As we all know, there were no lions in the ancient Central Plains, but the stone lions were "mixed" very well in China, there were stone lions in the Forbidden City, stone lions at the entrance of the temple, stone lions next to the mausoleum, and even stone lions in modern hotels and bank entrances, and these stone lions were "permed", what is going on?
Lion, the world's only hermaphrodite cat, ancient Chinese called "suānní", is a large cat living in Africa and Asia, according to scientists, it first originated in east and south Africa 124,000 years ago, about 21,000 years ago out of Africa, as far as Asia and other places.
Therefore, the "stone lion" is "imported" to China, and the Book of Later Han records that the image of the lion originated from the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to open up the "Silk Road", and in 87 AD, the State of Rest (equivalent to present-day Iran) sent emissaries to the Han Zhang Emperor Liu Huan to send lions and Fu Ba (a kind of animal with a shape and hornless shape).
This made the emperor very happy, he had never seen such a rare animal, and the people who were fortunate enough to see the lion were also stunned, thinking that the lion was very powerful. Later, with the introduction of Buddhism to China, the Buddha had a flesh bun on his head after becoming a Buddha, and the two were combined with each other, and the lion became a spiritual beast endowed with divine power, and the "hairstyle" was the same as that of the Buddha. I don't know who took the head, made a stone sculpture of the lion and put it at the door of the house, as a mascot to guard the portal, thinking that the mighty lion can ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune.
Looking at the historical data, it can be found that these "curly hairs" on the lion's head are very exquisite, and it is really impossible to "curl" the hair casually.
In ancient times, everything paid attention to status and rank, what status people could wear silk clothes, what level of people could live in big houses, what officials could take luxury carriages, if they crossed the level, they might not be able to save their lives, so who can put stone lions at the door of their homes, and stone lions can have several handfuls of "curly hair", there are regulations.
According to historical records, the stone lion in front of the ancient Yipinguan Mansion had 13 handfuls of "curly hair" on its head, also known as the "Thirteen taibao". From the first pin official down, for each lower level, the "curly hair" of the stone lion should be less than a handful, 12 second grades, 11 third grades, and so on. As for officials below the level of seven pin officials, stone lions were not allowed to be placed in front of the mansion at all.
So how many handfuls of "curly hair" does the stone lion of the "noblest" emperor's family have? Take the lions in the Forbidden City as an example, there are a total of 45, Xiaobian will not tell you the answer, readers and friends may as well guess.
There are a total of 6 pairs of stone lions in the Forbidden City, their shape is by no means similar, such as a pair of bronze lions in front of the Taihe Gate, which was made during the Zhu Di period of the Ming Dynasty, and is a symbol of the supremacy of the ming Dynasty's imperial power, after more than 600 years of ups and downs, it is still majestic and brave, echoing with the gorgeous Taihe Gate, reflecting the superb level of ming dynasty copper casting technology.
There are a total of 5 pairs of gilded bronze lions in the inner court, plated with pure gold and yellow, but the ears of the 2 lions in front of the Qianqing Gate are shrugged, and the other lions are standing ears, and here there is exquisite - the emperor is warning the concubines of the harem that Hugh should participate in the affairs of the former court and "close" his ears.
I believe that there are already smart readers and friends who have guessed the answer, why the lion at the door of the emperor's house has 45 "curly hairs" - the nine-five zun, 9x5 = 45, it can be seen that the ancients were very particular about these.
Nowadays, the bronze lion image of the Forbidden City has become a model for all traditional lion shapes, and interested friends can count the number of "curly hairs" on the heads of lions near their homes.
References: "Later Han Dynasty Book of the Western Regions", "Yangzhou Painting Record"