Chinese guardian lions, also called Fu Lions, lions of Buddha, or
sometimes stone lions (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī) in Chinese art[1], is a
common representation of the lion in pre-modern China, which is
believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has
traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, temples,
emperors' tombs, government offices, and the homes of government
officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), until
the end of the empire in 1911.
* History of Guardian Lions