Chinese house charms refer to Chinese numismatic talismans placed within a house to bring good fortune to the place, or to balance the house according to Feng shui. These charms date to the Han dynasty and were placed in houses even while the building was under construction; they were also placed in temples and other buildings. Many traditional Chinese houses tend to display images of the menshen (threshold guardian). Some buildings were built with a foundation stone (石敢當), based on the Mount Tai in Shandong, with the inscription tài shān zài cǐ (泰山在此, Mount Tai is here) or tài shān shí gǎn dāng (泰山石敢當, the stone of Mount Tai dares to resist). Ridgepoles in Chinese buildings are usually painted red and are decorated with red paper, cloth banners, and Bagua charms. Five poison charms are often used to deter unwanted human visitors as well as animal pests. Many Chinese house charms are small bronze statues of bearded old men assigned to protect the house from evil spirits, the God of War, Zhong Kui (鍾馗), and the Polar Deity. House charms tend to have inscriptions inviting good fortune into the home like cháng mìng fù guì (長命富貴, longevity, wealth and honour), fú shòu tóng tiān (福壽同天, good fortune and longevity on the same day), zhāo cái jìn bǎo (招財進寶, attracts wealth and treasure), sì jì píng ān (四季平安, peace for the four seasons), wǔ fú pěng shòu (五福捧壽, five fortunes surround longevity), shàng tiān yán hǎo shì (上天言好事, ascend to heaven and speak of good deeds), and huí gōng jiàng jí xiáng (回宮降吉祥, return to your palace and bring good fortune).