There were no lions in China at first. According to relevant records, lions were introduced to China in the fourth year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (BC 10 1 year). Up to now, the earliest stone lions found in China are the stone lions in front of Wushi tomb in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province and Gaoyi tomb in Ya 'an county, Sichuan province, which set a precedent for placing stone lions in front of important buildings and tombs for more than 2,000 years. As a decoration in front of a specific building, Shishi has continued to this day. In Buddhist art, there are also references to lion modeling, such as the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva, the so-called green lion.

Part of the stone lion evolved from the image of a wild lion in nature. Like "dragon" and "phoenix", it is an animal created by the ancients and alienated by God. It is a unique "national lion" in China culture. Its image is big head, small body, short tail, long hair and strong limbs; The mouth is square, the nose is wide, the forehead is raised, the ears are big and drooping, and the eyes are like balls; The bristles on the head and neck are thick and dense, spiral like snails, and the back hair and tail hair are also regularly spiral. It is the unity of opposites of many animal characteristics, brave and docile, and extraordinary. It symbolizes SHEN WOO, majesty, auspiciousness and auspiciousness. Because it is unrealistic, it is completely decorative. From its birth to its evolution, China's national lions have different styles in different historical dynasties. Lions in Han and Tang dynasties are characterized by fierceness, vigor, simplicity and simplicity, while lions in Ming and Qing dynasties are more docile and docile. Qingtian Shishi focuses on the Ming and Qing styles. Because they are not large-scale animals, but small-scale desk furnishings, they have evolved into fierce, simple, lacking, soft and charming features, with a little alienation, but strong decoration, forming the Qingtian Shishi's own style. Qingtian Shishi has a variety of products, and its production and sales have been enduring, which shows the vitality of this style.

Lion products mainly include "lion ball", "lion furnace" and "lion seal", all of which are practical. Carving a lion must abide by a norm, that is, the lion must have a ball and the ball must have a wind belt; This ball is a hollow Qian Qiu, and the wind belt is soft and curly, changing at will. Lions can circle, jump and play on the wind belt, which is called "lion rolling hydrangea". This is the same as carving dragons, pearls and clouds. Playing dragon ball and rolling lion ball is not only a romantic technique, but also a standardized concrete plot. There are also many kinds of "lion balls", one of which is a standardized form. A ball has two lions facing each other, and the center of the ball is hollow. Cover it with a lid and a lion, and the center of the ball can be filled with incense. This symmetrical format product is close to patterning. The little lion ball is the ball of three lions; The big lion ball is big, the lion takes the little lion, and the little lion plays with the little ball, so the content and scene are much richer and more lively.

Qian Qiu's carving method is to round the spherical surface first, generally only carving the hemisphere seen from the front, and tying the other half with a wind belt to expose the cover, hollowing out the inner wall of the spherical center, then drilling equidistant vertical and horizontal cross holes on the spherical surface, and filing with a flat round thorn.

In addition, there are lion ball products that are not limited by the format, or asymmetric in height or inclination, and the layout is random.

"Lion Furnace" is a kind of ancient incense burner. It has a circular furnace body, two ears symmetrically engraved with patterns left and right, and three pillars below. The surface of the furnace body is carved with a little lion playing ball and a big lion crouching on the furnace cover. The lion's abdomen clings to the furnace body, hollows out the abdomen from the bottom of the cover, penetrates into the lion's mouth and nose, and spits out incense from the nose and mouth. This is a real and practical work of art.

"Lion Seal" is a kind of button decoration on the seal, with different sizes and specifications. The lion seal is 16x 12cm, and any 32-size book can be clipped, so it is also called "lion seal folder". Lion buttons with small seals are mostly carved with a single animal or a large and small lioness; The lion seal has more lions, or 30% or 50% of the lioness seal. The layout must be square, the lion button should be hollowed out, but the four sides should be full and saturated, and the left and right two must be paired together, which is more practical for clamping books.

In addition to the above three types of lion products, there are also some lion crystal knickknacks. For example, the "door crouching lion" is the style of a big stone lion in front of a building, facing left and right, and the lion plays with hydrangea; The lioness is the one who teases the little lion. The little lion can appreciate it or be a "paper town".

PS, correct the story upstairs, too.

The lion lying is the work of Tang Wude (AD 6 18-626). It is 267 cm high, 18 1 cm long and 85.5 cm wide. Originally placed in front of Li Hu Yongkang Mausoleum, the grandfather of Li Yuan in Tang Gaozu, Sanyuan County, 1959 moved to Xi 'an Beilin Museum.