「一龍二鳳三獅子，海馬天馬六狎魚，狻猊獬豸九鬥牛，最後行什像個猴。」

Ten guardian rooftop animals: “The forefront guardian Rooster-Riding Immortal, (1st) the Dragon, (2nd) the Phoenix, (3rd) the Lion, (4th) the Sea Horse, (5th) the Heavenly Horse, (6th) the Yayu, (7th) the Suanni, (8th) the Xiezhi, (9th) the Douniu, and (10th) the Xingshi”

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       普天之下，莫非王土；放眼望去，唯有北京故宮的太和殿可以一舉頭便看到它們的真容，從古到今就只有故宮太和殿擁有這十隻脊獸。

It reminds me of a Chinese ancient saying from “Shi-jing / Book of Odes” - “All lands belong to the King”, this reflects the sovereignty of the Ancient China from the King’s perspective.

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       太和殿俗稱金鑾殿，是故宮最南面的大殿。中國自古把南方視作至尊位置，帝王宮殿或神廟都坐落於正子午線上（坐北向南）。太和殿是最高皇權的象徵。

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is situated at the southern part of the Forbidden City, the south-facing / south-north direction line is traditionally considered very auspicious, prime and imperial.

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       十數，合十，十隻脊獸就只有象徵最高皇權、至高等級的宮殿 - 太和殿才獨有。

Being the highest-ranking ancient building in China, the Hall of Supreme Harmony has its unique and distinctive Double Eave Hip Roof, this type of roof is only used in royal palace and Confucian temples.

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       在中國的建築學上，太和殿的屋頂是最高規格的重檐廡殿頂，每條屋脊上都安放獸件 - 稱為脊獸。《大清會典》對脊獸的排列有著詳細的描述，脊獸的數目和種類有著非常嚴格的等級區別，獸件愈多，建築級別愈高。

The more animal statues, the higher the palace rank; the Hall of Supreme Harmony (also known as the Golden Carriage Palace) of the Chinese Forbidden City is the only palace having the full 10 mythical animal statues on the rooftop, which cannot be seen anywhere else. 10 is an auspicious number; it represents perfection; which symbolises the highest imperial power.

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        脊獸多由瓦或硫璃瓦制成，原意是用來壓制屋頂，固定屋脊，防風防雨。另外因為中國的古建築一般以木為材料，比較易燃，瓦制的脊獸便可形成隔火作用。

Made up of tile or glazed tile, the rooftop animals were once used to add weights evenly to the rooftop, it also improved the drainage of rainwater and protected the building against storm and rain. Since ancient buildings in China were generally made of wood and relatively flammable, surrounding these spaces with tiles-made rooftop animals was an effective way of improving safety special thanks to their fire resistance.

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       這種功能性的建築，在古人的美學洗滌下，慢慢構建生動的雕塑造型，形成古建工藝。加上古人對神獸的尊重敬畏，便制成不同形式的神獸，表達古人對神獸圖騰的崇拜及彰顯皇權的地位。古人亦非常相信神獸能辟邪鎮宅，給社會帶來吉祥順遂。

Coupled with the functional aspect of the architecture, the ancient architect added on fantastic aesthetic value of construction to the design of rooftop animals. This also reflected how the traditional act of worship were built on mythical animals. It was believed that the mythical animals could ward off evils and bring good luck to the community.