The lion looks fierce, brave and unstoppable, and is the king of all animals. Around the world, people regard lions as auspicious animals, and lion statues can be seen everywhere on five continents. Although lions are not a local product of China, China has a unique lion culture, and lion dances will be held all over the country during the festival. People put on colorful lion coats and imitate lions to walk, sit, throw balls and jump. Among them, the dance of "two lions playing hydrangea" means endless life, family reproduction and social prosperity. The picture of the lion rolling hydrangea in auspicious patterns has the same meaning. The image of a lion often appears in Buddhist classics and Buddhist statues. Manjusri Bodhisattva, a wise Buddha, takes the lion as its mount, thus adding auspicious meaning to the lion.
The lion replaced the tiger as the king of beasts.
The king of beasts in ancient China was the tiger. Tigers also rule the mountains with their strength and invincibility. Before the lion was introduced, it was majestic and ruled all animals. People and animals are often eaten by tigers, and the idiom "Talking about a tiger turns pale" just shows the severity of the tiger's suffering. From this point of view, the worship of tigers in ancient China almost reached its peak and lasted for many years. From the archaeological excavation of ancient cultural relics and the folk collection of Han nationality, many tiger symbols, tiger-faced animal patterns, tiger-shaped patterns and tiger-shaped devices can illustrate this point. According to the current archaeological findings, the earliest tiger-shaped objects (tiger ornaments) belong to Shijiahe culture (24th century BC-20th century BC), and the age is really long. The introduction of the lion is not long in the long history of China, but the key to why the lion replaced the tiger as the king of all animals lies in the contrast between the lion and the tiger, which has been clearly recorded at least five times in the voluminous historical materials of China. There is a saying in China's earliest exegetical work "Er Ya Shi Beast": "Muntjac ... eats tigers and leopards". And my sister-in-law is a lion. It has been made clear here that lions are fiercer than tigers and leopards, and tigers and leopards have become the food of lions. In The Story of Galand in Luoyang, lions are recorded in more detail than tigers, leopards and bears. According to the article, Emperor Zhuang (Liu Zhuang, Emperor of the Han Dynasty) said that Li Mi, a courtier, said, "I have heard the tiger and seen the lion, so I can give it a try. So, a letter was sent to the mountain near the county seat to catch tigers. Gongxian and Yang Shan sent two tigers and one leopard. The emperor watched it in Hualin Garden. Therefore, tigers and leopards are afraid to look up when they see lions. There is a blind bear in the garden, which is very docile. The emperor ordered the trial. The dangerous man led the blind bear, smelled the lion's anger, jumped up in surprise, dragged the lock away, and the emperor smiled. In addition, historical data also include "After Wei Wudi cut Mao Dun, the lion returned to Luoyang, and all the chickens and dogs were dormant for three thousand miles without barking". (Note 9) "The lion is the length of all animals". (Note 1: 0) Compendium of Materia Medica also says, "In western countries, there are lions, as small as tigers, as yellow as golden dogs, with long tail and blue head, bronze head, claws, teeth, ears, nose, eyes like electricity and beard. "The stallion's tail is as big as a bucket, and anger makes it easy for all animals to change. Its milk went into the milk of cows and horses, and all of it turned into water, although Tigress dared not eat its meat after her death. The fierceness of lions was earlier than that of China as early as the time of Emperor Han Ming (nearly 2000 years ago). When two tigers and a leopard saw the lion, they closed their eyes and dared not look up. The blind bear heard that the lion was scared and dragged away. As for the lion, "although the tiger and leopard dare not eat its meat after death", it can be said that the record is incisive and accurate, and "The Length of Animals" stands on strength. Therefore, it is obvious that the lion, a foreign beast, has replaced the tiger as the king of beasts in China and the world. Unfortunately, the number of lions who have contributed is extremely limited. As a rare animal, it was only for the emperor to watch in history, and the Han people never had a chance to see it. Tigers are still raging in the mountains, hurting people and eating livestock. Ordinary people know that lions can eat tigers, but lions are "imported" after all, beyond reach. The hope that lions can widely restrict tigers has never been realized. One can only hope that the lion can subdue the evil tiger in the dark. With the passage of time, the belief and worship of lions spread widely in China and Chinese, and gradually evolved, evolved and perfected, becoming ubiquitous lion worship, and deified lions artificially, adding the functions of avoiding evil, suppressing evil, preventing fire and controlling wind. The spread of Buddhism in China has contributed to the great influence of lion culture in China. There is a lioness in China. The ancients believed that lions could not only ward off evil spirits, but also bring auspicious atmosphere. The combination of lion culture and Kanyu culture has produced a magnificent treasure of town houses-lion statues of various materials and shapes.
It not only appeared outside the halls of palaces and large families, but also appeared at the gates of some temples, tombs and bridges, and a pair of majestic lion statues were placed.
Ancient officials and extended families were the ruling class and aristocratic class of society. Lions occupied the supreme position among all animals, and lion statues also became a symbol of authority. The lion statue outside the government gate has also become an official. The lion on the left side of the palace represents the "Taishi" and is the highest official rank in the court; The lion on the right stands for "Shao Bao" and is the bodyguard of the Crown Prince. Anyone who has been to the Forbidden City in Beijing knows that there are a pair of bronze lions in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which are majestic and tall and beautifully cast.
The lion on the left is a lion, teasing the hydrangea with its right paw, symbolizing authority, while the lion on the right is a lioness, teasing the little lion with its left paw, symbolizing generations to come.
In ancient dwellings, the role of placing lion statues is mainly to suppress evil spirits, so that evil spirits outside the door dare not enter the house to disturb the people. Modern people also like to place lion statues, but because many people don't understand lion culture and geomantic science, they abuse and place lion statues at will, which makes the mighty lion statues lose their due "role".
Some books in Hong Kong and Taiwan believe that the lion statue should be placed in the northwest and the west, because the lion was introduced to China from the western regions, so the northwest and the west are its most familiar and active positions and can occupy a geographical position. There is some truth in this statement, but the placement method of lion statues is not so rigid. In azimuth, lion statues can be placed in the southeast, northwest and northwest. For example, most officials in ancient China were facing south, and lion statues were also placed in the south. Terrain When placing lion statues, it is more important to consider the terrain. Generally speaking, the place should be high rather than low, and there should be open space in front. Only when the lion statue is condescending can it show extraordinary momentum, and only when the space is large enough can the lion be used. Some people put the lion statue in a low and narrow space, but it has formed a pattern of "the lion is trapped". Modern houses can be blocked by lion statues if they encounter unfavorable situations such as straight roads and diagonal corners. If the unfavorable factors come from the north, stone lions and jade lions can be placed in the north; If you come from the west, you can put a red lion in the west; If it is from the south, you can put the black lion in the south; If you are from the East, you can put the bronze lion and the white lion in the East.