huabiaos

Noun

huabiao (plural huabiaos)

1. A type of ceremonial column used in traditional Chinese architecture.
   • The most notable example of engraved dragons is on the stone columns of the Temple to Confucius at his birthplace in Chüfu. These are also found in the "cloud pillars" (single stone columns—huapiao in Chinese) outside the Tienanmen, while those at the Ming Tombs are still finer.[1961, Yutang Lin, “Studies in Form: Temples, Pagodas and the Plastic Arts”, in Imperial Peking: Seven Centuries of China, New York: Crown Publishers, →OCLC, page 125