Full Answer
What are Chinese guardian lions called?
Chinese or Imperial guardian lions are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi. They informally known in colloquial English as lion dogs or foo dogs.
What animal looks like a lion in Korea?
Haetae to compare with similar lion-like statues in Korea. Foo dog, dog breeds originating in China that resemble "Chinese guardian lions" and hence are also called Lion Dogs. Asiatic lions found in nearby India are the ones depicted in the Chinese culture. Lion dance, another use of lion imagery in costume and motion.
What does a stone lion mean in China?
Chinese Stone Lion. Stone lion is carved out of stone, which is the common ornament in Chinese traditional architecture, such as imperial palace, temple, Buddha pagoda, bridge, mausoleum, mansion, gardens and so on. Lion indicates safety and luck in China.
Why is the Lion the national animal of China?
In Chinese culture, lion is a mythical figure rather than real animal. Together with Kylin, lion is regarded as the divine beast. After its introduction, lion gradually became the mascot outside the gate, for Chinese people think that lion can drive away the evil spirits.
History
These stylized guardian lions, known in Chinese as shi or shishi (石獅 shíshī /shrr-shrr/ 'stone-lions' — there's a popular tongue-twister associated with the tones), sometimes as 'Foo Dogs' in English, originating not in China itself, but in Persia.
The Male Lion
The symbolism of the lions begins with their gender, one male, one female, reflective of the long Chinese Taoist tradition of the yin and the yang, familiar in the west as the white and black 'tadpole' forms intertwined with their opposite-shaded eye.
The Female Lion
As the male lion is representative of the male attributes of yang, so the female is representative of the female power of yin.
Heritage as Art
The form of the lions may have settled down in terms of the common elements, but that still leaves considerable room for the interpretation of the individual artist in their representation.
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The Stone Lion Gallery
To show the immense variation between individual lions, below are some for you to examine. See the range of expressions, features, and likenesses.
Description of This Chinese Lion
Traditionally, fu dogs are massive sculptures made of stone and mounted on heavy bases decorated with engraved symbols that specialists call xumizuo.
Use and Meaning of the Foo Dog
The lion as presented here is one of the most popular creatures in Chinese mythology.
Yin-yang Duality
It is clear: the Chinese lion is a figure full of symbolism. Often, as we have said, they are found in pairs.
The Hunter of Negative Energy
The fu dog apparently has the ability to “ cleanse shar chi “, a negative force that Chinese sages identified as emanating from sharp corner objects, crowds that are too compact and structures that protrude from the ground in an unnatural way (such as street lamps).
A Balancing Element
In the same vein as the previous theory, the fu dog would have the capacity to balance energies and, by the same token, temperaments that are too impetuous. Thus, its simple presence would reduce the number of thefts, fights and even road accidents.
Meaning of the Chinese Lion in Feng Shui
Given the scope of the phenomenon, many different traditions have been interested in dog fu.
An Emblematic Example: the Guardian Statues of the Forbidden City
The many tourists who visit China each year have no shortage of wonders to visit.
Overview
Etymology
Guardian lions are referred to in various ways depending on language and context. In Chinese they are traditionally called simply shi (Chinese: 獅; pinyin: shī) meaning lion—the word shi itself is thought to be derived from the Persian word šer. Lions were first presented to the Han court by emissaries from Central Asia and Persia, and were already popularly depicted as guardian figures by th…
Description
Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits. They are also used in other artistic contexts, for example on door-knockers, and in pottery. Pairs of guardian lion statues are still common and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and othe…
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 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 guardian lions in front …
History
Asiatic lions are believed to be the ones depicted by the guardian lions in Chinese culture.
With increased trade during the Han dynasty and cultural exchanges through the Silk road, lions were introduced into China from the ancient states of Central Asia by peoples of Sogdiana, Samarkand, and the Yuezhi (月氏) in the form of pelts and live tribute, along with stories about them from Buddhist priests and travelers of the time.
Literary and pop-culture references
• In the novelet "White Magic" by Albert E. Cowdrey (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1998), the protagonist has a "foo" lion/dog that serves as his "familiar" and comes alive, when necessary, to protect him and his neighbors.
• In the planned spinoffs of the comics based on the Gargoyles Disney TV animated series, the "timedancing" gargoyle Brooklyn receives a green-skinned, leonine gargoyle beast that is named "fu-dog" from the Western name of the Chinese guardian li…
See also
• Komainu to compare its use in Japanese culture
• Qilin, another mythical creature in Chinese culture
• Sphinx
• Chinthe similar lion statues in Burma, Laos and Cambodia
External links
• Foo Dog in Tattoo Art. Meaning and Design Ideas.
• A blog about the adventures of a Foo Dog statue all over the United States.
• Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many representations of Chinese guardian lions