On the roof corners of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing, ten small beasts follow a figure riding a phoenix. On a lower-ranking Qing official building, the procession may shrink to nine, seven, five, three, or just one. The rider at the front is not included in the number of “beasts.”
A complete diagonal-ridge procession has several parts. The immortal riding a phoenix stands nearest the eave. The line of seated creatures behind him are the processional beasts, or zoushou (走兽). Farther up the ridge is a larger terminal figure. They may all look like roof animals from the ground, but official counts distinguish their positions.
Count the beasts behind the rider
Qing official architecture normally used one, three, five, seven, or nine processional beasts. More important buildings were generally permitted longer rows. The English guide published by Prince Kung’s Palace Museum describes this as a ranking system in which the number increases with the significance of the building.
The full nine-beast order begins with the dragon, followed by the phoenix, lion, heavenly horse, sea horse, suanni, yayu, xiezhi, and douniu. A roof allowed three uses the dragon, phoenix, and lion; a five-beast roof continues with the two horses.
These ceramic or glazed figures were tied to the physical construction of the ridge. A Henan Museum record connects such pieces with covering fasteners and securing ridge components. Their forms, colours, and numbers later carried decorative and hierarchical meanings as well.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony adds Hangshi
The ordinary sequence stops at nine. The Hall of Supreme Harmony adds a tenth figure after douniu: 行什 (Hangshi). Palace Museum research treats Hangshi as an extra tail figure beyond the prescribed nine, marking the hall’s exceptional status.
The hall’s ten beasts are therefore dragon, phoenix, lion, heavenly horse, sea horse, suanni, yayu, xiezhi, douniu, and Hangshi. The mounted immortal still stands in front, and another ridge component closes the upper end. Counting every figure produces a larger total, but that is no longer the official count of processional beasts.
The identity of the rider is less certain. Popular stories call him a relative of Jiang Ziya or King Min of Qi rescued by a phoenix. A review on China’s National Reading platform notes that neither story has historical evidence. The later stories are folklore, not proof of a historical identity.
The number rule belongs to a particular building system
The sequence of one, three, five, seven, and nine is most useful for Qing official architecture, especially high-ranking buildings with glazed tiles. Regional temples, ancestral halls, and houses developed other ridge ornaments, materials, and arrangements. Earlier roofs did not all carry the same complete procession.
A row of small animals can indicate rank only after the building’s period, region, and architectural system are known.