Mysterious Animals on the Palace Roofs of the Forbidden City

There are more or less rows of small animal statues on the roofs of each palace in the Forbidden City. They are mythical creatures in ancient Chinese legends, which represent all kinds of magic and wonderful things. Generally speaking, there are 3, 5, 7, or 9 animal statues on the roofs, and the order is also fixed, by Dragon, Phoenix, Lion, Sea Horse, Heavenly Steed, Suan Ni, Ya Yu, Xie Zhi, Dou Niu. The more animal statues, the higher palace rank. But there is an exception: Hall of Supreme Harmony, the highest-ranking ancient building in China. It has 10 mysterious animal statues on the roof. Also, they are arranged in a different order. It is one of mythical creatures living in the sea in ancient China myths and legends. Dragon is honored as the leader of marine benthos, having abilities of carrying rain with clouds. As the master of wind and rain, it is often used to symbolize auspiciousness. In ancient times, Dragon was also a symbol of the emperor and the imperial power.
 In Chinese legend, it is the king of all birds with a crown on its head, which is similar to today’s peacock. Its appearance is a sign of peace in the world. People will obtain happy lives blessed by it. Like a Dragon, it is considered as a noble and magical animal too. Phoenix can also symbolize the empress.
 The lion, a symbol of bravery and majesty, is the custodian in Buddhism. The lion is the king of the beasts. It has a sturdy and strong body, and great momentum. Lion is regarded as the beast that guarantees the peace of the palace. The governors think that the lion can not only avoid evil, but also bring auspicious things.
 The Sea Horse comes and the calamities can be turned into blessings. It is a heroic mythical creature in China’s ancient mythologies. At the same time, it symbolizes the royal’s stateliness.  
 In Chinese mythology, Heavenly Steed is a galloping steed with no horns and no wings. In order to show the difference with other horses, clouds are often drawn under the horse, which reflects that it can run across the sky. It is said that Heavenly Steed can chase the wind and sun. 
 Shaped like a lion, it likes smoke very much. Therefore, the image generally appears on the incense burner. The ancient book records that it looks fierce that can eat tigers and leopards. Suan Ni is a symbol of the mighty beasts. 
 As a kind of combination of fish and beast, Ya Yu is the leader of all kinds of fishes. It is generally believed that Ya Yu is the ‘Qiu Long’, a kind of small dragon with horns in ancient legends. It has the magical power to change weather into rainy days in order to avoid fire disasters.
 Xie Zhi is similar to a unicorn, who has thick hair all over its body with bright eyes. It usually has a horn on its forehead. In ancient Chinese culture, Xie Zhi has always been regarded as a symbol of fairness and justice. It is capable of discriminating evil and loyalty. Its positive image is intended to inherit the spirit of the law.
 It is an auspicious animal which can bring good luck to people. Dou Niu has the functions of relieving evil and protecting the house.
 

Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10 roof animals.

Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most important and highest ranked palace in the Forbidden City. It is also called Golden Carriage Palace, which was used to hold significant activities like emperors’ birthdays and wedding ceremonies. Why the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most special and highest ranked one? It is not only because of its size and architecture style, but also because it has 10 animal statues on each roof ridge, which cannot be seen anywhere else. 

The 10th animal statue is Hangshi. It is like a standing monkey with wings on its back, and holding a vajra pestle. The image is like a Thunder God in Chinese legend. Its function is to prevent lighting strokes. Thus it is usually placed on the roof. There are only 8 Hang Shi statues in China’s ancient buildings, which are all located on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. 

In addition, the first nine animal statues don’t follow the general order. The animals on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony are Dragon, Phoenix, Lion, Sea Horse, Heavenly Steed, Ya Yu, Suan Ni, Xie Zhi, Dou Niu and Hangshi by order. As for the reason, no relevant historical records have been found so far. 

 See also: Interesting Animal Statues in the Forbidden City