Why is there a stone ball in the mouth of a stone lion?

The first one: ancient demons prevailed and the people were miserable. A man prayed to the gods that he would pay any price for exorcism.

The immortal was very moved and gave this man a treasure ball. As long as he holds the orb, he will become a lion to scare away the devil. Later, this man passed away. In order to ward off evil spirits, people came up with a way to carve a lion with pearls out of stone and put it at home to ward off evil spirits.

Another legend comes from the palace. It is said that the royal family has always liked lions, so many statues of stone lions can often be seen in the palace. The survival rule of the deep palace is that many things in the deep palace can only be known by themselves and cannot be spread to the outside world. As a result, these stone lion statues contain stone beads in their mouths, but they can't fall out.

Extended data:

usage mode

The stone lions guarding the door are arranged in pairs, usually left male and right female, which accords with China's traditional philosophy of Yin and Yang. The lion placed on the left side of the door is usually carved into the right front paw to play with hydrangea or put a hydrangea between the two front paws; The lioness on the right side of the door is carved into the left front paw to touch the young lion or the young lion is located between the two front paws.

The stone lions on both sides of the gate are placed according to the direction in which people come out of the gate. When people come out of the gate, the lion should be on the left and the lioness on the right. When entering from the outside, it's just the opposite.

For example, there are a pair of stone lions outside the door of some buildings. Outside the door (that is, the direction of entering the door), the male lion is on the right and the female lion is on the left; Inside the door (that is, the direction of going out) is the lion on the left and the lioness on the right. In other words, when you leave the gate, there must be a lion on the left and a lioness on the right.