Roofline Ornaments - 12

In the ancient Chinese theory of the Five Elements, each had an associated color. To the ancient Chinese, yellow represents earth - and the Earth, which for a long time was considered the center of the universe by our ancestors. Pictorially, yellow was placed in the middle of the five elements, to indicate that the earth is central and respected. Later, this notion, combined with the idea of the great unification of Confucianism, bolstered the view that the united royal family, with the Han nationality as its main body, was an empire in the position of central earth, different from the surrounding foreign countries. Thus, yellow was associated with homage through connection to earth, providing a rational reasoning for the emperor's legitimacy and rule.