Tóngshīm

||When you see a Parthian charger tied up to a tomb-stone in the Land of Israel, the hour of the Messiah will be near.||

Chinese guardian lions traditionally known in Chinese simply as Shi (Chinese: 獅; pinyin: shī; literally "lion") Pairs of guardian lions are decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns. 

The lions are usually depicted in pairs. When used as statuory, the pair would consist of a male resting his paw upon an embroidered ball (representing supremacy over the world) and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (representing nurture). 

Guardian lions are referred to numerous manner depending on language and context. In Chinese they are traditionally called simply shi (lion) (獅, Pinyin: shī). The lions are traditionally carved from decorative stone, such as marble and granite or cast in bronze or iron, AND specified by reference to the medium or material, for example: 

Stone lion (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī): for a stone sculpture; or

Bronze lion (銅獅, Pinyin: Tóngshī): for a bronze sculpture

Auspicious lion (瑞獅, Pinyin: Ruìshī): respecting reference to the Tibetan Snow Lion or with context to good fortune

Fortuitous lion (福獅, Pinyin: fúshī): reference in context to good fortune

Buddha's or Buddhist lion (佛獅, Pinyin: fóshī): reference in a religious context to the lion as protector of Buddha

In Japan: the lion figures are known as Komainu (狛犬・高麗犬, lit Koreans) possibly due to their introduction to Japan through Korea.

In Myanmar: called Chinthe and gave their name to the Chindit soldiers.

In Okinawa: similar lion formed statuettes are known as Shisa.

In Tibet: known as a Snow Lion 

The lions are usually encountered in pairs, a manifestation of yin and yang, the female representing yin and the male yang. The male lion has its right front paw on an embroidered ball called a "xiù qiú" (绣球). The female is essentially identical, but has a cub under the closer (left) paw to the male, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". Other styles have both lions with a single large pearl in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed. 

According to feng shui, correct placement of the lions is important to ensure their beneficial effect. When looking out of a building through the entrance to be guarded, looking in the same direction as the lions, the male is placed on the left and the female on the right. So when looking at the entrance from outside the building, facing the lions, the male lion with the ball is on the right, and the female with the cub is on the left. 

Chinese lions are intended to reflect the emotion of the animal as opposed to the reality of the lion. The claws, teeth and eyes of the Chinese lion represent power. Few if any muscles are visible in the Chinese lion. 

The Asiatic lions were once quite common throughout its historic range in Southwest Asia and Central Asia and are believed to be the ones depicted by the guardian lions in Chinese culture. With increased trade during the Han dynasty and cultural exchanges through the Silk Road, lions were introduced into China from the ancient states of Central Asia by peoples of Sogdiana, Samarkand, and the Yuezhi (月氏) in the form of pelts and live tribute, along with stories about them from Buddhist priests and travelers of the time. This exchange can be seen in that the Chinese word for lion is "Shi" (師, later 獅/狮), which shares the same etymological roots as "Shiar" (شیر), the Persian language name for the animal. 

Several instances of lions as imperial tributes from Central Asia was recorded in the document Book of the Later Han (後漢書) written from 25-220 CE. On one particular event, on the eleventh lunar month of 87 CE, "... an envoy from Parthia offered as tribute a lion and an ostrich" to the Han court. Indeed the lion was associated by the Han Chinese to earlier venerated creatures of the ancient Chinese, most notably by the monk Huilin (琳说) who stated that "the mythic suanni (狻猊) is actually the lion" (狻猊即狮子也，出西域). 

The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced to Han China as the protector of dharma and these lions have been found in religious art as early as 208 BC. Gradually they were incorporated as guardians of the Chinese Imperial dharm. Lions seemed appropriately regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since. There are various styles of guardian lions reflecting influences from different time periods, imperial dynasties, and regions of China. These styles vary in their artistic detail and adornment as well as in the depiction of the lions from fierce to serene.