Why did stone lions be used to suppress evil spirits in ancient China?
The "Wind Lion Lord" is a totem with a lion's face and a human body, which is used to "control the wind, stop evil spirits, and pray for good fortune." It is a Taoist custom in Quanzhou. Quanzhou Taoist Kanyu believed that "Jia Mao wind is a taboo in Feng Shui", so they carved "stone wind lions" to suppress the wind. Nowadays, single “Wind Lion God” with its head held high and left over from ancient times can be seen everywhere in Quanzhou. This custom is also very popular in Kinmen County, and there are still more than 70 statues in existence.
Wind lions are mostly stone sculptures, with different shapes and characteristics. They are often created according to the sculptor's free will. Overall, the essence of wind lion carving is on the head, especially the face. The most obvious distinctive features are round eyes, bulging eyes, wide snoring heads, wide grins, even as wide as the head, revealing sharp teeth, and some mouth corners exaggerated into two hollows.
In terms of carvings, some are meticulously carved with lifelike expressions; some are simply outlined and roughly symbolic. In terms of shape, some are huge and tall, such as the wind lion on the north side of Qionglin Village, Kinmen, which is 189 centimeters tall; some are petite and exquisite, such as the Lantau Wind Lion in Kinmen, which is only 42 centimeters.
Wind lions are generally not colored, but there are also red and yellow ones, which are very common in Jinjiang, Shishi coastal areas, Kinmen and Taiwan.
Wind lions are usually single, but there are also pairs. The two lions are mostly "male and female", "mother and son", and occasionally there are "father and son". For example, in Yupu Village, Baogai Town, Shishi, there is a pair of "father and son lions", one big and one small, painted in red and yellow.
Traditionally, the wind lion is often placed beside the main road on the outer edge of the village, called the "village wind lion". Its protection range mainly covers the entire village, and it is unique to the entire village and is a public facility. There are also "roof and wall wind lions", some of which are stone carvings, and some of which are "tile generals", which are placed on the roof or on the wall. The protection scope is one household, and they are privately owned and privately owned. Some are placed at the door of their homes.
Nowadays, the "Wind Lion God" has developed into a stone lion to suppress evil. There is often a pair of large stone lions erected on both sides of the gate, with their heads held high, both for suppressing evil and as decoration of works of art.
Sitting upright Wind Lion King
In 2004, the largest and oldest Wind Lion King in Quanzhou was unearthed from the original Yanfu Temple site at the foot of Jiuri Mountain. Currently, the wind lion is temporarily stored in the Jiurishan Scenic Area Cultural Relics Management Office.
This wind lion is carved from granite, 1.23 meters high, 0.59 meters wide and 0.75 meters thick. It is the largest wind lion discovered so far in Quanzhou City. The lion sits upright with its hind legs bent and its front legs on the lion's chest. This shape of wind lion is very rare in Quanzhou.
The Wind Lion God may have been carved five generations ago. Yanfu Temple is the earliest temple in southern Fujian. It was built in the ninth year of Taikang in the Western Jin Dynasty (288). By the Five Dynasties, it had become very large, with 54 courtyards in total.
The upright and upright wind lions unearthed during this excavation are of the same type as the wind lions in Kinmen. According to the latest research results of "Wind Lion God Qianqiu" recently published in Kinmen, the worship of Wind Lion God currently spread all over Kinmen Island began to flourish in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. At that time, after several wars in Kinmen, the desertification of the entire island was very serious, and wind and sand were everywhere. The villagers set up a Wind Lion God in a wind-shielded location outside the village to worship and pray.
It is generally believed that most residents of Kinmen moved from Quanzhou and other southern Fujian areas. They brought the wind praying culture of Jiuri Mountain and the wind lion belief to Kinmen, and gradually formed the local customs. There is a custom of worshiping and praying for the Lion God, but there has been a lack of evidence. The unearthed windshielding statue of the sitting upright type at the Yanfu Temple site provides evidence for this statement.