Then, why are a pair of stone lions often placed in front of ancient buildings?
Lion, strong and powerful, with brown hair, long hair on the neck and loud roar, is produced in Africa and West Asia. Prey on zebras, giraffes, antelopes and other large animals, known as the "king of beasts." The origin of the lion is not in China, how can it appear in China?
According to documents, the reason why the lion entered China originated from the fact that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, which opened the contacts between China and other countries in the Western Regions. For example, the Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Volume 88. "Biography of the Western Regions" contains: "Zhang and the first year, (the country of interest) sent envoys (lions) and. Fu Ba looks like a forest without horns. " In the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty, interested countries sent messengers to send lions and Fu Ba (an animal with a rare shape but no horns).
With the spread of Buddhism to China, the lion gradually replaced the tiger, the king of beasts. "When the Buddha Sakyamuni was born, he roared like a lion, pointing to the sky and the ground, saying,' There is heaven and earth, but I am the only one'. "Later, the" lion roar "was used as a metaphor for the Buddha's statement, with a loud voice and the power to deter all heresies. Lions are also important in Buddhism and are regarded as auspicious and solemn beasts by Buddhists.
Because of people's worship of the lion, the lion is a noble and majestic beast in people's minds, so it soon became the subject of sculpture art in China. Therefore, in the Han and Tang Dynasties, stone lions began to appear in the tombs of emperors and rich families. At this time, the use of stone lions is not popular. They only appear in front of tombs and houses, and are often placed together with stone statues such as stone horses and sheep, in order to make people feel awe.
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, Shishi was widely used by the people. Putting a stone lion in front of the gate is like putting a door god on the door as a guardian portal to drive away evil spirits. It is both beautiful and means attracting good luck. The shape of stone lions in each dynasty was different, but in the Qing Dynasty, the carving of stone lions was basically finalized. The stone lions were magnificent in Han and Tang Dynasties, thin and magnificent in Yuan Dynasty and gentle in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Stone lion carvings in different times have different characteristics and also show different local characteristics. Therefore, stone lions are also divided into southern lions and northern lions. The sculpture of the North Lion is unpretentious and its shape is more magnificent. There are many sculptures in the Southern Lion, and its appearance is lively and interesting.
The ancients believed that everything had yin and yang and paid attention to the coordination of yin and yang, so the placement of stone lions also had certain rules. Usually, a man and a woman are in pairs, and the left man and the right woman are in line with the theory of yin and yang that men are left and women are right. Shishi has the function of exorcising evil spirits among the people and is generally used as a gatekeeper. The lion, often placed on the left side of the gate, is usually carved into a single-step hydrangea, symbolizing infinite power; On the right, the lioness snuggled up to a little lion, symbolizing the continuation of future generations.
The ancients always regarded the stone lion as a symbol of good fortune, which was not only used in town houses to ward off evil spirits, but also used as an artistic ornament in traditional buildings in China. For example, there are more than 400 stone lions in Lugou Bridge in Beijing. These stone lions vary in size, sex, posture and vividness.