The largest stone lion in the world

The world’s largest stone lion, the Thousand Lion King, is located in the Thousand Lions Mountain Scenic Tourist Area in Manxianlin, Jianchuan, Dali, Yunnan. It was certified by the Guinness Headquarters in Shanghai in May 2013.

?Thousand Lion King?

This largest lion king in the world is 25 meters high, 12 meters wide in the front and 15 meters wide in the side. The size of the lion is so large that it is rare in the world... The lion's big mouth can accommodate more than a dozen people. It is really the only one in the sky and the world. It commands thousands of lions from a high position, showing the dignity of a king and the majesty of Lion Mountain.

It was carved from the natural rock on the cliff of the main peak at an altitude of 2,780 meters from June 2001 to April 2004. It is managed by the Jianchuan County Tourism Bureau of Yunnan Province.

Qianshi Mountain is 1.5 kilometers away from the west of Jianchuan County in Dali along the Yanchang Valley. It covers an area of ??about 3.2 square kilometers. The scenic area contains the Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties. There are 3,268 Bai folk stone lions (lion patterns) from nine dynasties, including the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Among them, the standing, lying, prone, sleeping, waking and drunk lions have different shapes and are lifelike. It is a famous scenic spot in Jianchuan.

Manxian Forest, formerly known as Jixieling, also known as "Maixian Forest", was built in the Ming Dynasty. It consists of Yingxian Bridge, Yanqing Pagoda, Yicui Ping, Daxiong Palace, Immortals Climbing to Heaven, Immortals Playing Chess, It consists of dozens of scenic spots such as Fobai Bigao, Guanyin Rock, and Feilaishi.

At present, the stone lion carving project of Qianshi Mountain in Manxianlin is still going on. This characteristic scenic spot that integrates natural landscape and cultural landscape is attracting more and more Chinese and foreign tourists.

Related information

Stone lion

Basic introduction

Common evil-proof items in traditional Chinese culture. It is a sculpture with artistic value and ornamental value that is made of stone as raw material and carved into a lion. There is usually a pair of stone lions or bronze lions outside the gate, which are generally used to match the building to ward off evil spirits or for decoration. The earliest existing stone lion is the stone lion in front of Gao Yi's tomb in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Source

The lion is known as the "King of Beasts". But the lion’s origin is not in China. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Parthian King of the Western Regions presented the first lion to China. Since then, lions have appeared on the land of China. It was also at this time that lions began to be recognized by people and were carved into mighty architectural decorations.

In the Anxi Kingdom, he lived in Hecun City and went to Luoyang twenty-five thousand miles away. It is connected to Kangju in the north and Wuyishanli in the south. There are thousands of miles of land and hundreds of small towns, and the most prosperous household is Shengbing. Its eastern boundary is Mulu City, known as Xiaoxiang, and it is 20,000 miles away from Luoyang. In the first year of Zhanghe's reign, Emperor Zhang sent an envoy to present his master and Fu Ba. The talisman looks like a lin but has no horns. In the ninth year of Emperor Yongyuan's reign, the Imperial Guard Banchao sent Gan Ying to Daqin to reach Tiaozhi. When he was near the sea and wanted to cross the sea, the boatman on the western boundary of Anxi said to Ying: "The sea water is vast, and those who come and go can be crossed in three months if there is a good wind. If there is a late wind, there are also two-year-olds, so everyone who enters the sea has three-year-old food." The sea is good at making people yearn for the land, and many people die. ?When Ying heard about it, he stopped. In the thirteenth year, King Manqu of Anxi presented his master and a large bird with strips, which were then called Anxi sparrows.

History

The earliest stone lion is the stone lion in front of Gao Yi's tomb in the Eastern Han Dynasty, in Ya'an, Sichuan. The stone lion in front of the Liang Dynasty tomb in Jurong County, Jiangsu Province has a history of 1,400 years. The stone lions in the Tang Shun Mausoleum in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province were built by Wu Zetian for his mother Yang’s mausoleum 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 to guard the gates for a grand and majestic appearance. Later, stone lions with different postures were also carved on door pillows, stone door lintels, eaves corners, railings and other building parts, becoming an indispensable decoration of ancient buildings. There are many stone lions from the Ming and Qing dynasties existing in Beijing. The shapes of these stone lions are no longer majestic, but tend to be loving and joyful, which you will never tire of looking at for a long time. There are 140 carved pillars on both sides of the famous Lugou Bridge built in the Jin Dynasty. Each pillar is engraved with exquisite and lively stone lions. Each stone lion carries nine little lions. The smallest one is only It is extremely difficult to count a few centimeters, so there is a saying that "there are countless lions in Lugou Bridge". In 1961, archaeologists specially numbered and counted the stone lions at Lugou Bridge, and finally the number was clear: there were 485 of them.

Symbolic meaning

It is difficult to verify when the stone lion became the patron saint of homes in Chinese civilization and even world civilization. China's unicorn, four different mythical beasts and lions all appeared in front of the gates of feudal powers and became the patron saints of mansions in the spiritual realm. This cultural phenomenon also appeared in the home culture of the East and the West at the same time.

To this day, the stone lion at the door is still a symbol of dignity and inviolability.

Stone lions outside the palace gate

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 gates are usually Zuo Xiong. The right female (the placement of stone lions at both entrances of the gate is based on the direction of people coming out of the gate), which is in line with the traditional Chinese philosophy of yin and yang of men on the left and women on the right.

The male lion placed on the left side of the door is usually carved with the right front paw playing with a hydrangea or with a hydrangea between the two front paws (sometimes carved with an open mouth); the female lion on the right side of the door is carved with the left front paw caressing the cub or both. A young lion (sometimes carved with its mouth closed) lies between the front paws. You can also tell it from the things under the lion's claws: if there is a ball under the claws, it symbolizes the unification of the world and supreme power, and it must be a male lion. There is a lion cub under her paws, which symbolizes the succession of descendants. She is a female lion. And because the lion is the king of beasts, the domineering beast. So it has the function of "nobility" and "majesty". Nowadays, it has extended from palaces and yamen to government agencies at all levels and even private residences. Stone lions are often used in front of doors to ward off evil spirits and show their power. Of course, not every household is suitable for placing stone lions. If it does not have the aura of an imperial home, it will not be able to suppress its domineering spirit, but it may even be injured by its domineering spirit.

Folk stone lions

Among the people, the lion has become an incarnation of bravery, power and auspiciousness. The performing arts and the plastic arts are often inextricably linked. The image of the lion in the lion dance is created by folk artists according to their own aesthetic ideals. It is lively, naughty and cute, and has completely lost its majesty as the "King of Beasts". In folk art, lions also refer to the sounds of "grand master" and "young master", which means promotion. Lions are not like dragons and phoenixes. As a royal patent, they only appear in the palace art. Lion sculpture art can be found in ordinary people's homes. Even ordinary people may have a pair of small ones erected next to their doors. Stone lion.

Classification

On the land of China, there are also southern lions and northern lions. The northern lion is majestic and majestic, while the southern lion is lively and interesting. There is also the so-called "Three Kings of Lions", that is because the lion is the king of beasts, and the stone where the lion squats is carved with a phoenix and a peony. The phoenix is ??the king of birds, and the peony is the king of flowers, so there is "Three Kings of Lions" ? title.