Architecture is the floorboard of buildings and structures. It is an artificial environment created by people in order to meet the needs of social life, using the material and technical means they have mastered and applying certain scientific laws, geomantic concepts and aesthetic laws. In order to clearly express usability, some classifications will distinguish buildings from non-building structures that people have not lived in for a long time. In addition, in order to avoid confusion, some architects deliberately divide the buildings whose appearance has been consciously created by people into "buildings". It should be noted that sometimes buildings can be extended to include "non-building structures", such as bridges, electric towers and tunnels. Architecture is divided into broad sense and narrow sense. Buildings in a broad sense refer to all things artificially built, including both houses and structures. Buildings in a narrow sense refer to houses, excluding structures. A house refers to a space with a foundation, walls, roofs, doors and windows, which can shelter people from the wind and rain and allow people to live, work, study, entertain, store things or carry out other activities. Structures refer to buildings outside houses, where people generally do not directly carry out production and living activities, such as chimneys, water towers, bridges, dams and so on. Dongguan Iron Lion, located in the old city of Cangzhou (now Dongguan, Jiuzhou Town, Cangxian County) 20 kilometers southeast of Cangzhou City, is the first batch of national key cultural relics announced by the State Council. The Iron Lion is a treasure in China's cultural heritage, ranking first among the "Four Ancient Monuments in Hebei" (Cangzhou Iron Lion, Dingzhou Kaiyuan Temple Tower, Zhengding longxing temple Great Bodhisattva, and Zhao Zhouqiao in Zhao County).
The lion is 6. 1 m long, 5.48 m high, 3 m wide and weighs 40 tons. It is covered with mud (a dust pad) and carries a huge basin. Its hair is wavy, its head is dazzling, its mouth is open, and it growls from the sky. Also known as "Zhenhai roar". Its body is vigorous, as if it were running and stopping.
According to records, the iron lion was cast in Guangxun three years of the Zhou Dynasty (AD 953) after the Five Dynasties. The casting process adopts the "mud Fan Ming casting method", with the whole clay mold as the core and stacked in sections. Up to now, it has been more than 1000 years. Although it has been eroded by wind and rain, there is still a clear word "lion king" under the neck.
The level of mold, smelting and casting shows the outstanding wisdom and superb technology of craftsmen at that time.
There are different opinions about the exact origin of the iron lion. One theory is that Zhou Shizong conquered northern Khitan and punished sinners with cast iron lions to save the town. Another way of saying it is that the coastal waters of Cangzhou are often threatened by tsunamis. Liu Yun advocated casting iron lions, named "Zhenhai Roar" to save the town from floods. There is also a saying that the iron lion is the Buddha's seat of Kaiyuan Temple in Cangzhou. The belly of the iron lion was originally cast with the Diamond Sutra, and the giant basin on the back of the lion was a lotus pedestal. Buddhism takes the lotus as a pure flower, and because Manjusri Bodhisattva rides a lion, it is speculated that the iron lion is the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva.