【正文】 guarding in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. The male lion was usually put on the left, playing with an embroidered design ball, which is said to show the emperor39。s supreme power. The other one on the right is the female lion, playing with a lion cub with its left paw symbolizing prosperity of the royal family39。s offsprings. Across the Gate of Supreme Harmony , we e to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Here the emperor held grand ceremonies such as the emperor39。s enthronement ceremony, the wedding ceremony, dispatched generals to the battles, and the emperor received the successful candidates of the imperial examination etc. Also, the emperor held grand feasts each year on New Year39。s Day, Winter solstice and his own birthday. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is meters high with double layered roof that represents the highest construction rank of all. Now, let39。s ascend the stairs and move on to look at articles in display on two sides of the hall. On the top layer of the terrace stands a sundial on the east an imperial grain measure on the west. The sundial is an ancient time measure or a timemeasuring apparatus used in the old days. The sundial tells the time by seeing the shadow of the metal pin on the sundial, which has an inclination angle of 50 degrees with the graduation on it. The grain measure was used as the national standard measure in agriculture in the old days. Both the grain measure and the sundial were symbols of the emperor39。s justice and rectitude. There are two pairs of incense burners in the shape of bronze dragonheaded tortoises and bronze cranes placed on each side. They are both symbols of longevity. When you look up the building in the Forbidden City, you can see mythical animal statues on the eaves of each building. Originally, there used to be big wooden nails on the roof to prevent the tiles from sliding down. Later they were replaced by glazed tiles, which were shaped into mythical animal statues for better beautification. They are symbols of auspiciousness and peace, and people believed that they are capable of subduing fire and warding off evil spirits. Inside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, you can see the gilded caisson ceiling high above the throne with a magnificent sculpture of a curling dragon playing with a huge pear was called “Xuanyuan Jing” ， representing orthodox succession. This hall is supported by 72 giant columns inside. In the old day