Roof  

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(Two dragons guarding a pearl)

The first time you visit Lungshan Temple, your eyes are inescapably drawn to the ornate roof. This is surely the most distinctive feature of the temple!The roof of the front hall features “two dragons guarding a pearl,” while atop the main hall there are “two dragons guarding a pagoda.” In both cases, the design of the roof has to do with the fact that the temple is dedicated to a Buddhist (not Daoist) deity. The roof ridges are broken up by raising the roof higher in the middle, while the roofs sweep down and finish off in dramatic flying eaves. They are decorated with “dragon and phoenix” motifs, a reminder of the tremendous things of which humans are capable.

(Two dragons guarding apagoda)

("Dragon and Phoenix"motifs)

The roofs at Lungshan Temple are extremely ornate. This is typical of temples in southern China, unlike the spare simplicity of temples in the north. The people of northern China back in imperials times were keenly aware of their relative proximity to the emperor in Beijing, and were reluctant to adopt an architectural style that might compete with the imperial palace for splendor. That is why temples and the homes of wealthy people in northern China are not highly ornate. The farther south you go, however, the farther away you are from the emperor, who can’t be bothered with such details any longer. The roof ridges begin to point upwards at the ends. This is how the swallowtail roof ridge came to be developed.