When and where did the lion enter China?
Obviously, although the lion occupies an extremely important position in China culture, it is not from China. So when and where did it come to China?
"Once"? Is the Biography of the Western Regions included? In the first year of Zhanghe River (AD 87), (Xi Guo) sent envoys to offer teachers (lions) and Fu Ba? In addition, Huilin, a monk in the Tang Dynasty, once said? The lion is also a lion, out of the western regions? . Therefore, the lion in China should have originated in the Western Regions (or was introduced to China from the Western Regions), and it was introduced to China in the Han Dynasty. During the reign of Liu Huan in the Han Dynasty, the envoys of the interest countries (now near Iran) sent rare lions and Fu Ba (possibly antelopes) from the Central Plains.
This majestic and domineering beast, from the common people to the prime minister of the emperor, is novel, and at the same time, it has a certain degree of awe, which makes the lion begin to enter the folk life of China people, and is not only treated with courtesy, but also deeply loved by China people. Be honored as? Ruishou? , was soon carried to the status of the king of beasts on a par with the tiger. For example, what is the name of Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica? When a lion leaves the western countries, it is the first of all animals. ?
And the reason why lions can finally enter thousands of households and become auspicious beasts to ward off evil spirits, such as beasts based on lions? Hey? This is inseparable from the flowering and fruition of Buddhism in China.
With the spread of Buddhism, the status of lions began to rise rapidly.
Is it in "Recording under the Light"? When Buddha Sakyamuni was born, he pointed to the sky and the ground? Make a lion roar:? Heaven and earth, just me? . It can be seen that the lion has a very high position in Buddhism and is a solemn and auspicious beast. With the widespread spread of Buddhism in the Central Plains, the status of lions has also risen rapidly.
Although Buddhism was introduced to China as early as the Han Dynasty, it was not widely spread until the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. So in the Tang Dynasty, the traces of stone lions began to appear in front of the tombs of emperors and nobles. However, at this time, lions are still confined to tombs and tombs, only as sacred beasts in Shinto, often placed with stone statues such as stone horses and sheep, thus highlighting the majestic atmosphere of emperors and nobles.
But at this time, the lion did not have the function of a town house, so it did not really enter the people and families, and its shape was obviously different from that of the later stone lions. The most typical difference is that there is no tall stone base under the lion statue at this time.
From Fangshi in the Tang Dynasty to thousands of households.
Shishi first entered the folk, which appeared in Fangshi in the Tang Dynasty. According to the textual research of Mr. Cheng's "Interesting Talk about Stone Chambers in Yuan Dynasty", many residents in the capital of Tang Dynasty lived in? Fang? In middle schools (similar to modern residential areas), the square doors are mostly in the form of archways with the name of the square written on them. At the bottom of each square column, a pair of columns are placed to fix the square column.
Later, craftsmen began to carve lions, unicorns, sea animals and other animals on the pillars, which was both beautiful and auspicious. To the Song and Yuan Dynasties? Fang Shi? Beginning to withdraw from the historical stage, some rich people simplified the original square door style and transformed it into a gatehouse in order to create their own momentum, while the stone lion originally used to fix the square column was copied as it was, so it began to appear in front of the gate.
What is the collection of Tianjin Lu An Analysis, which records the customs of the Yuan Dynasty? Customs has records. In the capital, the official tax-paying home, and the warehouse owner, most of them cast lions with pig iron, and there are seats outside the left and right doors, or Bai Shimin. ? This is the earliest, most detailed and conclusive record of the stone lion guarding the gate in China.
From this, it can be roughly judged that the stone lions were brought to the people from the court, and they did not surpass the Yuan Dynasty at the latest. The square stone foundation under the stone lion is obviously evidence that it evolved from the beryl of the original square column. It is also from this period that the stone lion gradually became an important ornament for town houses to ward off evil spirits.