Chinese glazed roof tile

Glazed tiles (Chinese: 琉璃瓦) have been used in China since the Tang dynasty as a material for roofs.

Glazed tubular tiles (see monk and nun) are moulded into tube shape on a wooden mould, then cut into halves along their length, producing two tubular tiles, each semicircular in section.

A tube-shaped clay mould can be cut into four equal parts, with a cross-section of a quarter of a circle, then glazed into a four-plate tile.

[citation needed] Glazed tubular tiles used at the eave edge have an outer end made into a round shape top, often moulded with the pattern of a dragon.

Eave-edge plate tiles have their outer edges decorated with triangles, to facilitate rain-shedding.