Imperial guardian lions

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Fu dog redirects here. It can also refer to a breed of dog called Pekingese.

Guardian lions, also called Fu Dogs or Foo Dogs, and called Shi (獅) in Chinese or Ra shi da, are powerful mythic protectors that have traditionally stood in front of Chinese imperial palaces, emperors' tombs, and government offices, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), until the end of the empire in 1911. Imperial guardian lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, and other structures.

The lions are generally present in pairs, with the male on the right and the female on the left. The male lion has his right paw on a globe, which represents his "feeling the pulse of the earth." The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw. Symbolically, the male fu dog guards the structure, while the female protects those dwelling inside.

The lion is not indigenous to China. When Buddhist travelers brought stories about lions to China, Chinese sculptors modeled statues of lions after the travellers' descriptions--and after native dogs, since no one in China had seen a lion with their own eyes. The mythic version of the animal was originally introduced to Han China as the Buddhist protector of dharma. Gradually they were transformed into guardians of the Imperial dharma, and some Qing realizations of them came to look more like the dogs of Fo. (Compare the Pekingese breed.) These beasts have been found in art as early as 208 BC. In the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the ruling Manchu derived their name from the Manjushri Buddha, who rides on a lion.

The beast is sometimes associated with feng shui or Buddhism. Fu means 'happiness' in Chinese. In China, they are known as Rui Shi (瑞獅).

Image gallery

Image:FuDog.JPG|A stone shi Image:ImperialMaleLionGuard.jpg|Male lion guard of the Ming Dynasty period at the Forbidden City Image:ImperialMotherLionGuard.jpg|Female guardian lion with her cub at the Summer Palace, Beijing- late Qing Dynasty, but in the Ming style Image:ImperialLionCub.jpg|Cub Detail Image:StandingMingLion.jpg|Standing lion at the Ming Dynasty Tombs Sacred Walk Image:Imperial guardian lion - Ngee Ann City - Singapore (gabbe).jpg|Imperial guardian lion outside Ngee Ann City in Singapore

In the above gallery, note that the standing lion (a northern style nian) is wearing ornaments similar to those seen at the top of the article but does not have the shin armor.

See also

• Door god
• Lion dance, another use of lion imagery in costume and motion.
• Nian to compare with a similar but horned (unicorn) mythical beast
• Pixiu to compare with a similar but winged mythical beast
• Chinese mythology

External links

• [World heritage immersive panorama] In this immersive panorama from the Imperial Palace Museum, Beijing, your viewpoint will be near a large bronze lion, the female whose male counterpart's image is in the gallery above, at the Gate of Supreme Harmony.
• [A commercial webpage with some pictures of Fu Dogs]
• [A webpage with pictures of a variety of Chinese stone lions].

 

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