Western-style Stone Lions in China |
In addition to traditional Chinese stone lions, it is not uncommon to see Western-influenced stone lions in Chinese cities. Some of these are completely Western in appearance; others are more stylised. In many cases it is conventional to represent the male with his mouth open and the female with her mouth closed. The following examples are from the streets of Haikou, Sanya, and Shenzhen.
| This pair of completely Western-style
lions (they wouldn't be out of place outside a London department store)
nevertheless observes the convention that the one on our left has its
mouth shut and the one on the right has its mouth open. Photographed in
Shenzhen. |
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These two lions, photographed in Sanya, Hainan, follow
the convention that the lion on our left has its mouth closed and the
one on the right has its mouth open (with ball inside).
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Two very similar lions in the same street, couchant.
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| Another pair, following the convention.
Photographed in Sanya, Hainan. |
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This pair, in the streets of Haikou, does not observe
the tradition of one-mouth-open, one-mouth-shut. However, they differ
from Western lions in the fact that (1) they have a ball in their mouths
(one of the characteristics of Chinese lions) and (2) the male is differentiated
from the female. This is only apparent from the bottom pair of photos,
where a close inspection reveals that the male has something that the
female lacks.
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Female
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Male
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| Stone Lions
in Hainan (1) Haikou and Sanya |
Stone Lions
in Hainan (2) Qionghai and Haikou |
Some Slightly Different
Stone Lions Tibetan, Vietnamese, Ming |
