4 Field Museum of Natural History 



massiveness, vigor, or elegance of construction, as the 

 case may be, foreshadows its scope and importance. 

 Color symbolism expressed by the hues of the glazed 

 tiles is another means of identification. In the gateway, 

 each passage is surmounted by a roof of its own, the 

 three roofs being so organically connected that the im- 

 pression is conveyed of a double roof. The graceful, 

 picturesque curves on the corners ("flying eaves," as 

 they are styled by the Chinese) are each surmounted by 

 four lions, believed to be faithful guardians and to ward 

 off evil influences from the monument. 



The roof is supported by eight struts (four on each 

 side), carved into the appearance of bamboo stems with 

 exuberant foliage. Rafters and tiling are so skilfully 

 brought out in the woodwork as to inspire a perfect 

 illusion. Sixteen carvings of figures in the round are 

 displayed over the roof: they represent military officers, 

 eight on horseback, and eight on foot, each in full armor, 

 equipped with spears, halberds, clubs, and other weap- 

 ons, and attended by footmen holding flags. 



The ridge-pole is adorned with a panel carved in 

 open work with two dragons struggling for the flamed 

 pearl, and surmounted by a calabash. The latter is an 

 emblem of the creative power of nature, of fertility and 

 abundance (corresponding to our horn of plenty). The 

 Taoist adepts used calabashes to store the elixir of im- 

 mortality, and druggists preserve their medicines in 

 them or in gourd-shaped vials. The ridge-poles are 

 flanked by dolphins, head downward and tail upward, 

 the belief being entertained that they safeguard the 

 structure from conflagration. The wooden balls sup- 

 ported by wires are intended for water bubbles rising 

 from the clouds by which the dragons are enveloped. 



In the dragon-columns the favorite personages of 

 Taoist mythology are represented. On the two inner 

 columns we note the so-called Eight Immortals, bestow- 



[4] 



