Menshen

Okay, so imagine you have a house and you want to make sure bad people don't come in. You put something at the entrance to stop them, like a fence or a gate.

Menshen are like the gatekeepers of ancient Chinese buildings. They are stone statues or figures that are placed at the entrance of a building or a tomb to protect it from bad spirits or evil people.

Menshen can be either male or female, and they are often depicted with fearsome faces and weapons, like swords or spears. Sometimes they even wear armor or have protective animals with them, like lions or dragons.

People believe that menshen have special powers to keep the place safe, so they are very important. And that's why you can see menshen in many traditional Chinese buildings, temples, graveyards, and even modern buildings today!