Hua Biao
In the opening ceremony, many symbols of Chinese culture are used. In the scene shown in the following figure, the raised platforms are used to give the actors an opportunity to display their talents in a height. The platform is designed after a famous Chinese art called Hua Biao. Like many other items used in the opening ceremony, the platform is a nice deviation from its original meaning and use.
The most famous Hua Biao is the pair outside Tian An Men, as seen in the picture below. The body of the Hua Biao is a column made by white marble, or Han Bai Yu (汉白玉) in Chinese. Originally, Hua Biao is a wood column to be put on the cross road. It is not tall at all and a plate or something like that is put on top of the column. The purpose of the wood column was to collect people’s feedback on local and royal rulers. It’s more like today’s anonymous poll.
When the time pass by, the wood column yeilded its way to raised marble column. The goal also changed from listening from people to depicting the authority of emperors. The body of the column is decorated with dragon and cloud, which can only be used by royal families. The animal on top of the the Hua Biao is called Hou. Hou is a son of dragon, but it doesn’t want to be a real dragon. Hou’s favorate action is to expect, so it is often seen on Hua Biao or top of the roof.
One duty of Hous in Forbidden City is to supervise the work of emperor. There are two Hua Biaos outside Tian An Men. The Hous on top of them are called Wang Jun Gui (meaning expecting you back) and are facing south. They will be expecting the emperors coming back when the rulers are out. “Coming back to the Forbidden City, thousands of things are waiting for your attention.” There are two more Hua Biaos just inside Tian An Man. The Hous on top are called Wang Jun Chu (meaning expecting you out) and are facing north. When the emperors are staying in their palace for too long, the Hous will call the attention “Coming out from the Forbidden City. Go to your people and experience their hardship.”
The most famous Hua Biao is the pair outside Tian An Men, as seen in the picture below. The body of the Hua Biao is a column made by white marble, or Han Bai Yu (汉白玉) in Chinese. Originally, Hua Biao is a wood column to be put on the cross road. It is not tall at all and a plate or something like that is put on top of the column. The purpose of the wood column was to collect people’s feedback on local and royal rulers. It’s more like today’s anonymous poll.
When the time pass by, the wood column yeilded its way to raised marble column. The goal also changed from listening from people to depicting the authority of emperors. The body of the column is decorated with dragon and cloud, which can only be used by royal families. The animal on top of the the Hua Biao is called Hou. Hou is a son of dragon, but it doesn’t want to be a real dragon. Hou’s favorate action is to expect, so it is often seen on Hua Biao or top of the roof.
One duty of Hous in Forbidden City is to supervise the work of emperor. There are two Hua Biaos outside Tian An Men. The Hous on top of them are called Wang Jun Gui (meaning expecting you back) and are facing south. They will be expecting the emperors coming back when the rulers are out. “Coming back to the Forbidden City, thousands of things are waiting for your attention.” There are two more Hua Biaos just inside Tian An Man. The Hous on top are called Wang Jun Chu (meaning expecting you out) and are facing north. When the emperors are staying in their palace for too long, the Hous will call the attention “Coming out from the Forbidden City. Go to your people and experience their hardship.”
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Page last modified on Tuesday 12 of August, 2008 12:22:20 EDT by admin.
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