Chinese guardian lions However, Chinese reference to the guardian lions are seldom prefixed with 佛 or 福, and more importantly never referred to as "dogs". Reference to guardian lions as dogs in Western cultures may be due to the Japanese reference to them as "Korean dogs" (狛犬・高麗犬) due to their transmission from China through Korea into Japan. It may also be due to the misidentification of the guardian lion figures as representing certain Chinese dog breeds such as the Chow Chow (鬆獅犬, Pinyin: sōngshī quǎn, lit. "puffy-lion dog") or Pekingese (獅子狗; Pinyin: Shīzi Gǒu, lit. "lion dog"). The lions are traditionally carved from
Lee Tung Foo Ranger" (1950). Lee Tung Foo Lee Tung Foo (also known as Frank Lee) was a Chinese American Vaudeville performer born in California who performed in English, German, and Latin. He became a film actor later in his life. At the age of 45, he ran a Chinese restaurant he bought in New York City called Jung Sy Mandarin Restaurant. He opened a second restaurant, Imig Sy, and both were strategically placed near Broadway. By the 1930s he returned to theater work, playing some minor roles until 1932, when he was cast as Wang Yun in the film, "The Skull Murder