Why do Chinese Have lions?
Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits.
Lion Hunting
The Asiatic lion, a subspecies that split from African lions around 100,000 years ago, once prowled across Asia and the Middle East. Sadly, the lions were hunted nearly to extinction, with as few as ten individuals left in existence by the late 1800s.
An Imperial Guardian Lion is supposed to have mystic protective powers and can be found in front of such places as temples, imperial palaces, government offices or traditionally in front of homes of high ranking members of society indicating their financial and/ or social status.
Amur tigers were once found throughout northern China, the Russian Far East and the Korean peninsula. By the 1940s, hunting had driven them to the brink of extinction—with no more than 40 individuals remaining in the wild.
The dragon is a divine beast that is respected by Chinese people, and is also a symbol of the spirit of the Chinese nation. For thousands of years, emperors have regarded the dragon as a symbol of power and dignity. The Hall of Supreme Harmony and the terrace below the three Great Halls feature over 10,000 dragons.
The number one country with the highest numbers of lions in the wild is Tanzania. Some scientists expect the number to be around 15,000 wild lions.
You may be wondering if anyone in pre-modern Japan had ever seen a real lion. It's a long way from the savannah, but there are Asiatic lions as well. Although their range is quite small today, prior to the nineteenth century they could be found throughout Persia, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and much of India.
The lion is one of the most common and auspicious symbols found in traditional Chinese architecture. Yet lions have never been known to occur naturally in the wilds of China.
The female (that has its paws on a baby lion) must be placed on the left side of the door, as you face towards it from the outside. The male (laying its paws on a ball) should be placed on the other side. The Guardian Lions can be placed in the living room in any clutter free corner. Ensure they do not face each other.
From Persia to Rome, the lion was a symbol of the sun god Mithra, whilst the Etruscan lion with wings stands at the entrance of the Temple Mountain at Troy. In Islam, Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin was known as the Lion of God, whilst a lion-headed angel is one of four beings that supports Allah's throne.
Are Fu dogs Japanese or Chinese?
Foo Dogs are Chinese protection symbols of feng shui that typically “guard” the entranceways to buildings and homes. Ironically, they don't actually depict dogs, but rather lions. They are always presented in pairs and are traditionally carved from granite, marble or some other decorative stone.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently confirmed that the tiger has gone extinct in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The reasons, according to tiger experts, are poaching and habitat loss.
However, the real reason why tigers never returned to Africa is unknown but the researchers believe that when the group of tigers migrated to Asian country they found the climate more suitable for them to live and grow. As African continents consist more savannahs it's not as suitable for tigers as it is for lions.
Outside of zoos, the tiger has no physical presence in Japan, yet they hold a very special cultural significance to the Japanese people through their art, literature, poetry and history.
They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise (also called "Black Warrior") of the North.
The Dragon
The most powerful of the Four Supernatural Spirits, and therefore the most powerful of all mythological creatures, were the dragons. Dragons in Chinese society were benevolent, good, and wise, but also incredibly powerful.
The gray wolf, largest of the canids, has two subspecies in China—the Eurasian wolf, which is found in all of mainland china save for the islands in the south china and eastern china sea Tibetan wolf, which lives on the Tibetan Plateau.
Cave lions died out in the UK around 12 to 14,000 years ago, a relative blink of the eye in evolutionary terms and their extinction coincides with the point humans were getting into farming as the ice retreated from northern hemispheres.
Where lions once ruled, they are now quietly disappearing. An adult male lion rests in the Serengeti. Loss of prey species, loss of habitat, and human encroachment have caused their numbers to precipitously decline. They are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN.
They disappeared about 40,000 years ago. There were still cave lions in Thrace and Macedonia until the time of the ancient Greeks. The lions that the early Christians were thrown to were Barbary lions (presumed extinct since 1922) which were brought over from North Africa; Nero kept a group of them.
Did lions exist in Italy?
The big cats, now only native to Africa and India, were once found throughout the European continent. Yet, they went extinct in antiquity. Lions were reported to have become extinct in Italy before the year 20 BC and from Western Europe as a whole around the year 1 AD.
Pleistocene records
The oldest fossils excavated near Pakefield in the United Kingdom are estimated at 680,000 years old, and represent Panthera leo fossilis. Lion fossils were excavated in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia.
Native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion tamarin is an endangered species.
late 7th–first half of the 8th century. While lions are not native to China, some specimens apparently had reached there from the West by the Western Han (206 BC. –AD 9) period: there is evidence, for example, that lions were among the many exotic animals kept in the Han-dynasty imperial parks.
9. China. The largest of the tiger sub-species, the Amur tiger is found in two provinces in the Russian Far East and small pockets in the border areas of China.
Asian lions used to range from Turkey, across Asia, to eastern India, but the rise of firearms across the world meant that they were hunted to near-extinction for sport. The male Asiatic lion has a relatively short, sparse and darker mane compared to the fuller mane of the African lion.
In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. People perform lion dances at Chinese festivals or big occasions to bring good fortune and chase away evil spirits.
Animals were exported to India from Central Europe and the middle east and also from Africa. The genetics of Indian lions show inbreeding suggesting an originally tiny population (escapee captive animals) The genetics of captive Asiatic Lions (in the USA) shows traits of African subspecies.
Chinese guardian lions, commonly called stone lions in China and sometimes called a foo dog in the West, are symbolic sculptures of the Asiatic lion. They are placed at the entrance of an important building to guard the grounds and the people within.
Jesus is called the Lion of Judah who has triumphed. Jesus has triumphed over temptation and sin, over pain and suffering, over fear, over death and even over the Devil himself. Jesus is the Lion who retreats before nothing!
Is Jesus a lion?
By identifying Jesus as both “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” and “the Lamb who was slain,” Revelation directs our attention back to earlier scripture and establishes his identity firmly in the Old Testament prophecies.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God (John 1:36) to illustrate His gentleness and willingness to be the sacrifice for our sins. But He is also called the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5) to display His absolute authority and power over all creation.
Pairs of Fu Dogs
The male (yang) is often depicted with its paw resting atop a ball. The female (yin) fu dog is shown with a young offspring. When you are standing in the doorway looking out the male would be on the right, while the female counterpart is on the left.
The imagery of the lion arrived in Japan via the Silk Road in a form with the animal usually depicted together with the peony flower; the connection is apparently derived from Buddhist scripture.
Foo dogs are chosen to guard homes and important buildings for good reason. They are powerful symbols that offer protection. However, it is said that they will only protect those who have complete faith in their power. For those who put their trust in this Chinese tattoo, it is a powerful protective charm.
While lions are not native to China, some specimens apparently had reached there from the West by the Western Han (206 BC. –AD 9) period: there is evidence, for example, that lions were among the many exotic animals kept in the Han-dynasty imperial parks.
When the lion's infamy was heard by the supreme god, he decided to take away the lion' Chinese zodiac status and the tiger was chosen to replaced the lion as the Chinese zodiac and the king of all animals.
The female (that has its paws on a baby lion) must be placed on the left side of the door, as you face towards it from the outside. The male (laying its paws on a ball) should be placed on the other side. The Guardian Lions can be placed in the living room in any clutter free corner. Ensure they do not face each other.
India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions. The natural habitat of the Indian lion is the Gir forest in Gujarat.
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Lion dance.
| Transcriptions | |
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| Romanization | shishimai |
Why did tiger replace lion in Chinese zodiac?
Originally, there was no tiger among the 12 zodiac signs, in its place was a lion. But the lion was savage and cruel, consequently 玉皇大帝 (yù huáng dà dì) "the Jade Emperor" wanted to replace him with a tiger. At this time, there was great unrest amongst the creatures on earth, and they were endangering humans.
Komainu, sometimes referred to as lion dogs, are the guardian statues that can be found guarding the entrances to shrines and temples in Japan.
