Common anti evil items in traditional Chinese culture. A sculpture of a lion made of stone as raw material, which has artistic and ornamental value. There is usually a pair of stone lions or bronze lions outside the gate, which are usually used to match with buildings for exorcism or decoration. The earliest surviving stone lion is the one in front of Gao Yi's tomb during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Lions are known as the 'king of all beasts'. However, the origin of lions is not in China. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the King of Anxi in the Western Regions presented the first lion to China. From then on, lions appeared on the land of China. At this time, lions began to be recognized by people and were carved into powerful architectural decorations.
Rest in peace country, reside in Hehe City, and travel 25000 miles to Luoyang. It borders Kangju to the north and Wuyishan to the south. The place is thousands of miles away, the small town is hundreds, and the household registration is the most prosperous. Its eastern boundary is Mulu City, named Xiaohepin, and it is 20000 miles away from Luoyang. In the first year of Emperor Zhanghe's reign, envoys were sent to offer their sons and Fuba. Fuba is shaped like a forest without horns. In the ninth year of the Yongyuan reign of Emperor He, the Protector Ban Chao sent Gan Ying as the envoy to Da Qin and arrived at Tiaozhi. Facing the vast sea, the boatman who rested in the western boundary said to Ying, "The sea is vast, and those who come and go will receive a good wind in three months. If there is a delayed wind, there are also those who are two years old. Therefore, those who enter the sea will receive three years' worth of food. The goodness in the sea makes people yearn for the land, and there are many who die." Ying stopped hearing this. In the thirteenth year, the King of Anxi, Manqu, offered his disciple and a large bird with branches, which was then called the Anxi Bird.

The earliest stone lion today is the one in front of Gao Yi's tomb during the Eastern Han Dynasty, located in Ya'an, Sichuan. The stone lion in front of the Liang Dynasty tomb in Jurong County, Jiangsu Province has a history of 1400 years. The stone lions in Tang Shunling, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, were built by Wu Zetian for her mother Yang's tomb and are representative works of existing stone lions. After the Ming Dynasty, many palaces, mansions, temples, and even the residences of wealthy families were equipped with stone lions as gatekeepers to enhance their prestige. Later on, stone lions with different postures were carved on building parts such as door pillows, stone lintels, eaves corners, and railings, becoming an indispensable decoration in ancient architecture. There are many stone lions from the Ming and Qing dynasties existing in Beijing. The form of these stone lions is no longer majestic, but tends towards a loving and joyful state, which will never tire of long-term observation. On both sides of the famous Lugou Bridge built during the Jin Dynasty, there are a total of 140 carved pillars. Each pillar is engraved with a lively and exquisite stone lion, and each stone lion hides nine small lions. The smallest one is only a few centimeters long and is extremely difficult to count, hence the saying 'There are countless lions on Lugou Bridge'. In 1961, archaeologists specifically numbered and counted the stone lions at Lugou Bridge, and finally found out that there were a total of 485 lions.

It is difficult to verify when the stone lion became the guardian deity of homes in Chinese civilization and even world civilization. The Chinese qilin, four unlike mythical beasts, and lion all coincidentally appeared in front of the gates of feudal power and became the guardians of luxury homes in the spiritual realm, and this cultural phenomenon also appeared in both Eastern and Western home cultures.
The stone lion at the entrance remains a symbol of nobility and inviolability.
The stone lion outside the palace gate
There is usually a pair of stone lions or bronze lions outside the palace gate, which have the function of warding off evil spirits.
There is usually a pair of stone lions or bronze lions outside the palace gate. According to the architectural orientation, the paired stone lions in front of the ancient palace gate are usually left male and right female (the placement of stone lions at the two entrances of the gate is based on the direction in which people come out of the gate), which conforms to the traditional Chinese yin-yang philosophy of male, left female, and right. The male lion placed on the left side of the doorway is usually carved with its right front paw playing with embroidered balls (some are also carved with their mouth open); The female lion on the right side of the entrance is carved with her left front paw to stroke the young lion (some are also carved with their mouth closed). You can also distinguish it from what is under the lion's paw: if the paw is a ball, it symbolizes the unity of the world and supreme power, and must be a male lion. Stepping on a young lion with her paws symbolizes the continuity of her offspring, and she is a female lion. Also, because lions are the king of beasts, domineering beasts. So it has the functions of "nobility" and "majesty". Nowadays, it has extended from palaces and government offices to various levels of government agencies and even private residences, where stone lions are used to ward off evil spirits and show off their power. Of course, not every household is suitable for placing stone lions. Without the aura of an imperial family, it is impossible to control their dominance, and they may even be injured by their dominance.

Folk stone lions
In folk culture, lions have become a symbol of bravery, strength, and auspiciousness. Performing arts and plastic arts are often difficult to distinguish. The lion image in lion dance is created by folk artists according to their aesthetic ideals, lively, mischievous, and cute, completely losing the majesty of the "king of beasts". In folk art, lions also resonate with the sounds of "Tai Shi" and "Shao Shi", implying the idea of promotion to higher positions. Lions are not like mythical creatures such as dragons and phoenixes. As a royal patent, they only appear in the forms of palace art. Lion form art is ubiquitous in ordinary households, and even a pair of small stone lions may stand next to the door of an ordinary house.

On the land of China, there is a distinction between the southern lion and the northern lion. The northern lion is majestic and mighty, while the southern lion is lively and interesting. There is also the so-called "Three Kings of Lions" because lions are the king of beasts, and the stone carvings on which lions squat are Phoenix and Peony. Phoenix is the king of birds, and Peony is the king of flowers, hence the title "Three Kings of Lions".