Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions or Imperial guardian lions, often miscalled "Foo Dogs" in the West, are a common representation of the lion in imperial China. Chinese guardian lions are sometimes referred to in English as shishi, from the Chinese shí shī (), which refers specifically to lion sculptures in stone. The concept, which originated and became popular in Chinese Buddhism, subsequently spread to other parts of Asia including, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore. Since the introduction of the lion symbolism during the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) from
A Manifesto for a Re-appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture declares a new, proper manner in which to pursue the study of Sinology and explains Chinese culture from an experience viewpoint instead of an academic one. In Serina Chan's summary, the Manifesto advocates “post-colonial cultural nationalist discourse for cultural parity between China and the West in the midst of continuing Euro-American cultural dominance…(and) the document served to move the authors' Han Chinese cultural nationalist discourse into an imagined global arena for an ideological contest between Chinese and Western Cultures.” The essay indicates three main approaches and subsequent failures in the Western study of Sinology. The scholars attributed these shortcomings to