Cultural Lions: Ferocious but Cute

Today we discuss how a ferocious, exotic beast, lion, has become an auspicious, cute cultural icon in ancient China.The lion originally came from Africa. It trekked from Egypt into Europe and Asia Minor from the Mediterranean, and into the Iranian Plateau and India. There was no human intervention in their migration. There are two sub-spices of Asian lions: Persian lions and Indian lions. When the Silk Road developed in the late 2nd century, lions were imported to China through the Silk Road as a gift from other countries to Chinese emperors. They were raised in emperors’ palaces so few people could see a lion with their own eyes. Ferocious animals are revered and feared by people. When lions became a magic animal which could eat tigers and bring good luck, their image changed in people’s imaginations, and it evolved so it became different from reality. They became very cute. So how cute are they, and why?