Chinese guardian lions, also called
Fu (Foo) Lions,
lions of Buddha, or sometimes
stone lionShishi , also called Lion of Fo / Foo / Fu, Lion of Buddha or Chinese guardian lions, is, in Chinese art, a stylized figure of a snarling lion. Its original significance was as a guardian presence in a Buddhist temple...
s (石獅,
PinyinPinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin , is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"...
: Shíshī) in
Chinese artChinese art is art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art dynasties,...
, are a common representation of the
lionThe Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
in pre-modern China, which is believed to have powerful
mythicChinese Mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written are several aspects to Chinese mythology, including creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Imperial palaces, temples, emperors' tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the
Han DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(
206 BC-Roman Republic:* In the Battle of Ilipa in Spain, the Carthaginian generals, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, are defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio. Mago retreats to Gades and then sails for the Balearic Islands.* The Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio secures Gades, thus...
-220 AD), until the end of the empire in 1911.
Lions of Fo are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.
Pairs of Chinese guardian lions, also called
Chinese stone lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local
ChinatownA Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese residents, usually outside of Greater China. Chinatowns are present throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe....
s.
In
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
, the guardian lion is known as a Snow Lion and similar to Japanese
shishiShishi , also called Lion of Fo / Foo / Fu, Lion of Buddha or Chinese guardian lions, is, in Chinese art, a stylized figure of a snarling lion. Its original significance was as a guardian presence in a Buddhist temple...
. In
MyanmarBurma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
they are called
ChintheThe Chinthe is a leogryph that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas and temples in Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. The chinthe is featured prominently on the kyat, the currency of Burma. Chinthes almost always in pairs, and serve to protect the pagoda...
and gave their name to the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Chindit soldiers.
Appearance
The lions are traditionally carved from decorative stone, such as marble and granite or cast in bronze or iron. Because of the high cost of these materials and the labor required to produce them, private use of Imperial guardian lions was traditionally reserved for wealthy or elite families. Indeed, a traditional symbol of a family's wealth or social status was the placement of Imperial guardian lions in front of the family home. However, in modern times less expensive lions, mass produced in concrete and resin, have become available and their use therefore no longer restricted to the elite.
The lions are always presented in pairs, with the male on the left and the female on the right. The male lion has his right paw on a ball, which represents the "
Flower of lifeThe Flower of Life is the modern name given to a geometrical figure composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles, that are arranged so that they form a flower-like pattern with a sixfold symmetry like a hexagon...
" The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death. Other styles have both lions with a single large
pearlA pearl is a hard, generally spherical object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and...
in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed.
According to
feng shuiFeng shui is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi...
, when facing the entrance the male lion with the globe should be placed on the right with the female on the left.
History
Interestingly, there has never been evidence of lions being indigenous to China; however
Asiatic lionThe Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
s were once quite common in neighboring
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. These Asiatic lions found in nearby India are the ones depicted in Chinese culture. As Buddhism was spread in China by traveling Buddhist priests and monks from India, they brought with them stories about stone Asiatic or Indian lions guarding the entries to Indian Buddhist temples & monasteries and the palaces of Indian Kings. Chinese sculptors modeled lion statues after native dogs (compare the Chow Chow, Pekingese, Shi Tzu, Shar-Pei, Pug, etc., and closely related dog breeds originating in ancient China called
Foo DogFoo Dog or Fu Dog refers to any of the following closely related Dog breeds originating in ancient China which resemble the Chinese guardian lions and hence are also called Lion Dogs:...
s) for use outside their temples and palaces, as nobody in ancient China had ever seen a real lion before. The mythic version of the animal was known as the Lion of Fo, the word Fo 佛 being Chinese for Buddha. The Chinese word for lion is "Shi" which was adopted from their
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
name "Sinh" in the neighboring India.
Lions of Fo are often created in pairs, with the male traditionally sitting on the left playing with a ball (globe) and the female sitting on the right with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.
The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced to Han China as the protector of
dharmaThe term , is an Indian spiritual and religious term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term. A Hindu's Dharma is affected by a person's age, class, occupation, and sex. In Indian languages it can be equivalent simply to "religion", depending on context...
and these lions have been found in religious art as early as 208 BC. Gradually they were incorporated as guardians of the Chinese Imperial dharm. Lions seemed appropriately regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since.
The mythic Lion is sometimes associated with feng shui, and are often called Fu Lions. Fu means 'happiness' in Chinese; however, the term "Fu Lion," and its variant Foo Lion, are not used in Chinese. Instead, they are known as Rui Shi (瑞獅) ("auspicious lions") or simply Shi ("lions").
There are various styles of imperial guardian lions reflecting influences from different time periods, imperial dynasties, and regions of China. These styles vary in their artistic detail and adornment as well as in the depiction of the lions from fierce to serene.
It is believed that the
Chow ChowChow Chow, or Chow, is a breed of dog that was first developed in Mongolia about 4,000 years ago and was later introduced into China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan , which literally means "puffy-lion dog."...
breed of Chinese dogs is one of the native dogs used as the original model for the creation of Chinese guardian lions. No one in China had ever seen a real
lionThe Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
before. Hearing the stories carried by Buddhist monks, Chinese sculptors modeled statues of Fu or Foo lions, the lions of Buddha, after these native dogs, thus creating an icon of an animal never before seen in China, the Chinese guardian lion. Chow Chow is a
breedDog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
of
dogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
that was first developed in
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
about 4,000 years ago and was later introduced into
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, where it is referred to as
Songshi Quan (
PinyinPinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin , is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"...
: sōngshī quǎn 鬆獅犬), which literally means "
puffy-lion dogFoo Dog or Fu Dog refers to any of the following closely related Dog breeds originating in ancient China which resemble the Chinese guardian lions and hence are also called Lion Dogs:...
."
Image gallery
In the above gallery, note that the standing lion (a northern style
nianIn Chinese mythology, a Nian is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and is afraid of the color red. The Chinese Lion Dance is...
) is wearing ornaments similar to those seen at the top of the article but does not have the shin armor.
See also
- Foo Dog
Foo Dog or Fu Dog refers to any of the following closely related Dog breeds originating in ancient China which resemble the Chinese guardian lions and hence are also called Lion Dogs:...
, dog breeds originating in China that resemble "Chinese guardian lions" and hence are also called Foo or Fu Dogs or Lion Dogs.
- Culture of China
The Culture of China is one of the world's oldest and most complex cultures...
- Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
- Door god
A door god is a Chinese decoration placed on each side of an entry to a temple, home, business, etc., which is believed to keep evil spirits from entering....
- Lion dance
Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume .Asiatic lions found in nearby India are the ones depicted in the Chinese culture.-History:...
, another use of lion imagery in costume and motion.
- Shisa
Shīsā is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often found in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawa mythology. Many people put a pair of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from various evils...
similar lion statues on the islands of Okinawa, Japan
- Nian
In Chinese mythology, a Nian is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and is afraid of the color red. The Chinese Lion Dance is...
to compare with a similar but horned (unicorn) mythical beast
- Pixiu
Pixiu or Pi Yao originally known as Pi Xie is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature considered to be a very powerful protector to practitioners of Feng Shui. It resembles a winged lion. Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an influential and auspicious creature for wealth...
to compare with a similar but winged mythical beast
- Haetae
In Chinese and Korean mythology, the haetae is a legendary creature which resembles a lion but is, in fact, a fire-eating dog. It is believed as a guardian against disaster and prejudice. Furthermore, they are said to guard against all forms of disruptive or violent change...
to compare with similar lion-like statues in Korea
- Koma-inu to compare its use in Japanese culture
- Chinese mythology
Chinese Mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written are several aspects to Chinese mythology, including creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
- Asiatic lion
The Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
s found in nearby IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
are the ones depicted in the Chinese culture.
- Tibetan Snow Lion
External links