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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. [2] Lions were first presented to the Han court by emissaries from Central Asia and Persia , and were already popularly depicted as guardian figures by the sixth century AD. [ 3 ]
The Komainu strongly resemble Chinese guardian lions and in fact originate from Tang dynasty China. [9] The Chinese guardian lions are believed to have been influenced by Asiatic lion pelts and lion depictions introduced through trade from either the Middle East or India, countries where the lion existed and was a symbol of strength. [10]
Lions themselves, however, are not native to China, yet appear in the art of China and the Chinese people believe that lions protect humans from evil spirits, hence the Chinese New Year lion dance to scare away demons and ghosts. Chinese guardian lions are frequently used in sculpture in traditional Chinese architecture.
In the Burmese zodiac, the lion sign is representative of Tuesday-born individuals. [15] The leograph is featured prominently on the successive post-independence State seals (including the current State Seal of Myanmar) and most paper denominations of the Burmese kyat, and its statues are found as guardian statues of most pagodas and temples.
The animals featured in wenshou have significant symbolism within the Chinese culture and Buddhist religion. These traditional decorative elements are most commonly featured on roofs of imperial structures, the most prominent example being the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in what is today the Dongcheng District in Beijing, China.
Shisa (Japanese: シーサー, Hepburn: shīsā, Okinawan: シーサー, romanized: shiisaa) is a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils.
Zhang Qian (−114 BCE) too, the famous traveler to the western regions, had rudimentary stone statues of lions placed at his mausoleum. [11] [12] These precursors of Chinese monumental stone sculpture were probably influenced by their forays deep into Central Asia, where they probably encountered cultures using stone statues. [11]
The Iron Lion of Cangzhou (Chinese: 铁 狮子; pinyin: Tiě Shīzi), also known as the "Sea Guard Howler", is a cast iron sculpture located in Cangzhou City, in Hebei Province, China, about 180 km (110 mi) southwest of Beijing.
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