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History of lion development
According to the records of ancient documents in China, the first lion to enter the Central Plains was in the Han Dynasty. According to "Biography of the Western Regions in the Later Han Dynasty", in the first year of Zhanghe River (AD 87), the interest country of the western regions (now Iran) sent a lion to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

This kind of lion, which is fiercer than tigers, leopards and other wild animals in the Central Plains, immediately aroused people's curiosity and interest, so many artists began to imagine and create statues for this vivid beast. But this fierce lion, as an exotic wild animal, is only kept alone in the deep palace, which is rarely seen by ordinary people. Therefore, folk artists rely on legends and records in books, give full play to their artistic imagination, and use China's traditional artistic techniques, such as bold choice, exaggeration and vivid expression, to start the artistic creation of China Shishi.

Shishi in China started in the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Later, after the continuation of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Stone lions are becoming more and more statues for people to protect their homes and exorcise evil spirits, so it is difficult to verify them now. Specifically, when did Shishi become the "patron saint" of Chinese civilization as a home? However, from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Tang and even the Qing Dynasty, in the history of more than 2,000 years, the stone lion was first used as a spirit beast to ward off evil spirits and guard the tomb, and later developed into an important part in front of important buildings in previous dynasties.

In this way, China ancient stone lions were born out of real lions in nature. Through the creation of skilled craftsmen in past dynasties, it has been integrated into the aesthetic concept and traditional culture of Chinese civilization and has become the patron saint of Chinese civilization, which has continued to this day.