During the rainstorm season, the drainage of the Forbidden City relies on this "faucet"
Zhou Qian
Since June, Beijing has entered the flood season, and drainage is one of the main measures for flood control. The Forbidden City in the center of Beijing has an excellent drainage system. Visitors to the Forbidden City will notice that many palace buildings have faucet-shaped drainage facilities at the end of the outdoor platform base. Their double corners are flared, lips raised, and their eyes are like copper bells, which makes them feel shocked. Some people think that this is Chishou, but it is not. Volume 13 of the Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty uploaded "Zhe, if the dragon is yellow and yellow, the north is called a land scorpion, from insects, sounds, or hornless Zhe", from which we can see that "Zhe" is not Horned Dragon.
This kind of drainage beast is actually an earthworm, and belongs to one of the "nine sons of dragons" in ancient legends. The eighty-one "Longsheng Nine Sons" part of the volume of "Sheng An Ji" written by Yang Shen, a writer of the Ming Dynasty, contains "Liu Yue Chong Chong, good water, so it stands on the bridge pillar", that is, "Long Sheng Jiu" The eldest son of "Zi" is an earthworm. This kind of dragon water is generally standing near stone bridges and pillars. In addition, the relevant records of the fourth volume of Zhengyang written by Chen Yaowen, a scribe of the Ming Dynasty, are "Liu Yue Chong Ba Chong Xia, good sex, so they stand on the bridge pillar". It can be seen that "Chong Ba Chong Xia" is a beetle. The ancients believed that during heavy rains and when the floods were flooding, the earthworms sucked water into their belly and discharged it in time to eliminate the flood. The ancient craftsmen who built the Forbidden City skillfully applied the image of the earthworm to the platform drainage system to make it work.
The drainage design of the earthworm is scientific. First of all, the elevation (the distance from a point along the vertical line to the absolute base surface) of the earthworm is conducive to drainage. The earthworm is located at the bottom of the base of the platform (the column is the column between the fences), and the water outlet of its mouth is the lowest point of the entire platform. Ancient craftsmen considered the need for drainage when paving the ground of the foundation, and paved the ground into a small slope that was not easy to detect, so that the farther the ground was from the building, the lower its elevation. At the bottom of the lookout, ancient artisans would install the earthworm to expose only the head, the tail as the water inlet, and the mouth as the water outlet, and the lowest elevation across the platform. In this way, the rainwater will soon be collected to the shape of the cockroach, and will enter from the tail of the cockroach and be discharged from the mouth. Secondly, the "belly" of the earthworm is conducive to temporary water storage. Rainwater on the ground of the abutment usually flows to the bottom of the railing and merges into the water inlet at the tail of the cricket. During the heavy rain period, the amount of rain is large, and the rainwater collected at the bottom of the fence is large. If the accumulation time is too long, the rainwater may infiltrate into the joint between the fence and the ground, making the soil in it loose, resulting in Security risks. There is a large space inside the earthworm, which is conducive to the rainwater at the bottom of the fence to quickly enter the water inlet, avoiding the accumulation of rainwater at the position of the fence. Once again, the shape of the cockroach protruding out of the platform can protect the platform. If the drain of the earthworm is aligned with the side wall of the platform, then the rainwater will flow down the side wall of the platform to the ground, which will not only pollute the stone on the side wall of the platform, but also cause potential safety hazards of the side wall seepage. Ancient artisans projected the shape of the earthworm to a certain size beyond the side wall of the platform base, which can make the rainwater drain forward, avoid the above hidden dangers, and form a good drainage effect. In the past, the 1142 beetles on the 3rd floor of the three main halls (Taihe Hall, Zhonghe Hall and Baohe Hall) were taken as an example. In the rainy season, these drainage beast shapes can not only play an effective drainage function, but also form a " The spectacle of Qianlong spitting water.
The use of earthworms embodies the ancient Chinese excellent architectural art. Judging from the shape, the earthworm is one of the "nine sons of the dragon". Its appearance is similar to other dragons in the Forbidden City, but also has certain differences, which makes the patterns and ornaments of the ancient buildings of the Forbidden City rich and diverse. Judging from the carving technique, the dragon horns, dragon eyes, dragon beards, dragon beaks and other parts of the earthworms have clear lines and convex and concave, giving people a vivid and vivid feeling, reflecting the exquisite carving skills of ancient Chinese craftsmen. Judging from the application methods, the earthworms are installed at the bottom of the observation column, which not only can effectively exert the drainage function, but also can skillfully reflect the unique image of the royal palace building, and perfectly integrate with the surrounding architectural environment. Judging from the decorative effect, the distribution of the earthworms at the end of the base is neat and orderly, and protrudes out of the side wall of the base, which not only shows the beauty of the convexity and concavity, but also makes the whole base more magnificent, giving the whole majesty And a sense of shock, to achieve a high degree of unity of practicality and artistry.
Earthworms also reflect the ancient township culture in my country. The so-called town objects are the evil spirits believed by the ancients, and the objects of Pike are mostly sneaky, demon, and enemy. The ancients hoped to use the town to resist various potential disasters. The earthworm is one of the ancient water beasts. The earthworms belong to the dragon, and the ancients believed that the dragon was the head of the ancient four spirits (dragon, phoenix, turtle, and lin). The red beetle is a mythical creature imagined in the hearts of the ancients. It has a sense of mystery and deterrence. It can calm water monsters and prevent them from causing floods. It can absorb water and spit water in function. It can drain rainwater from the base layer of the platform to the ground in time to avoid The foundation of ancient building was damaged by flooding. This township culture is an integral part of my country's traditional folk culture, which helps us understand ancient social culture and history.
In summary, the water-draining beast at the base of the Forbidden City platform, which integrates science, art and culture, is of great significance for us to interpret the architectural culture, architectural history and ancient architectural science of the Forbidden City.
(The author is a research librarian of the Palace Museum)