With only supporting roles to play, they were not being created in admiration of what they were themselves. "Emperors and sages were always being symbolized by such mythical beasts as dragons and phoenixes, in order to set them apart from normal people," says Chuang Pai-ho, a researcher of Chinese art history.
「所以帝王或神仙往往以龍、鳳等神獸為象徵，讓自己超越凡人」，中國美術史研究學者莊伯和表示。