Huabiao

Ming Tombs, Beijing

These marble commemorative pillars are set up at the four corners of the stele pavilion, where they symbolize the four quarters of the world¹. Similar columns surround the Gate of Heavenly Peace in the Forbidden City. Folklore has it that in earlier times, wooden posts like these were set up around the country as landmarks, where the common people could also post their complaints.

¹In China, as in India and Southeast Asia (e.g., Angkor Wat), the world is square, alluding to the four quarters (north, east, south, and west) of the earth. The heavens, on the other hand, are round, alluding to the dome of the sky and the curvature of the horizon.