Just chiming in to correct a common misconception. The Shih Tzu is commonly believed in the west to mean "lion dog" because the romanization looks similar, but the actual characters for the breed are 西施犬 (pinyin: xīshī quǎn). 西施 is the name of the foremost of the "four legendary beauties" in Chinese lore, and 犬 is another word for dog (like gou).
The Chinese do in fact have a lion dog that is likely intended to resemble the gaurdian lions. This would be the Chow Chow, which in Chinese is called 鬆獅犬 (pinyin: sōngshī quǎn), literally fluffy lion dog. The origin of the name "Chow Chow" is believed to come from pidgin-English in the latter 18th century, when the term essentially meant "knick-knacks brought back from the Orient."
0
Just chiming in to correct a common misconception. The Shih Tzu is commonly believed in the west to mean "lion dog" because the romanization looks similar, but the actual characters for the breed are 西施犬 (pinyin: xīshī quǎn). 西施 is the name of the foremost of the "four legendary beauties" in Chinese lore, and 犬 is another word for dog (like gou).
The Chinese do in fact have a lion dog that is likely intended to resemble the gaurdian lions. This would be the Chow Chow, which in Chinese is called 鬆獅犬 (pinyin: sōngshī quǎn), literally fluffy lion dog. The origin of the name "Chow Chow" is believed to come from pidgin-English in the latter 18th century, when the term essentially meant "knick-knacks brought back from the Orient."
All that being said, I love the image anyway! XD