What Do Stone Lions Represent

Stone lion is carved out of stone, which is the common ornament in Chinese traditional architecture, such as imperial palace, temple, Buddha pagoda, bridge, mausoleum, mansion, gardens and so on. Lion indicates safety and luck in China.

What do the Chinese lions symbolize?

In Chinese Culture, the lion symbolizes strength, stability and superiority, while the dragon represents power, boldness and excellence. Dances for both the auspicious creatures are performed during festive occasions as a means to chase away evil spirits and welcome in prosperous times.

Where did stone lions originate?

These stylized guardian lions, known in Chinese as shi or shishi (石獅 shíshī /shrr-shrr/ ‘stone-lions’ — there’s a popular tongue-twister associated with the tones), sometimes as ‘Foo Dogs’ in English, originating not in China itself, but in Persia.