Said to be the shên yang, or spirit sheep, which takes away seditious and disloyal intentions from the minds of the people.
T'ao T'ieh (饕餮). This is a monstrous tiger-like animal with horns. It ornaments every yamen entrance exactly facing the magistrate's office and is called t'an (貪) by the people. Opposite the animal is a picture of the sun, which the monster appears to be intent upon devouring. The sun is representative of the ruling emperor, and the picture is supposed to be a continual warning to the officials to avoid covetousness and rebellion. This monster also appears on old rice basins, etc., in the form of a head without the body or a headless trunk to warn people against the vice of gluttony. In the yamen entrance there is another picture of a crane and a deer these face outward toward the people the idea is that if the official is not avaricious there will be long life and spring on all sides, lu ho t'ung ch'un (鹿鶴同春). The people eat hartshorn in great quantities and at great expense, hoping for long life, as both the crane and the deer are believed to live to a great age.
Pi hsi (贔屭) A male and female tortoise borne down by affliction. This emblem is now largely used as a pedestal for tombstones, one head looking each way. The allusion is to the tortoise bearing its great burden of grief from which it cannot be relieved.
Lang pei (狼狽), a fabulous animal said to be a native of water regions, but it can be at home on land; it is popularly believed to have short hind legs, unsuitable for locomotion, so when it desires to move from one place to another it is necessary for two animals to be together, when one rides the other making use of the two pairs of fore legs. This combination is used as a symbol of two persons joined together for wickedness.
Kan (豻) is a monstrous scaly beast with one horn, the image of which is painted on the wall above the doors of jails, as a warning to people to repent of their evil deeds and not enter therein.
