Why put the stone lion in the house in the ancient town? The origin and story of the lion!
According to the record of searching for the gods in the Jin Dynasty, Wang Fan of Funan wanted to raise a tiger in the mountains. Some criminals jumped on the tiger and forgave it without biting it. So the tiger is a big bug. As a native animal in China, tigers were kept in captivity as early as the Jin Dynasty. Lions are African animals, but ancient people put lions at the door, not Shi Hu. At the same time, cats are treated differently. The historical origin is very interesting.
The stone lion on the front page
The stone lion on the front page
Lions and Buddhism
In ancient history, lions entered China as a tribute for the first time. According to the records in Han Shu's Journey to the West written by Ban Gu, a historian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in addition to bloody BMWs, elephants, sparrows and various treasures, there are lions in the tributes given to this great man by western countries. In addition, according to China's earliest exegetical classic Erya, during the period of Shun Di, King Shule sent messengers to pay tribute to Dahan for rhinoceroses and lions.
As an exotic lion, it was selfless in the early days. The lion is far from the target of the mysterious beast in the town. Before the Tang Dynasty, lion dance, a traditional folk activity, gradually became popular. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, people could see lions dancing in the streets and lanes during festivals. As an artist, lions have entered the lives of ordinary people. This situation gradually changed in the Tang Dynasty.
Peacock and Shishi ornaments in Tang Dynasty
During the period of Wu Zetian, she changed Emperor Taizong's "Taoism before Buddhism" to "both Buddhism and Taoism". On the other hand, Wu Zetian issued a formal decree: "From now on, Buddhism and religion should be based on the principles of Taoism and put before Huang Guan." Purple clothes are the clothes of monks and Taoists.
Wu Zetian not only improved the status of Buddhism in administrative decrees, but also took various measures to strengthen the influence of Buddhism on society. Wu Zetian once led officials to worship Master Shen Xiu and made him a Buddhist. At the same time, she invited Fazang, Hui 'an, Ren Jian and other Buddhist monks to meditate in the palace, which was well received by their teachers. Wu Zetian also made friends with many monks and county officials and dressed them in purple robes, which greatly increased the influence of Buddhism among the people.
Buddhism flourished in the period of Wu Zetian, and after the development of Tang Xianzong, Spring Calendar, Tang Yizong and Cui Li, Buddhist thought thoroughly entered thousands of households. Some stories in Buddhist teachings directly affect the lives of ordinary people.
Records: "When the Buddha was born, 500 lions came to the snow-capped mountains and waited by the door." The lion is the patron saint of Buddhism here and an auspicious thing in Buddhism. In addition, "The Original Code of Buddha Saying Prince Ruiying" records: "When Sakyamuni was born, he pointed to the sky and pointed to the ground, like a lion roaring: heaven and earth are the only one." this is
Above _ Exquisite stone lions in Tang Dynasty
Above _ Exquisite stone lions in Tang Dynasty
Therefore, Buddhist believers in the Tang Dynasty put the image of the patron saint of the lion on the stone lion to drive away evil spirits in the town house. Due to the large number of Buddhist believers in the Tang Dynasty, stone lions were widely popular in the north and south, which indirectly led people who did not believe in Buddhism to join the ranks of stone lions in front of the door. In this way, the lion has gradually become a unified beast in the hearts of people in the town, with the hearts of thousands of families praying for peace.
Most of the lions in the Tang Dynasty are walking lions, which means standing lions. They look forward, their limbs are moving, and the momentum is enough to make all evil things look scared. In the Song Dynasty, it was basically sitting on a lion and became a fixed image of a stone lion. At that time, it was very popular to match lions with hydrangeas and bells, which added a sense of peace. In addition, there are many sculpture images of lions and cubs playing, reflecting people's desire to share the happiness of family life.
The image of the lion in the Song Dynasty influenced all subsequent dynasties. They all regard the stone lions of the Song Dynasty as the standard of sculpture. Then why can't the tiger replace the lion as a beast in the town? A
As a native animal in China, tigers have always been loved by people. People often hang tiger paintings indoors to ward off evil spirits. Children's hats, like other costumes, have the image of tigers in the paper-cut composition. Moreover, names and place names also like to be named tigers, such as Tiger Beach and Old Tiger Running Spring. Shu Han and Five Tigers.
However, in addition to the worship and love of tigers, people are sometimes afraid. And other literary works recorded the incident of tigers eating people. In addition, tiger infestation did occur frequently in ancient times. According to historical records, Sichuan is surrounded by mountains. At one time, tigers ate more than 200 people in a row. Because tigers eat people, people don't put tigers in the stone carvings in front of their houses.
Feng Shui in China says that the lion is yin and the tiger is yang. Generally speaking, negative items can not be placed indoors, but can be placed at the door to ward off evil spirits. As a penis, a tiger is the opposite of a lion. The words "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Roll" and "Crouching Tiger in the main hall" also indirectly indicate that tigers can only be placed indoors, not at the door.
Above _ Ancient Shi Hu
Besides tigers eating people, Feng Shui decides that tigers can't be carved on stones and placed in front of houses. Another reason is that tigers are used to it. As the king of beasts, tigers are not easy to tame, but lions are easier to tame. Of course, people prefer lions that are easy to tame, and as urban beasts, obedience is the first.
For the above reasons, tigers can't guard the doors of thousands of households like lions. However, as one of the symbols of Chinese civilization, the tiger will always live in the center of the world.