The Bronze Ox sitting near the Seventeen-Arch Bridge was cast in the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong and was called the Gold Ox in 1755. It rests on a carved stone pedestal and was as vivid as a real ox. It’s said that the ox was cast to prevent flood. The “Gold Ox Inscription”, an 80-character inscription composed by Emperor Qianlong was on the back of the Bronze Ox. The main idea of the inscription is that a legend has it that Da Yu of the Xia Dynasty used iron oxen to tame flooding rivers. Therefore, the gold ox is meant to thwart floods. The following generations followed the tradition of placing a bronze ox, which symbolizes the eternity of the Way of Heaven and the stability of the earthly realm. Even dragons try to steer clear of it, let alone crocodiles, turtles or other beasts. The bronze-cast magic ox will defend the vast Kunming Lake with thousands of hectares of waters, and the Dongting Lake and the Huai River in central China should also be guarded in the same way.

Everybody eulogizes Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but I admire Yao the Great more. Good omen falls on the Kunming Lake and I express my respect to god for it. This is written in the 44th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The Bronze Ox is also used to measure the water level of the Kunming Lake. According to scientific survey, the east bank of the Kunming Lake is about 10 meters higher than the groundwork of the Imperial Palace. In the past, when there was a downpour, areas around the Kunming Lake would be flooded. In order to prevent breaching of the east bank of the Kunming Lake and the subsequent flooding of the Forbidding City, the Bronze Ox was set up so that people could monitor the water level and how high the water was above the city wall of the imperial palace constantly so as to prevent flooding by reinforcing precaution measures.