The cast iron lion of Cangzhou - Figures

Figure 1. The Cangzhou Lion, photographed by Thomas T. Read at some time between 1907 and 1910. His caption reads, in part: "It . . . was cast in 953 A.D. in sections, like a concrete building. It was broken, in falling over, into four separate pieces, one of which, the lower jaw, is lying on the ground, not visible in the picture, while the head and the `lotus seat' have been awkwardly propped in place with slabs of stone, so something of the original appearance has been lost. . . ." (Mining and metallurgy, 1937, 18: 383).


Figure 2. The lion photographed in 1987. Note the modern repair and the missing lower jaw.


Figure 3. Inside the head, showing more of the modern repairs. Part of the cast-in wrought iron reinforcement can also be seen extending from the centre of the photograph to the lower right corner.


Figure 4. The tail end.


Figure 5. Sketch showing how the statue was cast in sections (Wenwu 1984.6: 83).