stone. Drum stones are also square and round. The door carver is exquisite, the materials are exquisite, the craft is exquisite and the carving is realistic. Horn lotus is the most common pattern on both sides of the round stone drum, and exquisite patterns can also be made into other patterns, such as: unicorn lying loose, rhinoceros looking at the moon, butterfly entering Lanshan, five generations living under one roof, etc. Generally, the round drum is animal-shaped, with standing lions, crouching lions or lying lions on it, and the square drum is also carved. It is one of the components of quadrangle architecture, and it is also

A fine stone carving handicraft.

The dock is a unique part of the gatehouse. Some traditional auspicious patterns in China are usually carved on piers, so it is an art of stone carving to understand the traditional culture of China. Some people try to carve a drum on the doormat to inform tourists, while others carve lotus flowers on the surface of the drum. Because it looks beautiful, some people follow suit.

For the pursuit of opposing decoration since ancient times, we will naturally not ignore this pair of stone components at the entrance of the building. Drum-hugging stone is the product of carving door pillow stone. "Pillow" is the main part. For carving, emphasize the additional part of the door pillow stone. The "drum" part is very high, and the materials and labor are far more than the "pillow" part.

As the name implies, the drum-hugging stone is round and full of decorative functions. Generally, there are sunflowers, tattoos, lions and so on. The lower part of the sculpture is Mount Sumi, the middle is drum-shaped, decorated with patterns and reliefs, and the upper part is carved with lions, which is a common style. According to the Building Law, a person who carves a drum into the shape of a lion is called lion arsenic or lion arsenic. Later, people tried their best to beautify the table. Some people put the table in the shape of a lotus leaf in the water, which is not only beautiful in appearance, but also represents the happiness and auspiciousness of husband and wife, so it became the most popular style at that time. Secondly, the popular pier is to carve a lotus leaf shape on Xiangyun and then put a drum on it.

Generally, the low square pier is carved into the shape of Mount Sumi, with a lion carved on it. Others don't carve lions, and flowers and plants are embossed on the square pier.

There are a pair of drum stones in front of the door, engraved with the imprint of fame. In the era of feudal hierarchy, it is impossible to "play drums" in front of people without power. If you want to decorate the front of the scroll to show wealth, you can also erect a doormat stone as high as the drum-holding stone, but the decorative part just beside the door should be square, which is different from the "drum". No matter how high it is, it will still be called "dock"

The piers are mostly box-shaped and drum-shaped, but there are also lion-shaped, polygonal columnar and water bottle-shaped piers. Portal piers are generally composed of sumeru, drums or square boxes, animal kisses or lions. According to the shape of the gatehouse, the shape of the pier is also different. Sumo is the foundation of the whole pier, generally engraved with the shape of lotus. Yi Hui Street is usually a brocade shop. Hug drum is an upright drum. The surface and side of the drum are usually engraved with various auspicious patterns, such as immediate blessing, peace all the year round, Fu Lushou, unicorn lying on a pine tree, rhinoceros watching the moon, butterfly entering the blue mountain, and some patterns, such as five generations living under one roof. The square box is a cube, and different patterns are engraved on all sides. Drums or boxes are engraved with animal kisses or lions. The whole door pillow stone is carved from a whole stone.

symbolic meaning

Best wishes are engraved on the pier.

There are many exquisite patterns carved on the pier surface. With numbers, plants, animals, tools and fables

"Lion" and "world" are homophonic, and the carving pattern of the Nine Lions is "* * * was born in the ninth century", which symbolizes the wish of family reunion and harmonious coexistence. The special meaning of lion-shaped pier and Shi Hu-shaped pier: Lion-shaped pier and Shi Hu-shaped pier were the most common in front of quadrangles in the past. In the early years, a powerful family paid attention to placing a pair of big stone lions carved out of white marble in front of the door. Usually the lion is on the left and the right paw is stepping on the hydrangea, which is called "lion rolling hydrangea"; The lioness lives on the right, and under her left paw is a little lion named "Little Shao Shi", which symbolizes future generations and high officials.

Most quadrangles have a pair of small stone lions or small Shi Hu piers on both sides of their doorframes. Although it is not as high as the front door of a big house, it is beautifully carved, squatting or standing, squatting or leaning back, just like a pair of protectors guarding the door. In fact, the original intention of placing them is to ward off evil spirits and look after the house. People choose Shishi and Shi Hu as gatekeepers because they are regarded as rare animals, fierce and fearless of any animals, and regarded as "the king of beasts". With them guarding the house, animals and ghosts are afraid to enter the house. There are two other ways to put the stone lion in front of the door. One is that it is auspicious, so putting a pair of lively and lovely little stone lions in front of the door is also a symbol of happiness and liveliness. Second, there are two lions, one large and one small, lying on the doorstep. The word "lion" is homophonic with the word "world". The big lion and the little lion mean "all my life", and the little lion lies on the big lion's chest, which means "father and son" and "harmony and happiness".

Let's talk about bulging. According to ancient rituals, the drum pier means a drum to inform tourists. The arrival of the guests shows that the host's popularity is good and his family business is prosperous. The box pier is engraved with patterns such as bats, deer, peaches, magpies, ears, bottles, quails, sheep and money, all of which are auspicious things, showing people's yearning for a happy life and beautiful things. Peaches are a symbol of longevity. It is said that the Queen Mother of the West will not die after eating Xiantao. The origin of the "white ape stealing peaches" carved on the pier: It is said that the mother of the white ape in Yunmeng Mountain is sick and wants to eat peaches. The white ape is very filial to his mother and secretly goes to the fairy peach garden to pick peaches. Unexpectedly, Sun Zhenren, the immortal guarding Taoyuan, caught him. The white ape begged Sun Zhenren to cure his mother's illness. Sun Zhenren was moved by his filial piety and released the white ape. The white ape's mother recovered from illness and asked the white ape to present an art book to Sun Zhenren. Since then, that "white ape steal peaches" has become a symbol of wis the elderly a long life. This legend is widely circulated among the people, and there are also songs of the same name in folk drums.

"Fish" is homophonic with "fish" and "fish", which symbolizes auspiciousness, wealth and beauty. The carved patterns of "Lotus" and "Fish" symbolize "more than every year, more than every year". Carving carp jumps over the flowing water between two mountains, which means that carp yue longmen has a high career.

"Lion" is homophonic with "heir" and "thing". When two lions are in parallel, it means "everything goes well"; The lion wears a ribbon, which means "good things continue"; When the lioness accompanies her cubs, she hopes that her offspring can thrive; When the lion bites the hydrangea, it is a good sign that something happy will happen.

Carve a picture of a female child throwing money to tease a three-legged toad. Money represents wealth, toad is a symbol of fertility, and the golden toad played by Liu Hai means wealth and many children. Liu Yong, a poet in the Song Dynasty, wrote a poem, "It's rude to watch the crazy drama of the sea toad." Therefore, the golden toad in Liu Hai's drama also symbolizes abundant financial resources and continuous learning.

Bats symbolize happiness, peaches symbolize longevity. Lulu is homophonic. Carving bats, peaches and deer symbolizes "Fu Lushou".

Carve a bergamot, a peach and a pomegranate. It symbolizes "many blessings", longevity and m.

Carving three sheep shows that Sanyang has been born, indicating that the situation has changed from bad to good, and everything is developing in a good direction.

Use Chinese homophony to express auspiciousness. Carve two persimmons, one is "Ruyi". It symbolizes that everything goes well.

Carve a vase with plants with spikes and carve a quail next to it. Sui and Sui, Bottle and Ping, Quail and An are homophonic, meaning "Peace through the years".

Carved a monkey to climb on a maple branch, trying to take off the official seal hanging on the branch, and bees flew around the tree. The homonym of Chinese characters means "seal the Hou and hang the seal", which symbolizes the promotion of official career.

Take the "Eight Immortals" in folklore stories as examples: Bao Fan, Sword, Zhang's Drum, Cao Guojiu's castanets, gourd, Han Xiangzi's flute, He Xiangu's lotus flower and blue Cai He's flower basket. The design of eight projects symbolizes the birthday of the Eight Immortals.

The "eight treasures" are the Three Treasures, Victory Tower, Aquarius, Goldfish, Lotus, Left-handed Conch, Lucky Knot and Golden Wheel. Tibetan monks believe that the eight treasures are the embodiment of Sakyamuni Buddha, representing the eight organs of the Buddha respectively. For example, the umbrella represents the Buddha's head, the Victory Tower represents the Buddha's body, the goldfish represents the Buddha's eyes, and the left-handed conch represents the Buddha's wonderful sound.

Folk customs, east, west, south, north, heaven and earth, are collectively called "Liuhe", which refers to the whole world. There are two kinds of animals and flowers carved on the dock: deer and crane. The homophones of "deer", "six", "crane" and "harmony", together with the flowers symbolizing spring, represent the meaning of "six in one spring".

A lotus leaf and a lotus flower were born at the lotus root festival, which indicates a good wish for love. Melon is small when it is born, but its tendrils are endless, and it will continue to grow and reproduce. Therefore, carving melon patterns has become an auspicious pattern to wish future generations prosperity.