Tile Dragon on Forbidden City Rooftop
As I mentioned in my last post, Chinese art and architecture is full of animal symbolism. Though the most frequently portrayed animal is the dragon, other animals, both real and imaginary, appear ubiquitously at landmark locations throughout Beijing. Serving as both icons of power and protection, these animals often stand at the gates to courtyards and entrances to palaces and temples. I compiled a photo montage of some of our favorites that we "collected" during our visit.
Male Shi (guardian lion) at Lama Temple. The ball under his paw symbolizes the flower of life. The male shi is said to guard the structure while the female shi guards the interior of a building.
Bronze Female Shi in the Forbidden City. Female shi often appear with a baby shi under one paw. Typically, shi appear in pairs with the female on the left and the male on the right.
Bronze Elephant in the Forbidden City. The Chinese revere the elephant as a symbol of energy, strength and power. Think less Dumbo and more Indian battle elephants crashing through the woods in the movie Alexander.
This fellow was my favorite. He's a Qilin, a mythological chimera-like creature that combines features of the dragon, ox, deer, fish and lion. The Qilin was said to be a pet of the deities and only appear in places ruled by a wise and benevolent leader. Fittingly, this Qilin was located in one of the inner courts in the Forbidden City.
Nine Dragon Screen in the Forbidden City. This wall was one of Matt's favorites. Each dragon represents one of the nine forms of the dragon in Chinese mythology and has 117 scales (81 of positive yang essence and 36 of negative ying essence).
2 comments:
Awesome! Love dragons..was born in the year of the dragon...and a dragon tattoo has been on my list for a long time, I just can't decide between a Chinese dragon or a Welsh dragon...the Welsh dragon is winning by the way. I like the Qilin as well! Cool!
Oh, and that elephant looks so SAD! I want to hug it!
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