Chinese Imperial Roof Figures

Chinese imperial roof figures are small glazed ceramic statuettes set in a line along the hip ridges of palaces, government buildings and some temples. In Chinese they are called zǒu shòu or yán shòu, roughly "walking beasts" or "eave beasts". Only official buildings were allowed to use them.

The procession

A typical line starts at the lower end of the ridge with a man riding a phoenix. Behind him walk a series of mythical animals, and the line ends with a dragon head fixed to the ridge, representing the authority of the state. Folklore explains the leading man in several ways. In one story he was an official hanged from the gable for treason, with the beasts poised to pounce if he misbehaved; in another he is an immortal riding a phoenix or qilin.

Rank by number

The number of figures reflected the importance of the building and the duties carried out inside. Counts are normally odd numbers, with three or five on minor buildings and nine as the usual maximum. The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, the main throne hall, is the only building in China with ten: the nine standard beasts plus a unique figure called the hangshi, holding a sword.

Materials and colour

The figures are glazed fired clay in the same colours as the roof tiles. On imperial buildings they are yellow, the emperor's colour. Because they sit on the ridges of hip roofs, which are highly visible on Chinese buildings, they formed part of the building's public signal of status.

After 1911

When the empire ended in 1911, the sumptuary rules lapsed. Roof figures have since appeared on restaurants, shops and tourist boats as decoration.

Meanings

Popular accounts give fixed meanings and protective powers for each animal, but these traditions vary between sources and regions.