On the loess plateau of northern China, cave is the residential house for the local people. The vault of the cave is considered the sky, and the floor is earth. To live under the round sky and on square earth is to live inside mother's body of the universe. The facade is the wood structure portion with an arched door and window. Above the middle cross bar is considered the sky, and the middle lattice paper-cut of a red "rotating flower" is pasted in the center of the sky window; and a totem animal in the middle of the 36 lattice, with four corner flowers, making a diamond square "36 lattice windows of clouds." This is a theme art work featuring perpetual life in residential architecture. The cave door is also fully decorated. The threshold is earth, and the cross bar lintel is the sky. Two raised carving objects
in round, rotating pattern on the cross bar are symbols of the sun and the moon. There are two animal stone blocks sitting at each side of the door. At times, it is hard to select a perfect geographical spot and the cave is built with a view of uneven mountain passes from afar. As this was considered a vicious sign by the locals, the owner of the cave would need to forge a stone cylinder to set up in front
of the cave door for safeguard. However, this safeguard device was later used to tie up donkeys or horses, and became known mistakenly as the "horse stake." The stone cylinder is often decorated with auspidous patterns like "Eight men bringing in treasures," "Monkeys eating peaches." With its simple, unpretentious style and a variety of designs, it has become known as the horse stake art series.
In northern Shaanxi, it is customary to paste various symbols on top of a newly erected cave for safeguard. These symbols, rooted in original Chinese philosophy, represent an important part in folk art.
