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
Ching Ling Foo Ching Ling Foo Ching Ling Foo () was the stage name of the Chinese magician Zhu Liankui (,1854–1922). He is credited with being the first modern East Asian magician to achieve world fame. Born in Beijing, Ching Ling Foo studied traditional Chinese magic and was a well-respected performer in his homeland. During a typical performance, he stunned the audience by breathing smoke and fire or producing ribbons and a pole from his mouth. One of his sensational tricks had Foo using a sword to cut the head of a serving boy off at the shoulders. Then, to the amazement of