The Pepper Figure is a sacred animal in the Forbidden City with a snail-like shell on its back.

Jiao Tu looks like a snail and a clam. Encountering foreign aggression will always be the shell mouth closed, people will use it in the door, in addition to take the meaning of "tightly closed", in order to peace, but also because of its hideous face to be responsible for guarding the gateway, guarding the evil demon.

There is another reason, that is, Jiao Tu "nature of seclusion", loyal to their duties, it is often decorated as the gate on the iron ring beast or blocking the door of the drum, so that it takes care of a family's peace of mind, known as the folk "gentle nature" of the Dragon.

Expanded Information

The dragon, in the process of forming its image, had gathered a variety of strange beasts from all over the world. Later on, these strange beasts combined one of the characteristics of the dragon while developing the image of the dragon, resulting in the saying that the dragon has nine different sons.

The nine sons of the dragon are: Paddy Viper, Mockingbird, Jairus, Gui Tuo, Pepper Tuo, Chi Chi, Pu Jong, Mythical Geibi and Prisoner Bull. However, the sons of the dragon in Han folklore are much more than these. Quodid, Pixi, Taotie and so on are all said to be the sons of the dragon.

The so-called nine sons of the dragon, not the dragon happened to have nine sons. Chinese Han traditional culture, to nine to indicate that very much, there is a supreme position, nine is an imaginary number, but also the number of noble, so used to describe the dragon's son.