1, positive ridge

The main ridge is the most important on the whole roof, also called the big ridge and the flat ridge. It is located at the top of the roof, where two slopes meet (as shown below). Generally speaking, it is in the position of "mother" on the ancient roof, and almost all other roofs are "born" from it.

In our common palace buildings, the two ends of the main ridge are often decorated with kissing animals, which has been popularized by the former palace kings. It was called "kiss" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (previously called by different dynasties), and it was mainly used to swallow the main ridge. On the one hand, it is practical to touch the emperor and bark at Du Diansen's top, on the other hand, it also has the function of beauty and lightning protection.

2. Vertical ridge

Below the main ridge, the roof descending from both ends of the main ridge along the front and back slopes is called "vertical ridge" (as shown below), which is especially common in buildings such as rest peak, suspended peak and hard peak.

Some "small objects" are often placed on vertical ridges. For example, on the vertical ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, there are ten small animals, which are used as the decoration of tile nails and have the function of fixing glazed tiles. At the same time, according to the number, they also represent the level of the main hall. They are commonly known as "spiny beasts".

3. Mountains

This word has two pronunciations: shovel [qiāng] and shovel [qi dang]; It means "opposite direction" and "support". In ancient buildings, the roof ridge mainly refers to the roof under the vertical ridge, which forms a 45-degree angle with the vertical ridge and plays a supporting role on the vertical ridge (as shown below). It is most common at rest peak. Of course, sometimes the lower eaves of a double-eaved roof (such as the top of a double-eaved platform and the second eaves at the top of a double-eaved mountain) are called "ridges", which means two eaves. On the ridge, there are often "spiny beasts" that symbolize auspiciousness.

4. girth length

Around the ridge, it is usually found on the roof with two eaves. It refers to the ridge around the roof between the upper and lower roofs (the ridge where the lower eaves intersect the roof), so it is called "the ridge". (as shown in the figure below)

5. Ji Bo

At many rest peaks, mountain flowers will form on both sides of the roof (as shown below):

The horizontal roof below the mountain flower is called Ji Bo (as shown below):

Few people know about the roof culture of ancient buildings in China now, and Gong also hopes to let you know something about it through this article. After all, this is a precious wealth handed down by our ancestors.