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Yi Yujun, who likes to ride lions| Wu Rui
In China, what animal statues have been most popular among the people since ancient times? Notice that it is a statue, not a living body. That must be a lion!
If you are an ancient Chinese, you may be born with a Kangtou stone lion to prevent you from running around; when you grow up and go to school in the morning, you must first see the gatekeeper stone lion at the door of the house; when you cross the bridge, you must see the bridge pillar lion; go to private school, learn to write and draw, and the paper should be pressed with a paperweight stone lion; then grow up to go to Yamen to do business to see a larger gatekeeper lion; one day ride into Beijing to catch the exam, the horse should be tied to the horse lion pillar; the Lantern Festival should see the lion dance; listen to the cross-talk to listen to the "forty-four stone lions"; one day the birthday is at the end of life. At the entrance of the tomb, two stone lions guarding the tomb are also set up as the last companion.
Bridge Pillar Lion: "Early! ”
The ancient Chinese people had to be accompanied by the "lion" from birth to death, and the lion, as a non-Chinese animal, can be so loved, which is absolutely unique.
Since China does not produce lions, how did the ancients know that there was such an animal in the world? The history books record that the earliest appearance of lions in China was in 113 AD during the reign of Emperor Zhangdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when lions were among the tributes offered to Emperor Zhangdi of the Western Regions. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Biography of the Western Regions records: "Emperor Zhang and the first year of the First Year of rest sent envoys to offer Shi zi Fu Ba (the ancient text 'shi' tong 'lion'). ”
As soon as the lion appeared on the land of China, it was deeply loved by the powerful class, and its upward momentum was strong, and it quickly killed the tiger and stole the title of king of the beasts! Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, many scholars have believed that the lion is the ancient Chinese legend of the fox (suān ní, the fifth son of the legendary dragon, also known as the eighth son). The Western Jin Dynasty scholar Guo Pu commented on the Biography of Mu Tianzi: "Fox, lion." Also eats tigers and leopards. "See, he said that lions also eat tigers and leopards, and this lion came to tigers and tigers."
"Here I come!"
The "History of the South" said: "Gong County's shanyang merged into two tigers and one leopard, and when he saw the lion, he did not dare to look up." What's more, the article "Tribute Lion" in the Southern Song Dynasty poet's meticulous "Miscellaneous Knowledge of Decoction" says: "The envoy who paid tribute led (the lion) to the side of the tiger prison, and when the tiger saw it, he bowed his head and did not dare to move." The lion drowned in the head of the tiger, and the tiger did not dare to move. "This is about the messenger of the tribute who led the lion to the tiger, and the tiger was so frightened that he did not dare to move on the ground. The lion decided to take the initiative to come forward to say hello, so he used to sprinkle bubble urine on the tiger's head, and the tiger said that he had no problem with it and peed casually.
From the above content, it can be seen that the lion is regarded as a sacred beast in China, and its majesty is better than that of the tiger, which seems to be far from the image of the cute curly-haired poodle statue that became popular in the Later Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the reason for this will be mentioned later.
Although lions were introduced to China as tributes from the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor's private zoo was not open to the public, so even the nobles saw lions in person. Therefore, at this time, the lion statue was still carved according to the shape of the sacred beast: the posture was mostly standing or walking, with a pair of wings on the shoulders, a sheep's whisker, and the head was decorated with clouds or flame patterns. Lion statues from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties were mostly of this shape, generally reserved for nobles to place in front of the mausoleum to ward off evil spirits and carry the souls of the dead to ascend to heaven (so there should be small wings).
The Eastern Han Dynasty stone lion in front of the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an County, Sichuan
The lion in front of the Wu's tomb in Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province, and the lion in front of the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an County, Sichuan Province, which are now excavated, are all in this shape of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The shape of this "flying god beast" was influenced by the West Asian culture at that time, and this image was very OK for the king of the hundred beasts; it was also very face-saving for the soul that could sit on it and become a fairy.
The image of the lion can spread in China and take on the responsibility of warding off evil spirits, in addition to the opening of the Silk Road and the arrival of tributes from the Western Regions, another most important factor is the introduction of Buddhism to China.
In Buddhism, the image of the lion is majestic, righteous, and has the duty of protector. The Buddha says that when the Buddha was born, "five hundred lions came out of the snowy mountains and stayed at the city gates", and Shakyamuni also made a "lion roar" when he was born, saying: "Heaven and earth are the only ones who respect themselves." It turned out that the Buddha was born with the quality of a bass (later "lion roar" was also used by Su Dongpo to describe a jealous and tough female paper at home), and the Buddha was even considered a "lion among men". In addition, the Buddhist scriptures also refer to the Buddha's pedestal as "Leo".
Manjushri Bodhisattva's mount is also a lion, that is, the "green haired lion monster" in the Journey to the West, to say that there are many lion spirits in the Journey to the West, but they are only a few bad lions who have lost their faith and are corrupt and degenerate, and they do not represent the majority of righteous and dharma-protecting lions.
The Green-Haired Lion Monster
By the Tang Dynasty, with the widespread spread of Buddhism, the shape of the lion statue also underwent great changes, and its image was closer to Buddhist art, and the shape was relatively more realistic. The small wings on the shoulders and the cloud pattern on the head are gone, the limbs become particularly thick and strong, the chest is high and protruding, the forelimbs are straight, the vicious majesty is fierce, and the image is closer to the real beast. Although the wings are gone, they look more powerful, and the King of the Hundred Beasts should still be acceptable to this image.
Tang Dynasty Shunling Stone Lion
In the Tang Dynasty, lion statues were still evil beasts that only the royal family and the powerful could enjoy, and were mostly used to guard the royal tombs, guard the town houses, and protect the Buddhist dharma. By the Song Dynasty, lion statues began to enter the folk, and their shape also began to change from beasts of prey to cute pet dogs. By the Song Dynasty, the feeling of the ferocious majesty of the lion statue was greatly reduced, and replaced by meek tenderness, the lion's chest was contracted and the head was pressed down. There are fewer standing postures, most of them are squatting, the limbs are folded, and they look shy and restrained. What's more, the lion's neck actually began to be hung with bells and ribbons, is this afraid that it will run away?
By the Southern Song Dynasty, the male lion had an extra hydrangea under its right paw. By the Qing Dynasty, the limbs of the stone lion became shorter and smaller, the head became larger and larger, and the hair on the head became spiral-like curly hair. At this point, the image of the cute curly-haired poodle who loves to play with the ball has been completely fixed, which is a world away from the image of the god beast and the beast in the Han and Tang Dynasties.
Does this ignore the lion's feelings?
Lion: "Man is a protector beast, the king of a hundred beasts!" Is it okay for the subordinates to be merciful? ”
It may be that the official family prefers a majestic image, while the common people prefer a cute and warm and worldly image, so as the lion statue of the Song Dynasty gradually enters the homes of ordinary people, its image is becoming more and more close to the people. Due to the traditional family concept of the Chinese nation, the common people feel that the stone lion should also start a family and have children, so after the Tang Dynasty, there was a mother and child lion with a small lion, which later evolved into the standard configuration of the male lion on the left side of the door playing ball and the right lioness with children. Well, the male and female protagonists are inside, and the division of labor is clear.
After the Song Dynasty, in addition to the duty of warding off evil spirits, the stone lion was also regarded by the people as the mascot of Fulu Zhenxiang (at that time, the giant panda had not yet debuted), which was meant to attract wealth and fortune, auspicious and prosperous.
Finally, by the way, the lion's contribution to chinese dance art, popular in the Tang Dynasty court," the "Wufang Lion Dance", is a large-scale song and dance performance with hundreds of people participating, which has evolved into the annual Lantern Festival lion dance event.
Well, this is the lion, a foreign animal, who came to China from thousands of miles away, did not benefit himself, did not benefit himself, repelled evil and happiness for the ancient Chinese, helped the souls of the ancients ascend to heaven, and destroyed the image of self-destruction for selling Meng... In short, it is a pure animal that is beneficial to Chinese culture.
bibliography
1. "The Symbol of the Chinese Stone Lion", Liu Xicheng, Daizong Academic Journal
2. "A Preliminary Study on the Origin of Chinese Lion Modeling", Li Zhongyuan, Social Science Series
3. The Evolution of Chinese Lion Carving, Lin Qianggang, Chinese Culture
4. "The Art of Chinese Lion Carving with Diverse Shapes", Yu Chao, Journal of Huaibei Normal University
5. "Study on the Anvil Stone Lion of the Tomb Gate from the Northern Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties", Lin Hong, Northwest University
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