China towns and houses all choose to use stone lions, why not tigers?
Speaking of stone lions, everyone in China should be very familiar with it! Since ancient times, there have been a pair of stone lions at the door of many large families, even at the entrance of yamen or temple. The tall and mighty stone lion looks really majestic. To the curiosity of many people, the lion and the tiger belong to a very brave and powerful animal. In addition, the tiger is also a beast born and raised in China, and the lion is from a foreign country. It is reasonable to choose the tiger. After all, the tiger is closer, and its strength is obvious to us! Why did the ancients choose the lion king of grassland instead of the tiger king of forest as the mascot for the town house?
In ancient times, people didn't see lions. According to legend, people said that they were built according to the appearance of the lynx, and then they gradually took on the appearance of lions. Later, due to the strength of the country, other countries came to worship and pay tribute, and people realized that lions were real.
Therefore, after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people celebrated festivals by dancing lions during festivals, thus creating a lively atmosphere. During the reign of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, because the king admired Buddhism very much, he found that the lion was actually a sacred object beside Buddhism. With the increasing influence of Buddhism in the whole earth, the position of the lion in the eyes of the whole people became more and more prominent. Buddhists in the Tang Dynasty carved lions into stone lions to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the lion can be used as the mascot of the town house, which is closely related to the development of Buddhism.
There is another reason why the town houses choose lions instead of tigers, which is related to the geomantic culture in China. What do you think lions are in Chinese wind and water? Yin? , the tiger is? Penis? As a dirty thing, you can't put it at home, otherwise it is very unlucky. It must be placed outside the house, so as to play the role of town house and achieve the effect of exorcising evil spirits and ensuring peace. The tiger, as a penis, must be placed in the middle of the room, so we often see a phenomenon in the film and television dramas: nave of a big family in ancient times usually hangs a picture related to the tiger. According to the older generation, this is what nave means.
In addition, if you are thoughtful, you will find that the stone lions used in the town house are different in shape. They are a male and a female respectively. Usually, we will find that the lion on the left is open-mouthed and its right front paw is playing with hydrangea; The stone lion on the right is a silent female lion, and its left front paw touches the young lion. It is said that this design is also to make the feng shui of the host family more smooth. It can be seen that the influence of Feng Shui culture in China is so great in people's minds.