What does it mean that there are stone drums or lions in front of the ancestral temple?

Stone drums and stone lions are ancient decorative art works, marking the master's rank and status. They are symbols of good luck, blessing and avoiding evil spirits.

Stone drums (door drums) are symbols of fame and power in all previous dynasties. According to legend, in order to show off their brilliant achievements, the generals who returned from ancient wars put the war drums in front of their doors, and later they gradually evolved into doorstones instead. The door drum stone has the meaning of beating drums, rising to the hall and listening to politics. Like this, it can only be set in the yamen or the government.

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Besides offering sacrifices to ancestors, ancestral temples have many uses. The ancestral hall is also the place where the patriarch exercises clan rights. Anyone who violates the clan rules is educated here until he is expelled from the ancestral hall, so it can also be said to be a court of feudal morality. Ancestral temples can also be used as social places for families; Some ancestral temples have affiliated schools, where children of ethnic minorities go to school.

Most ancestral temples have hall numbers, written by calligraphers with ethnic or foreign surnames, and made into gold plaques to be hung in the main hall, along with other plaques such as the origin of surnames, ethnic glory, and female chastity. The exquisite one is also equipped with couplets.

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