石狮子英语演讲

The Essence of Chinese Culture-Chinese Stone Lions

Have you heart such kind of folk songs about stone lions ? Touch lions head, do not worry about life; touch lions back ,live a good generation to generation; touch lions mouth, the couple do not quarrel; touch lions ass, never get sick; touch lions from head to tail, make plenty of money. For thousands of years, lions was regarded as the patron saint of the Chinese people and a symbol of protection and peace for human being.

A pair of stone lions are often seen standing in front of the gates of traditional palace, government offices, mansions, temples, pagodas , bridges and gardens. The male is on the left, his right paw resting on the ball, and the female on the right, her left paw fondling a cub. The ball symbolizes the unity of the country , and the cub with the lioness represents thriving offspring.

Stone lions are also used to indicate the ranks of officials by the number of lumps in the curly mane of the lion. First-rank officials have lions with 13 lumps. The official rank goes down each grade ,the number of lumps decreases one .Official below the seventh grade are forbidden to have stone lions in front of their house.

In China, lions are regarded as the king of animals .In more than two thousand years of feudal society, stone lion has been played a important role a symbol of supreme power and a good interpretation of hierarchy system. Also it is believed that stone lions can offer protection from evil spirits.