The lovely ridge beasts on the gate of Zhengyangmen

Zhengyangmen, commonly known as Qianmen, was fortunate to be repaired, and I had the chance to go up and record these architectural details that are not often seen on ordinary days. The ridge beasts, also known as roof beasts, are sculptural works placed on the ridges of houses, palaces, and other buildings in ancient Chinese architecture. The maximum number of ridge beasts on ancient Chinese buildings is ten, distributed on the hanging ridges at both ends of the house, and from bottom to top, they are in the following order: dragon, phoenix, lion, seahorse, celestial horse, xiaoyu, suanni, haetae, fighting bull, and xingshi. Ancient Chinese buildings are composed of one main ridge and four hanging ridges, collectively known as the 'Five Ridges'. On top of the Five Ridges, six artificial beasts are placed, collectively called 'Five Ridges and Six Beasts'. According to ancient Chinese texts, the beasts at both ends of the main ridge are called 'dragon's kiss', and the five beasts on the hanging ridges are, respectively: suanni, fighting bull, haetae, phoenix, and xiaoyu. The ancient ancestors of China called the six beasts on the Five Ridges divine beasts and worshipped them devoutly, saying that these six beasts could 'protect the ridge and dispel disasters', and were regarded as divine beasts for ridge protection. The one at the very front is called 'Immortal Riding a Phoenix' or 'Phoenix-Riding Immortal'. The Phoenix-Riding Immortal, also known as a true man or underworld king, is said to be the incarnation of King Min of Qi. There is a folk saying, 'Sun-baked King Min, at his wit's end', which tells of King Min of Qi during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, who was defeated by General Yue Yi of Yan and fled in panic, hitting a wall everywhere and finding no way out. In a moment of crisis, a phoenix flew in front of him, and King Min of Qi rode the phoenix to cross the great river, turning danger into safety. Placing this 'Immortal Riding a Phoenix' at the top of the eaves probably also implies the meaning of finding life in a desperate situation and turning danger into safety. After the little immortal, a row of small animals is seated in a sitting position, with the number varying according to the scale and rank of the building, usually odd numbers such as one, three, five, seven, etc.