Featured Chinese foo dogs

To be honest, before I come to US, I never heard a saying "foo dog". After stayed here so many years, I gradually accept this saying. This is a saying come by Cantonese I assume. But it was generally mis-used in most situation. People like to call chinese guardian lion as foo dog.
"Foo dog" means dog which can bring fortune and luck to its master.

This statue looks neither like a dog nor a guardian lion.
Actually, it is one of sons of chinese dragon. And Chinese dragon totally has nine kids.

 

Below is copied from Wiki, and I will try to explain one by one.

• The [qiuniu 囚牛], (Hybrid of cow and dragon) a creature that likes music, are used to adorn musical instruments.
• The [yazi 睚眦/睚眥], (Hybrid of wolf and dragon) a creature that likes to fight, is aggressive and is normally found on cross-guards on sword as ornaments.
• The [chaofeng 嘲風], (Hybrid of goat and dragon) a creature that likes to climb and eat. They are typically placed on the four corners of roofs.
• The [pulao 蒲牢], (Hybrid of dog & dragon) a creature that likes to scream, and are represented on the tops of bells, used as handles.
• The [suanni 狻猊], (Hybrid of lion and dragon) a creature that likes to sit down, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols (under the Buddhas' or Bodhisattvas' feet).
• The [bixi 贔屭], (Hybrid of turtle and dragon) a creature with a large shell able to carry heavy objects, and are normally found on tombstones.
• The [bi'an 狴犴], (Hybrid of tiger and dragon) a creature that likes litigation, are placed over prison gates (in order to keep guard).
• The [baxia 霸下], (Hybrid of snake and dragon) a creature that likes to drink water, and is typically used on bridge structures.
• The [chiwen 螭吻/鴟吻], (Hybrid of fish and dragon) a creature that likes swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences).

Found a mistake in wiki: The correct should be:
The [chaofeng 嘲風], (Hybrid of lynx and dragon) a creature that likes to climb and eat. They are typically placed on the four corners of roofs.
The [baxia 霸下], (Hybrid of turtle and dragon) a creature with a large shell able to carry heavy objects, and are normally found on tombstones.
The [bixi 贔屭], (Hybrid of snake and dragon) a creature that likes to drink water, and is typically used on bridge structures.

 

This is a catoon version. The reason why I use this first is that it shows the charactor of each son of the dragon clearly.


From top left side to bottom right side:

Bian(Hybrid of tiger and dragon) yazi(Hybrid of wolf and dragon) baxia(Hybrid of turtle and dragon)
Pulao (Hybrid of dog & dragon)(a wrong drawing) chaofeng (Hybrid of lynx and dragon) (it's a wrong drawing) chiwen(Hybrid of fish and dragon)
suanni (Hybrid of lion and dragon) bixi (Hybrid of snake and dragon) qiuniu (Hybrid of cow and dragon)

 

Your statue should be a pair of "chaofeng" (Hybrid of lynx and dragon)

 

Hi Asian Fever,
Thank you so much for your wonderful post. It brought back certain memories that I had forgotten.
greg

 

Hello Asian Fever,

Thank you so much that is a wealth of information. I really appreciate this.

 

Yes, I'd like to add my thanks too. I had no idea there were so many variations. I would also like to thank our other folks who contribute on our Asian pieces. Not only do you help with our individual requests but you open up a whole culture to those of us with very limited education and experience in this area. I appreciate your input very much.
Don

 

What an odd thing to stamp on the bottom of anything xD

 

You guys are so welcome. I tried to buy more irish sterling jars or pots today, but cannot find a good piece. There's only one very large center piece 1850s weighs over 230 oz and I cannot afford to buy it....

 

patience......

 

Thank you Asian fever. That was most informative. I hope I'm not being to rude Asian Fever or breaking rules but I have taken the liberty to put that information together as a PDF file which would be easier for members to look up than chase down a useful thread such as this.
Respectfully
Stephen

 

You did great. Thank you.