,with seven marble bridges spanning over it . of these seven bridges,historical records say the middle one was for the exclusive use of the emperor and was accordingly called yuluqiao( imperial bridge). the bridges flanking it on either side were meant for the members of the royal family and were therefore called wanggongqiao( royal’s bridges). farther away on each side of the two were bridges for officials ranking above the third order and were named pinjiqiao( ministerial bridges). the remaining two bridges were for the use by the retinue below the third order and wre called gongshengqiao( common bridges). they anr the one in front of the supreme ancestral temple to the east and the one in front of the altar of land and grain to the west.
the two stone lions by the gate of tian’anmen, one on each side were meant as sentries. they gaze toward the middle axis, guarding the emperor’s walkway. in front of the gate stands a pair of marble columns called huabiao. they are elaborately cut in bas-relief following the pattern of a legendary dragon. behind the gate stands another pair of similar columns. the story of huabiao may be traced to a couple of sources. one of the versions accredits its invention to one of the chinese sage kings named yao, who was said to have set up a wooden pillar in order to allow the ordinary people to expose evil-doers, hence it was originally called a slander pillar. later it ws reduced to a signpost, and now it serves as an ornament.
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