Thursday, August 14, 2008

Forbidden City Imperial Guardian Lion Beijing, China



Forbidden City Imperial Guardian Lion Beijing, China, clipart stock photo - Restrictions for Using NOAA Images, Most NOAA photos and slides are in the public domain (THIS IMAGE) and CANNOT be copyrighted.

Summer Palace at Beijing. Image ID: mvey0551, NOAA's Small World Collection. Location: People's Republic of China. Photo Date: 1979 Fall, Photographer: George Saxton, NESDIS, NOAA.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce unless otherwise instructed to give credit to the photographer or other source. NOAA Photo Library.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Forbidden City Imperial Guardian Lion Beijing, China

Chinese guardian lions, also called a Fu Lions, lions of Buddha, or sometimes stone lions in Chinese art, 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.

Lions of Fo are often created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.

Pairs of Chinese guardian lions, also called Chinese stone lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled specially in local Chinatowns.

In Tibet, the guardian lion is known as a Snow Lion and similar to Japanese shishi. In Myanmar they are called Chinthe and gave their name to the World War II Chindit soldiers.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Chinese guardian lions SEE FULL License, Credit and Disclaimer

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