故宫古建筑异兽文化研究

A Cultural Research on Mythical Animal Statues in the Palace Museum

异兽即想象中的动物,但是由于“异兽”读音通“益寿”,因而异兽形象受到了紫禁城帝王的欢迎。紫禁城古建筑的室内外都有着不同造型的异兽像,它们曾经或为紫禁城护卫的象征,或为帝王特殊愿望的反映。文章以紫禁城的龙生九子、凤、天安门华表上的犼、慈宁门前的麒麟、天一门前的獬豸等异兽为例,基于故宫丰富的历史,探讨故宫古建异兽的历史渊源,解读它们与帝王之间存在的不解之缘,揭示它们的文化寓意。

Mythical animals are,namely fictional beasts,they have long been favored by emperors in history since the Chinese pronunciation of“mythical animals”sounds like that of“longevity”.Different types of mythical animal statues are decorated in indoor and outdoor of the Forbidden City buildings.They have served as symbols of guards,or as carriers of emperors’special wishes.This research takes some mythical animals as case studies:dragon and its nine sons,phoenix,hou on oramental column in front of Tian’an Gate,kylin in front of Cining Gate,xiezhi in front of Tianyi Gate and so on.Based on abundant historical resources of the Forbidden City,the paper explores the origins of the mythical animals,interprets the relationship between the fictional beasts and the emperors,and reveals the cultural connotations of the magical animals.